Marketing tip: if you're gonna fire them in a kiln, might as well glaze them while you're at it. Fire once, apply glaze, fire again. Kilns are also expensive, so you might want to look into maybe getting the use of someone else's kiln. There has to be a shop/studio around you that you could make a deal with, rather than buying your own.
yeah i was hoping to make use of one at the university i'm going to. i just have to make friends with the art department (which will be easy as i'm a drawing and painting major) while i do like the look of just the bare clay, i'm definitely glazing some