How Ware works

Imagine a color. Any color.

Now imagine it on your next piece — tuned to your clay, your firing, your hands. Here’s how a color in your head becomes a tested glaze on your shelf.

1The idea

It starts with a color you can already see

Most glazing starts with a catalog and a compromise. Ware starts with the color in your head — a glaze you picture on your next piece, or one you spot in a photo, a tile, a sunset.

Every color we show you is a real glaze we’ve actually fired and photographed. No renders, no “results may vary.” What you see is what comes out of the kiln.

2Step one

Design it your way

Pick a color and dial in the rest — how hot you fire, how glossy or matte you want it, how it breaks over texture. Or skip the dials entirely and just browse a wall of fired tiles until one stops you.

However you get there, you land on a single glaze, tuned to your clay body and your firing — not a close-enough off a shelf.

3Step two

Refine until it’s yours

Want it a touch warmer? A little more depth where it pools? Nudge it and we re-tune the glaze behind the scenes. You stay in the language of color and surface; we handle the rest.

When it looks right on screen, it’s ready to make — and if the batch you get isn’t right, we reformulate and remake it.

4Along the way

Everything you make, kept in one place

Every glaze you design or save lives in My Glazes — yours to reorder, tweak, or build on later. No re-deriving a color you already loved six months ago.

Reorder the exact same glaze and it’s the exact same glaze. That’s the whole point.

5When it arrives

Open the box, get set up

Your glaze is mixed to order in the workshop, tested, and shipped to your studio door — typically in 5–7 days. It arrives labeled with everything you need to use it.

A quick look at what’s in the box and how to get going.

6Using it

Mixing

Whether your glaze ships as dry powder or pre-mixed, getting it to the right consistency is the difference between a flat coat and a beautiful one. A little water goes a long way.

We’ll walk you through getting the mix right the first time.

7Using it

Applying

Dip, brush, or pour — application thickness is what makes a glaze sing or run. Thinner reads lighter; thicker settles into the color you saw.

Watch how to lay it down evenly and get the surface you designed.

MK

Matt Katz

Founder, Ceramic Materials Workshop · Alfred University BFA ’00, CU Boulder MFA ’05 · 25+ years in studio

Ware exists because I got tired of watching potters burn weeks on test tiles chasing a color that should have taken one afternoon. Every glaze we ship is mixed in my Epsom, NH workshop and tuned against your clay body, your firing cycle, and the color you actually want — not a close-enough from a catalog. If a batch isn’t right, we reformulate and remake it. That’s the deal.

Straightforward pricing

Starting at ≈$15. See your exact price before you commit to a design — no surprises at checkout.

Dry pint — 350g
Most popular · best value
≈$15makes ~1 pint mixed

One project's worth, and the way most potters order. Ships light, stores indefinitely in the bag, and you add water when you're ready to glaze. Not sure which to pick? Pick this.

2 kg
For a body of work
≈$78~4.4 lb dry powder

Enough for a series, a show, or a season of pots. The volume discount starts kicking in at this size, so you pay less per gram than you would buying pints.

5-gallon bucket — 11.4 kg
Studio-scale
≈$293~25 lb dry powder

Our biggest size — for production runs, commissions, or a teaching studio. The volume discount is maxed out here, so it's the best price per gram we offer.

12 dry sizes between 350g and 11.4kg (5-gallon bucket); volume discount kicks in above 500g.See full pricing FAQ →

Ready to create?

You have the vision — now get the glaze to match it.

Start your first design

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