How pottery studios really calculate firing costs

Few numbers in studio life are as touchy as the firing price. It has to cover your costs, feel fair, and still make sense at the end of the month. And it hangs on a kiln that eats electricity, takes up space, and eventually needs replacing.

The good news first: there is no single correct model. We looked at how German studios actually bill their firing costs and found a whole spectrum, from dead-simple to highly complex. This guide sorts the models, gives real price ranges, and works through an example, so you can choose your own model with a steady hand.

What actually goes into firing costs

Before the models, it helps to look at the cost side. A firing price comes down to four things:

• Energy. A firing draws real power depending on temperature and duration. A glaze firing at 1200 to 1250 °C costs far more than a bisque firing at 900 to 950 °C.
• Kiln utilisation. A half-full kiln costs almost as much as a full one. Billing by weight is an indirect way of billing for space in the kiln.
• Depreciation. The kiln itself, the shelves, the props. Everything wears down and has to be earned back over the years.
• Labour. Loading, choosing the programme, unloading, sorting. This time rarely shows up in the price, but it belongs there.

Weight or space? The one big question

Almost every studio weighs. Weight is the most practical measure: a scale next to the kiln, one number, done. The catch is well known: a large, thin-walled bowl weighs little but takes up a lot of kiln space. A small, thick-walled piece is heavy and fits in any gap.

That is why some studios add exceptions to weight-based billing: a minimum price per piece, a fixed price for plates (which weigh next to nothing but block a whole shelf), or in rare cases billing by size instead of weight. For the vast majority of pieces, though, weight stays the fair and transparent basis.

The six common pricing models

In practice, studios boil down to six models, from simple to complex:

1. All-inclusive. A monthly fee or hour package with material and firings included, nothing weighed. Common in class-focused studios. Typical range for memberships with firing included: roughly 58 to 230 € per month.

2. Flat rate per weight. A single price per kilo covers clay, glazes and both firings. Weighed once, usually after the bisque firing. The studio carries the risk for glaze and space. In practice such an all-in rate sits around 30 € per kilo.

3. Simple per-kilo rate. A fixed price per kilo regardless of firing type, billed per firing. A piece that goes through a bisque and a glaze firing is therefore billed twice. Around 9 to 10 € per kilo for members is typical.

4. Per-kilo rate tiered by temperature. The most common model. The price depends on firing temperature, usually in two or three tiers. Rough ranges from practice:

• Bisque firing (900 to 950 °C): about 3 to 12 € per kilo
• Glaze firing low (1040 to 1150 °C): about 4 to 14 € per kilo
• Glaze firing high (1200 to 1250 °C): about 6 to 18 € per kilo

5. Per-kilo rate plus separate material cost. Firing and material are tracked separately, for example 9 € per kilo firing plus 5 € per kilo material. That keeps the bill transparent, but also more work.

6. Per-kilo with member/external, minimum and exceptions. The full complexity. Members pay a lower rate, external customers a higher one (around 15 € per kilo). Add minimum prices, rounding and special cases on top. This is exactly where the spreadsheet loses track.

The ten adjustment levers

On top of the chosen base model sit rules that fine-tune the price. These ten come up again and again in practice:

1. Minimum price per piece. The price is the maximum of weight times rate and a minimum amount, so no piece falls below its handling cost.
2. Round up per started kilo. 0.6 kg becomes 1 kg.
3. Category exceptions. A fixed price for certain piece types, such as plates.
4. Billing by size. Large, light pieces billed by volume instead of weight.
5. Member vs. non-member price. Different rates per plan.
6. Included clay allowance. A monthly quota included, anything above is billed.
7. Whole-kiln rental. A flat price for the entire kiln, independent of weight.
8. Express surcharge. Priority firing for an extra fee.
9. Deposit for risk pieces. A refundable amount as security.
10. Damage fee schedule. Fixed rates for damage to the kiln or shelves.

A worked example

Take a bowl of 0.6 kg in a tiered model with round-up and a 2 € minimum price:

• Bisque firing: 0.6 kg rounds up to 1 kg, at 4 € per kilo that is 4 €.
• Glaze firing high: 1 kg again, at 8 € per kilo that is 8 €.
• Total: 12 € for the finished bowl.

The minimum price does not kick in here, because both firings are above it. For a very light piece, say a 0.1 kg pendant, the minimum price would apply instead.

Bisque and glaze: per firing or per piece?

One detail that likes to cause confusion: some studios bill per firing event (a piece through two firings is billed twice), others once across a piece’s whole lifecycle. Both are legitimate. What matters is that the rule is communicated clearly, so that nobody has to work out later why the mug shows up twice.

How to choose your model

If you are starting from scratch, the 80/20 rule of thumb from practice helps: most studios do well with a per-kilo rate tiered by temperature, plus a minimum price and a member discount. That covers the bulk of all cases cleanly.

Start simple. Take a base model that fits your studio, and only add rules where reality demands it. Every extra special rule costs you time when you bill at the end of the month.

The hard part is not the model

Most studios know quite well how they want to bill. The problem is not the formula, it is the everyday: the slip of paper next to the scale that vanishes by month-end. The price list only the owner can decode. The spreadsheet where nobody remembers who fired what at which rate.

That is exactly what we are building WheelOwl for. You set up your pricing model once, however tangled, and log each piece in seconds next to the kiln. Billing then runs on its own, with an auditable record per firing.

If you want to retire the slip of paper next to the scale, you can set up firing-cost billing in WheelOwl.

Join the waitlist and be among the first studios on board.