| Handmade Stoneware sinks - BUILT WITH COMFORT, QUALITY, AND ECOLOGY IN MIND. |
| Stoneware Vessels... Artist, Edward Racicot, starts with his own unique blend of stoneware clays to make each pottery sink by hand on the potters' wheel. Because the sinks are made of ceramic stoneware, each is extremely durable, comparable to the china sinks found in most bathrooms. Quality is paramount in both our Stoneware sinks and vanities. All our bathroom sinks are guaranteed to be compatible with standard US plumbing. All of our work carries a full three year warranty against manufacturing defects. |
About the Artist...
Edward Weston wrote “ I would say to any artist – don’t be repressed in your work – dare to
experiment, consider any urge – if in a new direction – all the better! Our time is becoming
more and more bound by logic, absolute rationalism! This is a strait jacket – it is the
boredom – narrowness which rises directly from mediocre mass thinking! The great
scientist dares to differ from accepted facts – let the artist do likewise.”
It is from this quote that Ed Racicot draws his inspiration and formed his views on working as
an artist. Daring to be different, Ed’s goal is not to make as much art as possible, but
instead to create a few finely made examples of art that please him. If these pieces are
appealing to you, then all the better.
Graduating with Honors in Art, and winning an Art scholarship in high school, Ed graduated
with his BA (Magna Cum Laude) from Johnson State College. He also holds an AS in
Business Management.
Vermont Art Sinks uses recycled rigid foams to pack the ceramic sinks (and accessories) we send out to our customers. We use this
already used polystyrene, because it provides excellent protection from breakage for our product. And, by using a recycled packaging
material, we do not create demand for new disposable packaging materials.
For our cardboard boxes, we use a combination of new and used products. Many of the boxes we use have been used before (you
may see names of the previous products inhabitants on the recycled box). While our primary goal is to make sure that your products
arrive safely, without damage, we also try to cut down on the amount of virgin packing material we use.
As McDonald's Restaurant discovered late in the last century, the use of polystyrene foam products is an excellent, efficient way to
package materials, but back then they carried a horrible ecological crutch with them. A lot has changed in 20+ years, and we are now
able to recycle this once non-recyclable product. Do try to recycle packaging materials that you get from us. Think about its possible
uses before you throw it away. Contact your local recycling center to see what can be recycled in your geographic area.
The more uses we can get from a product, once it has already been made, cuts down on its initial environmental footprint.
| This site and all contents Copyright © 2004 - 2010 ~ Vermont Art Sinks LLC. All rights reserved. |
Ed makes each sink using a unique blend of clays that he developed for both
strength and durability. He then throws each stoneware pottery sink by hand on
the Potter’s Wheel. While forming the ceramic sink, Ed makes sure the shape is
both functional and pleasing to the eye, while also taking exacting pains to ensure
drain holes will match pluming fixtures once the vessels have shrunk (a normal
part of both the drying and firing process) to their final size.
Once he has crafted the ceramic sink on the Potter’s Wheel, the sinks are put
aside to dry to a state called ‘leather hard’. Depending on humidity, it takes about
three days to achieve this state. Once leather hard, another day is spent trimming
the stoneware pottery sinks. It is here that Ed puts the final touches on the piece to
perfect the shape. This is also the last opportunity to affect the pliable clay.
strength and durability. He then throws each stoneware pottery sink by hand on
the Potter’s Wheel. While forming the ceramic sink, Ed makes sure the shape is
both functional and pleasing to the eye, while also taking exacting pains to ensure
drain holes will match pluming fixtures once the vessels have shrunk (a normal
part of both the drying and firing process) to their final size.
Once he has crafted the ceramic sink on the Potter’s Wheel, the sinks are put
aside to dry to a state called ‘leather hard’. Depending on humidity, it takes about
three days to achieve this state. Once leather hard, another day is spent trimming
the stoneware pottery sinks. It is here that Ed puts the final touches on the piece to
perfect the shape. This is also the last opportunity to affect the pliable clay.
| Our name... |
| Buy with Confidence… Our goal is 100% satisfaction. We treat you the way that we want to be treated as a consumer. |
This sink is not only green in color, but also 'green' in how it was made. All of our sinks are made from 33% recycled clay. Vermont Art Sinks practices many earth friendly procedures. Recycling our clay scraps into new throwing clay is just one of the many ways we are doing our part to keep the planet green. |
| Vessel Sinks Florence Uptown Liberty Underhill Delta Sarefire Scheffley Self Rimming Sinks Underhill Liberty Under Mount Sinks Underhill One of a Style Sinks Seconds |
Trimmed, the ceramic sinks are then left to slowly dry, for up to three weeks. When bone dry (no longer cool to the touch), the pottery sinks
are again placed on the Potter’s Wheel where they artfully receive their glazes (colors). To glaze the ceramic sinks, Ed uses a technique
that he learned from a fellow potter (George Scatchard). This glazing technique requires a great deal of skill since glazes are applied while
the bathroom sink is spinning on the wheel, using a brush and an applicator. This method demands an exact application and can take
many years to perfect. It is one of the reasons that Ed’s work shows unique depth, and striping, and why he is able to once fire his work (no
bisque firing). Skipping this bisque firing saves about 70% of the energy used in a glaze fire.
After glazes are applied, another day is spent drying the stoneware pottery sinks. When dry, the art sink then goes into the kiln, where it
fires to over 2200 degrees. This firing takes place over a period of 18 hours. A slow firing time enhances the colors on the ceramic sinks
as well as adds to their durability and hardness. A well balanced clay body, slow firing and slow cooling all add to the excellent thermal
shock properties of Ed’s clay body (thermal shock resistance is what keeps the ceramic sink from breaking as you go from cold water to
boiling hot or vice versa allowing it to expand and contract with the glaze as one). In each kiln load there are usually about three unique
bathroom sinks as well as a few accessories and some glaze tests. Fully fired, the kiln and its load of stoneware sinks has to cool. Cooling
the kiln takes about 15 hours. The Vermont Art Sinks are then ready to receive their drains.
Ed Racicot founded Vermont Art Sinks in the basement of an old Victorian apartment house that he owned. Since that time we have
grown, moving several times. While we have kept the name Vermont Art Sinks, in the spring of 2010 we moved our whole lives (business
and all) to the greater Asheville area of Western North Carolina. While it was a difficult decision to leave Vermont, the long cold winters
had gotten to us and it was time to enjoy some of the better weather offered in this area (NC) of the country. So, while our name remains
Vermont Art Sinks, we are now making all products in the South Western part of North Carolina.
grown, moving several times. While we have kept the name Vermont Art Sinks, in the spring of 2010 we moved our whole lives (business
and all) to the greater Asheville area of Western North Carolina. While it was a difficult decision to leave Vermont, the long cold winters
had gotten to us and it was time to enjoy some of the better weather offered in this area (NC) of the country. So, while our name remains
Vermont Art Sinks, we are now making all products in the South Western part of North Carolina.
| The process.... |
| Packing and Shipping Materials.... |
| About the Artist.... |