Monday, May 18, 2015

IT HAS ARRIVED!

Written by Patti Vanderbloemen of My Addictions Handcrafted Jewelry

Last time I wrote a blog post, it was to vent my frustration in attempting to receive a kiln that I purchased in late March. Well, lots have changed since last week's post!

Last Tuesday, I received a telephone call from the President of Paragon Industries.  Apparently, the representative of the webstore where I purchased the kiln read my blog post (big shout out thank you to her)!!  She, in turn, reported my frustration to Paragon Industries.  Paragon took full blame for the mix-up/lack of communication, etc, and my kiln was shipped last Wednesday ... and here it is, fresh out of the box!

Paragon SC2 Pro Silver and Glass Kiln
After tons of research related to what would be the best kiln to purchase, I decided to add on the digital controller to easily set and hold firing programs for future use. The kiln also  only weighs 40 pounds - a plus to me.  

I am very blessed to have my studio in a large room in my basement - planned when we designed this house. Not only is it nice and cool down here (it is close to 90 degrees outside today and I won't even discuss the humidity), but the studio has a painted concrete floor which translates to easy cleanup.  Now, the kiln is perfectly safe to run on a regular household current, but I do have a dedicated circuit in my studio.  I did not want to rearrange my furniture - yet again - so I purchased  a heavy duty machine table on casters, so I can roll the kiln to the outlet when I need to turn it on - and tuck it out of the way when not in use.  This dedicated circuit is also located directly under an exhaust fan I had installed when the house was constructed.   


That's my little toaster oven beneath the kiln.  I like that the shelves are metal - just a little safety feature to ease my mind, as things can get hot down here in the dungeons of the basement with torches and such.

While not a chef by title, I feel I am an accomplished cook in the kitchen.  But that kitchen oven does not even get close to 2000 degrees, so I have some reading to do before I actually turn on the kiln!

I harbor absolutely no hard feelings towards the manufacturer or the webstore where I purchased the kiln.  In the end, good customer service did prevail, and it is a happy ending in my little Kiln Story.  

I hope to be blogging about my continued trials and errors with precious metal clay in the very near future - wish me luck (I need it!!!)

Thank you for stopping by today!!!

xo
Patti