FAQ’s 

We hope to make your experience as relaxing and straight forward as possible. Here’s some answers to those common queries.

If you can’t find your answer here - please get in touch :)

For pottery painting booking the short answer is yes. You are totally welcome to pop in, however to guarantee we have space for you booking is heavily recommended, especially if you’re visiting with 4+ people, on a rainy day or during holidays. Our weekends usually book up a couple weeks in advance.

When you are booking please let us know the total number of people who are attending, this includes anyone who is not planning on painting as you’ll still need a seat.

Book here →

For Painting pottery the price is individual to the piece of the pottery you choose to paint. Pottery is priced £10 – 45 depending on the size of the piece you choose. Learn more about painting experiences here →

Making pottery starts at £36pp which includes includes making two pots each and returning to paint them approx. 4-8 weeks later. This price includes all materials, tutoring, glazing and firings. See more making packages here →

We offer pottery painting discounts for student societies if you book for our discount days.

If you’re coming with a group of 6+ take a look at the different packages we offer for making and painting.

It takes us up to 3-5 weeks to glaze and fire your pottery, ready for you to collect. If you need a piece urgently, let us know and we’ll do our very best to be super speedy! (During busy periods like Christmas, this may not be possible due to everyone wanting their pieces ready for Christmas) Glazing and firing takes at least 72 hrs as our kilns heat up to 1000°C to make your piece bright, shiny and useable, once they reach this top temperature we slowly cool back down to 100°C ready for us to unload.

If you are just visiting us we offer a post and packing service which is priced £5-15 or £2pp+ for large groups if being sent to one address.

People of all ages are welcome! We have something to offer all ages and abilities, so whether you’re visiting with babies, children, teens, grown ups, on your own or with a dog – give us a call and see what we can offer for you.

We pride ourselves on ensuring everyone, no matter their age or ability enjoys their experience and has something handmade and unique to take home and feel proud of.  Whatever reason you choose to visit us, we’ll offer each of you a little slice of calm and creativity in your busy lives.

Pottery painting is suitable for all ages.

Taster throwing is suitable for those aged 12+. If you have already bought a gift voucher for some aged 10 or 11 before 22nd March 2024 please send us an email.

Our hand building events and skills sessions are strictly only suitable for adults.

To book to paint your thrown pots, please using the normal painting booking page. Please read the instructions above the calendar before booking. On the form, it will ask for your ticket reference which will be the letter and number code from the receipt we gave you are the start of the throwing lesson, it will look something like CC-114.

Your receipt will show the month period that you can come back to paint during, if you cannot come during this period, please collect your pots from the studio using your ticket reference - letting us know they’re unpainted, and you can book in to paint them at a later date.

Vouchers are valid for 1 year from the date wrote on them. For our full t&c’s click here.

To book with your taster throwing voucher please use our making page. Make sure you read the instructions above the calendar before booking. Our sessions are usually fully booked 3.5-4 months in advance, so you may have to scroll a little to find availability.

As long as you book to use your making voucher before it expires, your taster throwing session can be outside of the year window. Sessions with expired vouchers cannot be rearranged.

We can post it to you! We offer a post and packing service which is priced £5-15 based on the size / number of items you require posting, or £2pp for large groups. Post takes approximately 6-8 weeks.

Yes, once your pottery has been glazed and fired it can be used for eating and drinking out of. After use it should be washed by hand, rather than in the dishwasher. We advise against microwaving your pieces as they are not ‘microwave safe’ and get very hot!

We say, treat it like the precious family heirloom it could become. By all means enjoy using your wonderful creations, but treat them with the love and care they deserve.

The paint is water based, this means the colours generally do wash out of clothes (sometimes the very dark greens can take a bit of work to wash out). Aprons are limited in the studio, you’re welcome to bring your own along if you’re worried about getting messy, and would advise that as with most creative activities, perhaps you may not wear your favourite clothes just in case!

The clay we use is grey in colour and therefore does not stain clothing, and can be easily cleaned in the wash, or if it’s on shoes leave it to dry and brush it off.

Yes, yes, yes! We’ve designed the experience so that anyone, no matter their creative ability can create something. Before you start making or painting we’ll explain everything you need to know, and we’re always happy to support and advise you as you’re creating (in fact we love helping people and teaching new skills, please ask us all the questions in the world!)

If you think you’re ‘not creative’ or ‘haven't held a paint brush since school’ come along, give it a go and we’re sure you’ll surprise yourself.

If you love what we do and want to be part of it, send us a CV and we’ll keep it on file until a role that suits you opens up.

When job vacancies come up, we post about them on our social media, so make sure to follow and like our page to keep an eye out.

There are a limited number of free parking spaces in front of the shop, and we’re surrounded by paid parking. As an environmentally conscious business, we hope that you’ll consider carpooling, walking and using public transport when possible. The street is permit free between 9:30am-5pm however we ask that you be considerate of our neighbours and again use public transport or carpool where possible.

Start planning your visit by discovering how to find us.

The main floor of The Pottery Experience is at ground level, and does not have a step. This means, painting and making experiences are accessible to all, however unfortunately toilet facilities are located up a flight of stairs.

If you are visiting in a wheelchair/mobility scooter please mention this when booking and we will do our very best to make your visit as easily accessible as possible.

We have a menu of delightful hot and cold drinks and tasty vegan cakes to power you while you get creative. We do our best to cater for all requirements, and offer milk-alternatives as well as vegan cakes.

We do not serve alcohol, however you’re welcome to bring a bottle of something fizzy to add to get your creativity flowing. Please ask us for wine glasses rather than bringing plastic ones with you.

Our gorgeous space can hold up to approximately 36 people in total, with 18 people in the main area and an additional 18 people in the mezzanine area.

On quiet days, providing your dog is friendly, quiet and calm then yes you’re welcome to bring them along. Our overly friendly four legged friend Leo sometimes pops in to say hello on quiet days and has been known to create his own paw-fect pieces.

If your dog is reactive or barks a lot and disrupts other customers experience, your dog will be asked to leave. We constantly have people coming and going, so if your dog will bark every time someone comes in or passes them, please consider this before bringing them along.

If you are bringing your pooch along, please let us know when you book.

We try our best to ensure that every aspect of the creative journey you take with us is fun and enjoyable. The final part of this journey involves the glazing and firing of your pottery up to temperatures in excess of 1000˚C. This process is carried out onsite by our studio assistants who treat each piece with the greatest love, care and attention.

We strive for perfection with every piece, however the kiln gods are not always on our side.

Handmade pieces: please be aware that sometimes items can crack or at worst explode in the kiln.  If you have lost your pot in the kiln in this way we will offer you a spare as a replacement.

Painted ready made pieces: Occasionally glaze spotting can occur, as well as surface imperfections such as tiny bumps caused by brick dust flying around the kiln as it heats up, this dust can settle on items as the kiln temperature cools. If we feel it is safe to do so, we will try to fix glazing issues by re-firing the pottery. In the exceptional event of a piece of painted ready-made pottery cracking in the kiln we will offer compensation by way of a replacement voucher.

We hope you understand that we do everything we can to try and prevent such things, however it is not always possible. The unpredictable element can be both the charm and frustration of ceramics.

If you need to continue your painting another day you can ask to get your pottery wrapped up to take home and bring it back in the future to continue painting. We can’t accept any responsibility for your pottery once it leaves the studio.

There is a fee of £10pp if you choose to continue painting on a weekend or a bank holiday. If you return on a weekday the continuation fee is £5pp. Please book a table for when you return to paint. Drinks and cakes are an additional cost.

All of the underglazes and clay we use are safe for pregnancies. The only thing that can be tricky is sitting at the potters wheel if your bump is really front sitting as you need to tuck in quite tightly to the wheel. If you are further on in your pregnancy, it might be better to wait till after baby has arrived. Pottery painting is suitable for all stages of pregnancy.

If you can’t find your answer here - please get in touch by phone on 0191 908 7802 or by email to hello@thepotteryexperience.co.uk