Studio Systems Design Services
Fired Sunflower Pottery LLC plans, builds and supports the studio-side systems that keep a working pottery running. Every engagement is fitted to one room, one set of kilns and one team of makers. The six services below are the brushes we reach for most often.
Service 01
Kiln Control System Integration
The kiln is the heartbeat of a studio, and a firing that nobody can read is a firing that cannot be repeated. We connect your kiln controller to the studio network so that every load reports its own story: the ramp rate, the top temperature, the hold and the cool down. Instead of a cone pack and a scrap of paper, the studio gets a simple view where each firing is named, dated and stored. We work with the controllers you already own wherever possible, and we add sensors and gateways only where they earn their place.
The integration also becomes a safety net. If a firing runs long or the room gets hotter than expected, the system raises a clear alert to the phone or screen the studio trusts. If a controller is offline when a load is due, the studio knows before the kiln is filled. Because the firing history is stored together with the rest of the studio records, a maker can compare two glazes, two seasons or two kilns and learn from the difference. This is the kind of quiet reliability that lets a studio schedule with confidence.
- Controller to network wiring and gateway configuration
- Firing profile logging with plain labels and dates
- Temperature and duration alerts routed to the right device
- Historical firing records kept with your studio data
Service 02
Studio Inventory Platforms
A pottery studio is a small warehouse that never stops moving. Clay arrives by the box, glaze by the bottle, bisque blanks by the case, and finished work leaves one piece at a time. A studio inventory platform from Fired Sunflower Pottery LLC puts all of that movement in one place. We count what you have, set a sensible reorder point for each material, and build a short weekly view that tells the studio what needs attention before a shelf runs bare.
The platform is designed for hands that are often covered in clay. Screens are large, labels are plain and counts can be adjusted in a few taps. We connect the inventory to the storefront and the point of sale so that a finished vase leaving the shelf updates the count automatically, and an online sale draws down the same number. When the studio grows, the platform grows with it, supporting more shelves, more materials and more locations without a painful migration. The result is a studio that always knows what it owns.
- Material, blank and finished goods counts in one view
- Reorder points with a short weekly low stock note
- Simple counting screens built for studio conditions
- Growth ready structure for extra shelves and locations
Service 03
Custom Order Tracking
Custom commissions are the pride of a studio and the easiest thing to lose. A customer orders a set of dinner plates in a specific color, pays a deposit, and then waits while the studio forms, dries, paints, fires and finishes the work. Custom order tracking gives each commission a clear status and a shared history. The studio sees a single board of what is due, what is drying and what is ready to fire. The customer receives friendly updates in plain language at each stage, which reduces the anxious emails that eat a maker daytime.
We also tie tracking to the deposit and balance so that money and work stay in agreement. A commission cannot quietly leave the studio without its final payment, and a customer cannot be surprised by a bill that was never discussed. Photographs from the bench can be attached to the order, giving a lovely record of the piece as it comes to life. When a custom order system is done well, both the maker and the buyer feel calmer, and the relationship that surrounds a handmade object becomes as considered as the object itself.
- Stage based status from deposit to pickup
- Plain language customer updates at each step
- Deposit and balance tracked beside the work
- Bench photographs attached to the order history
Service 04
Storefront and POS Integration
Most studios sell in two places at once: a website and a counter. When those two places disagree, the studio oversells a piece online that already left the shelf, or it keeps a sold item listed for weeks. Storefront and POS integration from Fired Sunflower Pottery LLC welds the two together. A sale at the counter records itself, reduces the shelf count and updates the web listing in the same motion. A sale on the website appears as a packing task and draws down the same inventory.
We connect the card reader, the storefront and the inventory into one honest picture, and we keep the setup modest. No studio needs a complicated retail stack to sell a hundred mugs a month. What it needs is a system where the numbers agree, the packing list is clear and the customer gets a correct confirmation. We also help with the small details that make a difference, such as pickup options, local delivery notes and a simple report that shows what actually sold. When the counter and the storefront finally agree, the studio stops apologizing and starts selling.
- Card reader, storefront and inventory in one loop
- Automatic listing updates after every sale
- Clear packing and pickup lists for online orders
- Simple sales reports that show what truly moved
Service 05
Studio Network and Wi-Fi Design
A studio network has to survive clay dust, heat, water and metal. A network that works in an office will often disappoint in a pottery room, so we design for the room you actually have. We survey the space, mark where the kilns, printers and benches sit, and place access points where the signal will reach without being defeated by a metal shelf or a brick wall. Machines that must not fail, such as kiln gateways and receipt printers, get a stable wired path, while phones, tablets and guest devices ride a separate wireless network.
We also keep the studio safe. Guest traffic is separated from the devices that run the business, so a visitor on the coffee shop Wi-Fi cannot reach the inventory platform. Firmware is kept current, default passwords are retired and documentation is left behind so the studio knows what lives where. If a larger studio has a back room, a loading area or a second floor, we extend coverage thoughtfully rather than stacking cheap repeaters that create more problems than they solve. The goal is a network that fades into the walls and is noticed only when a job is done quickly.
- Room survey and access point placement
- Wired paths for kiln gateways and printers
- Separate guest and business wireless networks
- Current firmware, strong passwords and clear documentation
Service 06
Data Backup for Studio Records
Years of order history, customer notes, firing logs and product photographs can vanish in a single failed drive. Data backup for studio records protects that work on a schedule the studio does not have to remember. We set automatic backups that run quietly through the night, keep more than one copy in more than one place, and test a restore so the studio knows the backup is real rather than hopeful. When a laptop is dropped or a hard drive simply stops, recovery is a matter of hours, not weeks.
We also bring order to the files themselves. Before any backup runs, we help the studio decide what must be kept, what can be archived and what should never be stored at all. Customer payment details, for example, are kept out of informal folders and left to the payment provider where they belong. The remaining records are named consistently, organised by year and protected. On a quiet Friday, we run a restore drill so that everyone knows the drill. A studio that trusts its records can take risks with its craft, and that confidence is worth far more than the disks it rests on.
- Automatic nightly backups on a set schedule
- More than one copy in more than one location
- Tested restore drills to prove the backup works
- Sensible file organisation that keeps payment data out
How the Work Unfolds
We keep engagements short and legible. First we walk the studio and listen, then we return a painted plan with systems, hardware, costs and timeline in plain language. Once the plan is agreed, we build, connect and test each piece against real studio conditions. Finally we hand over a written guide, train the people who will use the system, and stay available through a support window. Throughout, the studio keeps working, because our job is to support the work, not interrupt it. To begin, send a note through the contact page or return to the homepage for the full studio story.