So it doesn't sing as well as Soft Kitty from Big Bang Theory, but the kiln is here and working and not damaged and I love it.  I'm still in the learning curve, getting used to how the new kiln heats and how to program it, but thankfully it's pretty easy.  So what happened?  Olympic shipped my first kiln, and the freight company, Southeastern Freight Lines (SEFL) practically murdered it ...

If this were a small purchase, I wouldn't have cared.  It probably would have been fine with the gouge in the side, but the base was bent so badly it had to be replaced.  The folks at Olympic were FANTASTIC.  I couldn't have asked for better service from them.  SEFL, however, was a different story.  Had it not been for Olympic, I would have had to pay for 2 kilns plus over $1000 in shipping costs.  SEFL is staffed by, in my experience, mostly incompetent people.  No one ever called me to notify me that a driver was coming to pick up the damaged kiln.  No one ever called me to notify me the new kiln would be delivered.  They denied my claim for damage, and then proceeded to bill me over $700 to pick up the damaged kiln (which Olympic took care of).  In one transaction, I got to see both extremes in company quality and customer service.  From the shining stars, to the dregs of society.  SEFL has been added to the list of companies I will NEVER do business with again.  On the other hand, I'm an Olympic customer for life.

So I've been happily catching up on my bottle backlog.  Almost all of my bottle molds fit in here at the same time.  I can actually fit more in than are pictured below, but that was my first firing.  Everything turned out great!

So with all this space, I'm getting new ideas.  I'm thinking bigger!  I can't wait to get all my ideas baking so I can share them with you.

There are two construction methods for stained glass.  One uses lead came (that's what you see in entry doors and kitchen cabinets). The other is copper foil tape which is primarily used for suncatchers and stained glass panels, although came can be used for these as well.  In my years of doing stained glass, I have only found two brands of copper foil in the shops near me.  The first in the photo is Edco brand copper foil, although you won't find their name on the packaging.  The second is VentureTape.  The stained glass store I "grew up" in only stocked VentureTape, so it was the only thing I'd used until I found the rather generic looking Edco foil.  Over the years, I was constantly frustrated with how thick and difficult to work with the VentureTape was.  It was cumbersome and easily split on the concave curves of glass pieces.  The black and clear adhesives seemed to work OK, but the silver adhesive barely had any tack to it.  It was a struggle to get it to stick to the glass.  The lack of proper adherance with this foil only got worse over time and I've had to throw away rolls of VentureTape foil because the adhesive just didn't stick, and it was only a few months after I'd purchased it.  I used it because it was the only foil available and I didn't know there was anything else. ... until I stumbled across that generic baggy of copper foil.  I don't even remember where it was that I found it the first time.

The first time I tried Edco foil I was astonished by how easy it was to work with.  The copper itself was thinner, and folded over the glass easily. <ding!>  If I slowly worked the foil on deep concave curves, the foil might split from being stretched too far, but more often than not, the foil would stretch and not break. <ding!>  The adhesive strongly adhered to the glass, and there have been times where I've had a roll of this foil open for over 2 years and the adhesive didn't dry out or lose it's stickiness at all.  <ding! ding!>  Over the years, Edco foil has been nothing but consistently excellent.  I could be completely out of foil and I won't buy VentureTape if it's the only brand available.  I'll wait to find Edco.  Thankfully there are several places online that routinely carry this foil as well as my favorite local-ish supply shop.

It wasn't until this past year using the power of the Internet and a little digging that I found out that both of these copper foil manufacturers offer their products in different thicknesses.  From what I can gather, the VentureTape is typically stocked in 1.5 mil or 1.25 mil.  Edco seems to be either in 1.25 mil or 1 mil, but all three thicknesses are available from both brands.  The thinner the foil, the easier it will fold and bend, so the easier it is to work with.  It may also be the difference in the type of copper used.  I've seen product descriptions for Edco that say they use "dead soft copper."  This is the softest copper available and the hardness or softness of copper has to do with the manufacturer of the copper and the annealing process they employ.  I would wager a guess that VentureTape does not use "dead soft copper" because it feels much more rigid when I work with it.

Are there other copper foil brands easily accessible out there, and what have you worked with?  I'm always open to trying new brands, I just haven't seen any locally to try.  If you're interested in hunting down some Edco foil, let me know and I'll be happy to help you find it.

So it's been a rough several weeks dealing with the claim process for my damaged kiln.  It was delivered to me and it wasn't until we attempted to set it up that the really bad damage became apparent.  It was unusable.  The base was so terribly bent, it couldn't sit properly on the floor.  There was also a huge gouge in the side of the kiln.  I was a very sad glass girl.  I opened a claim with the freight company on my end and promptly got in touch with Dave at Anything In Stained Glass (where I purchased my kiln), and he promptly got in touch with Olympic (kiln manufacturer).  Olympic also opened a claim with the freight company on their end and immediately started building me a new kiln.  The manufacturing usually takes about 3 weeks depending on other existing orders, but through their awesomeness, they fast-tracked it and they were able to ship my new kiln and base yesterday!

But what about the damaged kiln?  The freight company denied my claim because they thought I was claiming too much.  I only claimed the cost of the kiln and the shipping.  I guess Olympic is having more success with them because last Friday a truck showed up to pick up my damaged kiln.  Great, right?  No.  No one called me to tell me they were coming, so the kiln wasn't ready for pickup.  The driver was nice and said they'd be back next week and I stressed to him that if no one calls me, the kiln won't be ready and I can't guarantee anyone will be here to receive him.  Fast forward through the weekend, and now it's Monday.  I took initiative and called the freight company on Monday because they've proven to be completely incompetent in several areas, and yes indeed ... they were coming to get the kiln that day.  Their dispatch didn't call me.  Again.  Thankfully because I have a functioning brain, a wonderful boyfriend, and a generous brother, we were able to get the kiln packed up and strapped to the pallet before the driver arrived to pick it up.  I told the driver when he arrived that no one called to let me know he was coming.  He was astonished that dispatch hadn't called me.  He said he told them several times that they had to call me - I believe him.  I'm starting to think that the driver (same guy each time so far) and the girl who answers the phone at their main office are the only two competent people working for this company.

So what happens next?  My kiln is about to hit their hub in Fredericksburg, VA.  From there, it'll come to me.  I'm assuming this will happen today because it should be in Fredericksburg within the hour and I haven't received a call from the freight company.  Not getting a call from them seems more of an indicator that they'll be there than they won't.  I can't wait to get this baby set up and show you all.  Hopefully this time they will have managed to not destroy expensive equipment again.  We'll see!

Stay tuned for the resolution.  I'll be sharing the freight company's name, showing all the gory photos of the damaged kiln, and sharing photos of the new one and just how much it can hold!