It will be roughly 6 weeks from your class until your pieces have been dried, fired and glazed and are ready to collect.

When ready, you will receive an email letting you know you they’re ready to collect from the studio. Please only come into the studio once you’ve received this email otherwise you’re pieces are not fired yet.

Collection windows change month to month so please see the Collection Windows website page for this month’s specific days.

• Note that this is around 6 weeks after your class however this is dependant on how thick/large your items are as we’ll dry these pieces for longer to minimise breakage of your work and others in the kiln (thick pieces with moisture in them explode in the kiln!)

• Leadtimes will also depend on how many kilns are firing as we only run a kiln when it’s full to limit the environmental impact.

We hope you understand and thank you for the patience.

If it’s been 7+ weeks since your class, please email us - studio@stoneware-studios.com

Yes, as an alternative to collecting your pottery pieces when they are ready, we can package and arrange shipping.

Depending on the size / weight / number of pieces, this will be roughly £10-20. Email us to arrange.

Beginner Course (5 weeks) + Developer Course (6 weeks) -

• We strongly encourage students to attend all sessions to keep with the flow of the course. If you have to miss a session due to travel/illness etc the tutor should be able to fill you in on anything missed in the next class.

• If you’re happy to work independently, you’re welcome to book a Drop In Session, which is for throwing/trimming. These are 3hrs for a £40 a session and are available only to those currently enrolled on a course with us.

• If you must miss the final week (glazing week), the studio will glaze your pieces for you in our house clear glaze. Due to health and safety we do not allow beginner potters to glaze their work independent of a teacher.

Developer Course (10 week version) -

• With our 10 week Developer Course we also strongly encourage students to stay in the flow of their course, as this helps you get the most out of the experience.

• We understand that things do come up and the 10 week course is a longer period. To keep things fair and consistent for all students, we give one free Drop In Session per student per 10 week course.

Missed Throwing / Trimming Session

• You are eligible to one free Drop In Session per course. Look at the schedule and email us with detail of the full course you’re currently enrolled on and the drop in session you’d like to book.

Missed Glaze Session

Missed glaze sessions are handled slightly differently:

• Experienced potters who have glazed before at Stoneware Studios before may glaze independently during a drop in session.

Please email us with any questions -

studio@stoneware-studios.com

Please Note: Independent Work During Drop In Sessions

Students attending a drop in session should be aware that they will be working independently. There is no teacher to provide guidance. There will be a technician on site but they re for your health and safety and will be busy with their own work.

Please Note: Course Flow & Firing Schedules

Ceramics relies heavily on timing, drying, and firing schedules. We plan, dry, and fire work course by course, and we’re unable to adjust these processes on an individual basis.

As a result, if you attend a drop in session outside the normal course flow, there is a risk that your work may be too dry, wet or may not be fired in time to have a finished piece by the end of your course. This risk is accepted by the student when diverging from the set course schedule.

We appreciate your understanding, these policies allow us to run courses smoothly and fairly for all students while maintaining the quality and care that ceramics requires.

Yes! We host wheel throwing of handbuilding private events for groups of friends, family, colleagues or hen parties.

Groups of up to 20 guests.

Private hire of studio for your group and we can provide drinks or you can BYOB.

Get in touch via email to discuss your event. studio@stoneware-studios.com

Developer - This is aimed at people who have done some pottery before and can centre and pull up walls.. We’d recommend a minimum of one beginner course, or a few private sessions, but ideally those who have completed a couple of courses. It’s small class sizes so lots of tailored tuition from the teacher. Less structured sessions with guidance from a teacher.

Full Day Throwing - All levels welcome. The day starts with a short demo which serves as either instruction or a refresher of core technique. Afterwards, each student works to their own level and the teacher gives bespoke tuition based on this level to each student.

You can cancel or reschedule a private class, course or workshop up to 2 weeks before. Being a small studio we unfortunately cannot accommodate anything within the 2 week period.

If you cannot attend, you’re welcome to give your spot to a friend instead! Please email us with any change of nae and their email address.

As all potters know, this is part of a ceramics practice.

There are many moments during the making process when pieces could get damaged. But in particular the kiln firing part. While our technicians are all highly trained and super careful with student’s work, it’s inevitable that pieces do occasionally get broken / fracture / explode in the kiln.

There are things you an do in the making process which give a clay piece the best chance of a healthy firing. These include keeping pottery pieces to a constant thickness and not too chunky, as that can lead to trapped moisture which causes breakages in the kiln. If there is a solid piece of clay, hollow it out before it goes on the drying shelf. Any attachments to be very securely scored and slipped with enough pressure applied.

If your piece breaks in the kiln and we can identify it as yours we will endeavour to write to you to let you know, however sometimes a piece is broken in such a way that we cannot read the name on the base so is unidentifiable (eg, explosion in kiln).

Regrettably, the studio cannot take any responsibility or offer any refunds in these rare cases of a breakage, but we encourage you to keep making and the piece you’ll make next will be even better.

Many pregnant people enjoy pottery safely, and working with wet clay is non-toxic.

To be extra cautious, we recommend avoiding the glazing process during pregnancy, as some glaze materials can produce fine particles or fumes that are best avoided.

If you’re joining a course, we suggest skipping the final glazing session — our team will be happy to glaze your pieces for you.

The throwing and hand-building stages are generally considered safe, but participation is entirely at your own discretion and under your doctor’s guidance.

Please let us know when booking if you’re pregnant, so we can make sure you’re comfortable and well supported in the studio.