Crafting personalized stoneware requires you to mix traditional and modern crafting methods. If done properly, you can create a stoneware unique completely to you. Stonewares usually have a wide range of uses, home décor, gifting or branding is just a small section of their uses. Despite what you want to use it for, you’ll have to be very careful when making customized stoneware.
Design Development
You need to consider some things before beginning your crafting process. If you start crafting without having an initial plan, you’ll eventually get confused during the process.
Initial Selection: Before you create your stoneware, you need to have a base form of the material in mind. You can craft your stoneware into different kinds of objects like vases which you can use for floral arrangements or decorative displays. You can also craft it into a flower pot, dining pieces like bowls, plates or mugs depending on your choice. Usually, the design begins with a discussion between the designers on what slogans, logos or patterns should be engraved for corporate branding. You need to select the right size and shape of the stoneware based on what you plan to use it for. Pick out specific colors or artistic styles that align with your plan.
Customization Options: After choosing the base design, the artisans you hired bring the design you imagine to life by either decorative textures, custom engravings like names, messages or dates, textured surface that increase the visual appeal of each piece and hand painted details that show the vibrancy of the design.
Design Approval: Lastly before the production will start, professional designers will make 3D visualisations of the proposed design you brought. This will enable you to view the rough outline of how your plate will look when it’s completely prepared. From there, you can make changes wherever you need to. Once you’ve approved the prototypes that they’re as you desire, they’re produced and used to form the final molds. This will make sure that there is no mistake in shape, size and detailing. It takes about 45 days for the sample to be created.
Manufacturing Process
After the prototype is formed, the manufacturing of the stoneware commences. This step also requires you to make some careful decisions.
Clay Preparation: To make high quality stoneware, you need good raw materials. First you need to choose high-quality clay, feldspar, and quartz. Inspect these materials and make sure they have a purity, texture, and composition that meet industry standards. Blend the selected materials to create a strong durable mixture. This blending also increases heat resistance, density, and longevity of the finished stoneware, ensuring that it can withstand daily use.
Crafting Techniques: After preparing your clay, move on to the shaping process. Depending on the design you want to do, artisans will select from various methods of crafting. They can use traditional hand throwing methods to create unique and organic forms. After getting the shape they desire, they dry and subject the sample to high levels of heat about 1020⁰C. This hardens the clay and removes moisture. Next, the artisans glaze the material and then subject it to higher levels of heat about 1200°C. This is done so that the final project is very durable, food safe and beautiful.
Glazing Application: Glazing is very important because it determines how your plate will be finished along with its durability. Different glazing techniques offer different visual and textual effects. Brushing for example is used for intricate detailing and creating artistic effects. Dipping on the other hand makes sure that there’s uniform coating covering the full surface of the stoneware. The stoneware can also be sprayed to add an extra layer of glaze.
Quality Assurance: After production, every stoneware made undergoes quality checks to confirm they’re made in the highest standard. The first thing that is checked is the raw material quality, after that, the shape and size consistency is also checked. When these are confirmed, the stoneware is checked for imperfections, or cracks and then the heat resistant quality is tested before shipping takes place
The production process usually takes about 24 hands to make sure that quality is not affected. 14 days are needed to complete the production of each stoneware but if your design is more intricate, it will take longer.
If you have any questions or need to custom dinnerware service, please contact our Email:info@gcporcelain.com for the most thoughtful support!
