Author: Michael Wendt

I started my career in clay in 1973. By the mid 70s, I was hauling and grinding the sedimentary clay from Helmer Idaho and selling it to the University of Idaho, Washington State University, and the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Today, I supply this clay to users all over the USA and am currently seeking to create a permanent, long-term clay operation that will supply it for many years to come. The mine's reserves are 1.6 million tons, enough to last hundreds of years at current usage levels.

Helmer Kaolin

Good news… thanks to a long term contract with a local brick maker, the mine is now open and in operation every summer assuring a steady supply of Helmer for years to come! Helmer is a strong, easy to form light colored sedimentary kaolin that performs well in both throwing and casting bodies. It is especially suited for wood fire applications due to the colloidal iron content which causes it to flash beautifully in wood fire applications.

Here are the current links to my additional pages:

https://helmerkaolin.com/mixed-clay  shows the clay mixing equipment

https://helmerkaolin.com/bulk-chemistry   gives the bulk chemistry of the clay

https://helmerkaolin.com/helmer-mine-tour   lets you see the mine tour

https://helmerkaolin.com/clay-processing  shows clay processing

Home

Click on the link below to see some YouTube videos about the Helmer Kaolin porcelain clay body I work with. To order, just contact me by phone at 208 746 3724

Email me at mwendt@wendtpottery.com and be sure to type “yb1” in the subject line because I filter spam that way since I get 300-400 spam emails per day.

https://plus.google.com/111148667628352646817