A furnace failure at the Austin studio fair showed me why backup plans matter

Our main furnace went down halfway through the event, and we had to finish pieces on a tiny backup torch. Anyone else had to scramble like that at a show?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_parker24d ago

My buddy's kiln died at a big craft fair last year, he had to finish glazing pieces with a heat gun from his truck.

troychen24d ago

That's the kind of disaster that makes you double-check every piece of gear. A backup plan for power or a small generator seems smart after hearing stories like that. What did his customers think of the heat gun fix?

young.michael24d ago

Yeah, the backup plan idea troychen mentioned is key. It reminds me of this local bakery that lost power during a huge wedding cake order. Their mixer was dead, so the head baker had to mix all this frosting by hand for hours. The cake looked fine in the end, but he said his arm was useless for a week. Makes you realize how one broken thing can wreck everything.

emmaking24d ago

Ugh, that's brutal. Always keep a hand mixer in the back for exactly that reason. Saved me more than once.