Taster evening
a person, from$55
- Time on the wheel with a tutor beside you
- Make two or three pots and choose one to keep
- We trim, glaze and fire it for you
- Ready to collect three weeks later
Throw your first bowl this week
Wheel throwing and hand building classes for beginners and returning potters, two hour taster evenings, and a studio membership with shelf space and firings. No class is larger than eight, so a tutor is never more than a few steps from your wheel.
8 placesin every class and course
2 firingsfor every piece you glaze
3 weeksfrom the wheel to your shelf
- Classes of eight or fewer
- Clay, tools and aprons included
- Evening and weekend sessions
- Vouchers for taster evenings
Courses and taster evenings
Every class includes the clay, tools, aprons and the firing of the pieces you keep. Start with a taster if you have never touched a wheel, or go straight into a course.
Six week wheel course
a person, from$320
- Centring, opening, pulling walls and trimming
- A glazing night in week five
- 12.5 kg of clay and every firing included
- Practice time on Sunday afternoons while the course runs
Hand building course
a person, from$260
- Pinch pots, coils and slabs
- A planter, a lidded box and a pair of plates
- Coloured slips and underglaze decoration
- Seated at a table, for anyone who would rather not use a wheel
A place is held for 48 hours once we accept your request, while you pay the studio directly. Miss a session and you can make it up on another night of the same course when a wheel is spare.
Ten wheels, two kilns and a long table by the window
The studio fills the ground floor of an old print works, with ten electric wheels along one wall and a hand building table under the windows. Tutors are working potters who sell their own pieces, and there is one tutor for every eight people in a class.
Both kilns are loaded and fired by the studio team, so nobody has to learn firing schedules before they are ready. Glazes are mixed here in small batches and tested on tiles that hang above the glazing bench, which lets you see a colour on real clay before you dip a pot.
- Wheels with seats that adjust in height
- Wedged clay ready at the start of every class
- Studio glazes tested for use with food
Studio membership
For potters who can centre and trim on their own and need a wheel, a shelf and a kiln. Members join after a course with us or after a short session with a tutor at the wheel.
| Membership | When you can come | Shelf space | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekday | Tuesday to Friday, 10:00 to 17:00 | One shelf | $95 a month |
| Full | Every open studio hour, evenings and weekends included | Two shelves | $150 a month |
| Ten visits | Any open studio hours within three months | One shelf | $120 for ten |
Members buy clay from the studio by the bag, and firings are charged by the shelf: $12 for a bisque firing and $16 for a glaze firing. Wheel time is booked on the studio board each week.
How a lump of clay becomes a pot you can drink from
Every piece passes through the same five stages, and most take about three weeks from the wheel to the collection shelf.
Throw or build
You shape the piece on the wheel or by hand, and it rests under plastic so it dries slowly and evenly.
Trim
Two to four days later the clay is leather hard. You trim a foot ring, pull a handle or carve a pattern.
Bisque firing
Once bone dry, the piece is fired to about 1,000 °C, which turns soft clay into a hard, porous pot.
Glaze
You choose a studio glaze and dip, pour or brush it on. A tutor checks the base is clean so nothing sticks to the shelf.
Glaze firing
A second firing to about 1,240 °C melts the glaze into glass, and the pot waits on your shelf to be collected.
Glazes on the bench
Twelve glazes are mixed in the studio, and these four are the ones people reach for first. Each one shifts with the thickness of the coat and the clay beneath, so the test tiles show both.
CeladonPale sea green that pools darker in carved lines
TenmokuGlossy iron black that breaks to rust on the rims
OatmealSatin cream with brown specks from the clay body
CobaltDeep blue, at its strongest on white stoneware
Pots from the collection shelf
Work by students and members, photographed before it went home.
Notes from the wheel (example reviews)
The tutor had the clay centred with us in the first ten minutes, and by the end of the evening there were two wobbly but proper bowls on the board. The one we kept is now the fruit bowl.
Six weeks took this student from collapsing cylinders to a set of four mugs with handles that stay on. The Sunday practice time made all the difference.
Shelf space, a kiln that is fired properly and glazes that behave the same every time. Membership costs less than running a kiln at home, and the company is better.
Before your first class
Do beginners need any experience?
None at all. The taster evening and both courses start from the first touch of clay, and a tutor shows each step at the wheel before you try it.
What should be worn to class?
Clothes that can get muddy and short nails. Aprons are provided, and clay washes out of most fabrics in an ordinary wash.
When can finished pieces be collected?
About three weeks after the class, once both firings are done. We email when your shelf is ready, and pieces are kept for eight weeks after that.
Can a class be moved or cancelled?
Move or cancel up to seven days before the first session and the fee is returned or carried to another date. After that, your place can be passed to a friend at no cost.
Can the pots be used for food?
Pieces glazed inside with the studio's food glazes are fired to stoneware temperature and can be used for food and drink. A few decorative glazes are marked on the test board as outside only.
Can a group book a private session?
Yes, for four to eight people on a Friday evening or a weekend afternoon. Choose the private session on the form and tell us the occasion.
Book a class
Choose a class and a start date. A tutor writes back before the studio shuts on the following working day, with your place confirmed or the closest date that still has a wheel open. Payment is arranged directly with the studio once the place is confirmed.
- An answer by the next working day
- Places held for 48 hours
- Bookings can move up to seven days before
Find the studio
Drop in during open hours to see the wheels and the test tiles before you book.
Reach the studio
Ground floor of a converted print works by the canal, with a level entrance from the yard
Studio hours
| Tuesday to Thursday | 10:00 to 21:30 |
| Friday | 10:00 to 17:00 |
| Saturday and Sunday | 09:30 to 17:30 |
| Monday | Closed for kiln firing |
Gift vouchers
A voucher covers a taster evening or a full course and stays valid for twelve months. Ask for one in a message and we post or email it the same week.