Bookings are now open for our super special paw printing event 🥳
Join us on Sunday 26th November when Santa Paws (aka Anna-the-dog-whisperer) will help you print your dogs paws onto pottery.
This event is only open to dogs who are comfortable having their lil feet touched. If you’re not sure if your dog will like it, please have a practice dabbing your dogs paw with a damp sponge before booking. Dog wellbeing is our top priority, so if you think being in our studio and getting painty paws might be too much for your pooch, you can always hire a paw printing kit instead to do in the comfort of your own home / garden. Whichever option you prefer, please use the form at the bottom of this page to hire a paw printing kit or book a short session in the studio with Anna.
Please make sure to read this page carefully before booking.
This is Leo, Anna’s huge great big Rhodesian Ridgeback who doesn’t mind getting his paws painty as long as there’s the promise of stinky snacks.
How it works:
Please start by letting us know in the booking form how many of each piece you’d like to paint - this will allow us to plan your session accordingly. Once we’ve confirmed your booking we will send you an invoice for the full balance, which is to be paid ahead of your session.
When you arrive Anna will greet you and bring you inside the studio, she’ll spend little while getting to know your dog and making sure they’re comfortable with their new surroundings. Once they’re settled Anna will decide if she will paint their paws, or if pup would be happier with their owner touching their tickly paw pads. We’ll have a good selection of bribes, I mean treats, but please bring your own if your dog has dietary requirements / is very particular about snacks.
The printing process is very quick, we’ll sponge paint on to their foot, press it gently on the piece(s) of pottery, and voila! All accessorising and writing will be done at a later date by our pro-handwriter. Once the prints are complete you can use a damp cloth to remove any remaining paint. All paint is water based and non-toxic but if you choose a dark colour it may stain light coloured fabric - we’d advise a through paw wash before letting them on your cream carpet.
Your session will last around 10 mins depending on how long pup takes to settle / how many piece you’ve chosen to print on.
Pottery options for painty paw prints:
We’ve chosen a small selection of our favourite items, perfect as a gift or a treat for you and pup to keep.
Providing pup is happy you can add up to 2 paw prints per item, and request a name and a short message to be written on the piece by our pro-handwriter after your session (it’s pretty tricky doing neat writing with an audience so we always choose to add it at a later date for best results). You can choose a band of colour to be added on the rim / edge, or for the edge to be decorated with stripes / spots. We’ll have examples to hand so you can choose which you’d prefer on the day.
Choose your paw print colour:
To make things easier for your dog, please choose only one colour to print with. This applies even if you’re printing on multiple pieces of pottery. Think of it as their signature colour.
Leo prints only in number 10 blue, always has done, probably always will. Arlo’s more of a number 22 black, but be warned - if you use black paint on a black dog you can’t tell when it’s off, that is until they walk across your white bedding.
The mid tones have the best effect - dark enough so you can see all the details, but not so dark it’s tricky to wash off their toes.
And finally some examples:
Book your space ⤵️
Glazing and firing your pottery:
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.
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.
Pottery can also crack in the kiln too. This is super rare, but if it does happen we’ll give you a voucher to paint again.
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.