Saturday, September 25, 2010

Chain Mugs v.2, Flat Tire Promotion

I glazed up a few of the version 2 Chain Mugs a couple of days ago just to see how long it would take me.
What I'm trying to do is figure out how long it take me to complete one mug, that way I can begin to start setting a value on it.
There were also some durability issues that I needed to address.
More on that later.
If you've been following along at home, you remember that I did five mugs last week and it took me somewhere around five or six hours to finish.
Well, I glazed up three mugs and that session lasted around two and half hours.
Actually one mug only took like fifteen minutes, but I did that one in a single color just to see what it would look like:



Not too good.
Maybe if I used a lighter color or something. I just used whatever glazes I had the most of and I got the blue glaze for free(thanks Ceramic Hobbyist!).
Oh, and that mug was the Does Not Pass Inspection(DNPI) mug for it has some flaws in it.
The other two took the longest to glaze.
I did one large and one small and unlike the prototype, I used a different glaze on the gears.
For the petite coffee drinker:



First time I've used that blue. I actually bought it for the UFT project but after consideration, I didn't think it would work.
The glaze on the handle and gears is the same as on the Industrial Teapot.
For the mainline coffee guzzler:



I had to add two small gears on the side for with just one, there was too much negative space for my tastes.
I like the contrast of color here, the off white glaze against the semi metallic black.
There are a couple of problems though.
Because of the linked nature of the handles, there is difficulty in getting the correct proportions. For instance the handle on the mega mug looks too big but taking out a link and it becomes too small.
I need to strengthen up the handles a bit. I think I need to cut the link off where it joins and attach the handles at that point to get the strongest bond.
Right now, I'm cutting them off mid link and actually doing the above may make it easier to glaze:



Now about the durability thing.
I broke the handle on the prototype.
It didn't actually break off, but it did crack.
There was a hairline crack in it before I fired it, so I think it was a construction defect.
Still, the handles do look a bit fragile to me so they are Not Yet Ready for Etsy(NYRFE).
What I need is real world feedback before I unleash this on the masses.
I don't drink coffee.
What I want to do is send out the three mugs above for some hardcore testing.
If anyone is interested in trying one out, free of charge, drop me an email or just comment below.
Now you have to be a dedicated coffee, well I suppose tea is okay too, drinker. The more coffee or tea you drink the better.
I'm talking gallons here.
GAGILLIONs of gallons
There are three mugs so if three of you reply, no prob.
I mean there are only like five of you, the readers, that are actually out there in webland and I'm not sure if you all drink GAGILLIONs of gallons of coffee.
If you do and more than three of you respond, maybe I'll come up with a contest. Like maybe you'll have to write an essay or submit a picture.
Or something.
Here is your chance to get a Chain Mug v.2 for free!
That's right, absolutely free!
Okay, not really.
You'll have to give me some responsible feedback. "This is the greatest thing since sliced bread" I can do without.
"This mug sucks!" is okay as long as you tell me why.
Okay, there you go.
The Great Flat Tire Free Chain Mug Conditional Promotional Giveaway(GFTCMCPG)!
We now return you to your regular programming.

3 comments:

Rat Trap Press said...

You can put me down for one! I'll put it through the paces.

John Romeo Alpha said...

Me! Me! Unfortunately, I already have more coffee mugs than cats, and I have way too many cats. I need to de-mug. That blue one is mighty purty though.

limom said...

You both have mail.