If you want to try slip casting (and who doesn’t!) then you’ll need some molds. Ceramic molds are easy to find if you know where to look. I have created this guide to get you started on your way and once you go down this rabbit hole there is no telling where you’ll come out!
Cragslist.
Your first stop is to check out www.craigslist.com. Just search for ceramic molds in your area under the for sale section and I can almost guarantee wherever you live there will be ceramic molds for sale or even for free! I recently picked up over 400 molds from a from a Craigslist post. A woman was no longer slip casting and just wanted to have them out of her way. All I had to go is go pick them up. If you go this route you want to find out the condition of the molds. If they have been left out for years in the rain and snow then most likely they won’t be any good and may have critters living in them as well! Also if you do go pick up molds make sure you take someone with you, never meet up with people from Craigslist alone.
Ebay
There are many people selling molds in various conditions on Ebay. The great thing about Ebay is that there is a good selection and if you want a specific mold you can usually find it there. Also there are often many images of the mold so you get a good idea as to the condition it is in. The downside is shipping cost are high. You may get a great deal on the mold but pay dearly for the shipping. To be fair molds are heavy and do need to be packed and shipped carefully so I totally get why the shipping is so high. As you can see from the image on the right this seller didn’t pack very well and the mold arrived broken. I let him know and he refunded me cost and let me keep the mold. Which I was able to repair, yay me! My advice is to look around and see what different sellers are offering and their shipping rates. Some are reasonable while others seem usually high. Check out their reviews and message them if you have any questions.
Websites
If you just do a google search for ceramic molds you’ll get quite a few websites that sell them. Some good ones I have found are: www.debmark.com and www.starlitemolds.com
There are very few manufacturers that are still making molds but it is interesting to note is that on www.hollandmolds.com it states that they will start production of new molds soon and that they will post info in April 2018. This is really good news since Holland makes some of my favorite molds!
Facebook Groups
If you know the mold you want facebook groups can be fantastic. Two I particularly like are: Vintage Ceramic Molds & Bisque and Ceramic Molds for sale. I was recently looking for a unicorn mold of a figurine my grandmother made for me years ago. I still had the original unicorn she made me with the horn I had broken years ago. I uploaded the picture and asked if anyone had it and I was able to find the mold from a lovely woman in Canada. The shipping was outrageous but I now have the mold and can cast the same unicorn my grandmother made for me for my own children. That to me is priceless and well worth the shipping!
These are just a few places to look to get you started on your ceramic mold adventure. If you find other websites and sources as you go along you are more than welcome to share them in the comments.
I wish you good fortune and happy hunting!