Sustainability at Kairos Klay

In 2021, I implemented a bucket and plaster slab clay reclamation system to recycle clay scraps and prevent them from going into a landfill.

This simple system has enabled me to reuse more than 600 pounds of clay this year. That’s 800 spoon rests, or 171 kitchen crocks, or 400 toothbrush holders. Good stuff.

Pottery requires a considerable amount of packaging to adequately protect it on its journey from my house to yours. As of April, 2022, I've shifted away from using bubble wrap to using and reusing cardboard to protect my little beauties on their journey through the mail. This changes my packaging footprint to about 25% reused, and 99% biodegradable content.

I've been working hard during 2022 to mix and develop in-house glazes, and have moved my production away from manufactured glazes almost entirely.

This eliminates most of the ecological costs of transport, shipping, and plastic packaging that using commercial glazes entails. It also enables me to increase my support of a local small business from whom I acquire most of my glaze materials.

Kairos Klay’s small-batch pottery studio is located in the basement of our house, and me and mine are eager to install solar panels on our roof in the near future. The house and roof are small, so it’s unclear at this time if we’ll be able to generate all the power needed for the electric kiln, but we hope to offset the vast majority of it and to contribute solar power to our community when the kiln isn’t in use via the grid.