New addition to the studio!

My new baby has arrived! A big blue monster of a baby!

I've been wanting to get a larger kiln for a while. I've loved my Paragon SC2, but I sometimes felt I needed more space - especially when I was started planning my BronzClay classes.

So, I had a kiln designed especially for me! It is called the Paragon Xpress E 12A MultiMedia Kiln. I'm the first person in the UK to have this, but I feel certain that a lot of you would like it too, so I have made sure that Robin will carry it on Electric Kilns. I'm certain there'll soon be lots of other proud owners out there.

It is absolutely perfect for what I need:

It is big - you can fit in a LARGE stainless steel pan so can fire a lot of BRONZClay in one go. Or several shelves with metal clay. Or glass.

It gets hot - 1230C!! So you can fire ceramics in it. Large pieces! And of course, metal clay, silver and gold, fuse glass, anneal glass beads, and all the other things I usually play with.

It is made from firebricks - so gives an even heat, and it keeps the even heat for longer. Which is great when I work with glass.

Of course, it does everything else that my SC2 so lovingly did (for so long...) and it has a similar digital controller which is easy to program. And it is safe. I wasn't sure about exposed elements to start with, but it has a safety switch on the door which turns them off if the door opens.

I'm very excited, can you tell?

Now I'm off to fire it up for the first time. Have a batch of bronze clay things which I need to get done before my class this weekend.

Oh, and my SC2 is travelling to Sweden to live my dear sister who has finally discovered glass fusing. She's gonna have so much fun!