The kiln room at Daffodils HQ is a real hive of activity. Firstly it houses the three kilns, generously supplied by Northern Kilns, in which the daffodils are both bisque and glaze fired. The first bisque firing is at 1000 degrees for 13.5 hours with the kiln taking a further 15 hours to cool down. For the second glaze firing the kiln operates at a whopping 1222 degrees and again takes a further 15 hours to cool down. It is a very carefully calculated process as you can imagine!

With all this heat going on, the kiln room helpfully provides a warm and cosy environment in which the clay can be stored and then prepared every day to be ready for the production process. Nick Ratcliffe (married to Helen) has been running an incredibly slick operation and is aided by yet more wonderful volunteers who help to roll, wedge and prepare the clay. The blocks of clay are carefully sliced and then put through the mechanical roller which then produces the large slabs of clay from which the daffodil petals are cut. The other important role is to prepare the trumpets for the daffodils. This is done by pushing the clay though an extruder which in turn generates a long tube which is then cut into short lengths. These jobs definitely require a lot of hard physical graft and as ever we could not do this without our kiln room helpers – huge thanks to you all, you are amazing!