Gerstley, Custer and EPK issues

As the recent news of the demise of Custer Feldspar spreads, we want share what we know and what we are doing. Custer is a potash feldspar, used in almost every clay body made by most manufacturers and is also used in many many glaze recipes. We are being told this is a temporary issue, however, we are moving forward as if it is permanent.  G200EU is a reasonable substitute, although much more expensive as it comes from France.  Our manufacturing partner, Kansas Clay, is doing significant testing over the next few months with the G200EU as a replacement in its clay bodies.  We feel certain that Aardvark, Laguna, and Standard are reformulating their clays as well.  Please be prepared for minor changes in clay bodies and how glazes fit. 
As you are likely aware by now, Gerstley Borate, a popular glaze material is no longer available.  This IS permanent.  We have a small supply left and are limited customers to no more than one pound. We have had good luck replacing it with Gillespie Borate, but please also test in your own conditions.  

EPK, another glaze staple, is still being mined, but is very hard to get. We do have EPK available in limited quantities currently.  

We are enforcing some fairly strict rules in regards to these and future materials to face shortages.  We protect our loyal and long term customers by not allowing sales to any new customers.  We will also restrict existing customers to roughly their "regular" amount of a material, or a reasonable amount to have while formulating substitutions.