Howdy Ceramics Folks,
I wanted to share an update on what we’ve been working on in the glaze lab. Next week, we’ll be rolling out two new dipping glazes for member use:
Floating Blue
Floating Blue fires to a dynamic, layered blue with soft movement and natural variation, ranging from bright sky blue to deeper denim tones. The color breaks lighter over texture and edges while pooling richer in recesses, giving the surface a sense of depth and motion. Because the color comes from raw oxides, it actively interacts with other glazes—blending, bleeding, and shifting at overlaps—making it great for layering and surface experimentation.
Dipping recommendation: Apply two short dips for a full Floating Blue effect. Applications that are too thin may fire greenish rather than blue.
Floating Blue is meant as a replacement for the Mayco Stoned Denim we currently offer.
Glossy Black
Glossy Black is a smooth, opaque true black with consistent coverage and a clean, even finish. It fires reliably at cone 5–6 with minimal running, making it a dependable studio black. Because the color comes from a ceramic stain rather than raw oxides, it remains stable in firing and layers cleanly with other glazes without bleeding, breaking, or unexpected color shifts (similar to the celadons).
Dipping recommendation: Apply one to two short (~3 second) dips.
Test tiles fired in the Asmbly kilns:
I’m also excited to share that @NickE mixed up the next three additions to our glaze lineup today. We’ll be testing and fine-tuning these over the next couple of weeks ahead of their rollout:
- Floating Pink
- Floating Rutile
- Glossy White
Example intended results:
A note on Glossy White vs. Ivory
We currently offer Ivory as our studio glossy white, but we’ve heard feedback that a more opaque “liner white” may be preferred. Since we only have capacity for a limited number of glazes, we’re hesitant to permanently carry two whites. Our plan is to release Glossy White, allow time for use and testing, then solicit feedback to decide which glaze to keep long-term.
Labels, info, and ongoing improvements
With these new glazes, we’re rolling out standardized glaze bucket labels that include the glaze name, cone rating, and dipping recommendations.
We’ll also be adding standardized test tiles to the test tile board for each dipping glaze as recipes are finalized. These will replace the tiles currently sitting on the buckets.
We’re continuing to dial in things like glaze drying time as we mix new batches of our existing dipping glazes as well.
Final thoughts
Huge thanks to @NickE, @jade, and everyone else who has helped get dipping glazes off the ground at Asmbly. It’s been a big lift—and, like most things in ceramics, involves plenty of “hurry up and wait.”
If you have questions, feedback, or thoughts about dipping glazes, feel free to reply here or reach out to me directly.
If you’re interested in volunteering to help mix glazes, Nick will post details about next month’s volunteer opportunity about a week in advance.
Happy glazing! 
