I purchased my North Star slab roller for my first home studio in 1988. It was one of the first brand new pieces of pottery equipment I ever bought. My kiln and wheel were second-hand purchases. I was just beginning to explore clay hand-building methods and decided this investment was important. Over the last 30 years, I’ve bought and replaced my electric wheel and kiln a few times. My North Star slab roller has travelled with me to each new studio space as we’ve moved.
As the years have passed and my clay creations have evolved into mostly hand-building methods, my slab roller became the workhorse of my studio. If and when a part needed replacement, a quick call to the manufacturer resulted in immediate help, little or no cost to me and helpful handholding and guidance as I repaired and refurbished the equipment.
Recently, I noticed the slab roller was not performing up to its usual standard. The rolled clay was not exactly uniform and it was hard to turn to wagon wheel to flatten out the clay. A call to North Star determined the slab roller might have to be refurbished by the manufacturer or replaced entirely. Because the company honors its LIFETIME WARRANTY, the cost to me was minimal.
I packaged up and shipped the central slab roller section to North Star headquarters in Cheney, Washington. Soon after it arrived, I was notified it would be entirely replaced with a brand new set including an updated design of the wagon wheel. To me, that exemplifies the meaning of integrity. It reminds me to pay that value forward. When is integrity important? Always.