Instructions: Booking your taster throwing lesson
Please read before using our booking system ⤵️
Make sure you select how many people you want to book for, before you select the date / time you’d like to book for. You can’t edit this once you’ve clicked book. The calendar will only show dates that have enough spaces for all of your group, this may be several weeks away.
Once you've decided on a date click the yellow book button. A form will appear, please read all the info thoroughly, and complete then submit your booking by clicking the yellow confirm booking button.
After a few seconds you’ll be taken to a confirmation page, please double check that your booking details are correct, write them down somewhere safe and then follow the link to our planning your visit page. Have a good read of this page all the way to the bottom! It tells you how to book to paint your pots after your making session, and all sorts of other very useful info. Confirmation emails may end up in your junk folder.
Taster throwing sessions tend to be steadily booked up 4 months in advance. Weekdays tend to be a little less booked up than weekends. You can only book 4 months in advance, so if we’re fully booked as far as the calendar will go, it’s a case of keeping an eye out as new dates are released or looking out for cancellations (you can join waiting lists for dates that work for you, but you do need to be quick to snap them up when you get the email through). Sessions for 03/09/23 are released on 03/05/23, ie. 4 months to the day.
We offer 9 sessions a week with space for up to 54 people to throw. As much as we’d love to, we can’t physically add anymore sessions otherwise we’ll be drowning in pots. There are often cancellations for the coming weekend on Wednesday / Thursday so please check back for any last minute slots.
If you have a voucher: as long as you get booked in before your voucher expires you’re all good :) you can also use your voucher for our hand building classes: www.thepotteryexperience.co.uk/events
Please note…
Full payment is taken in advance, we’ll send you an invoice to pay via bank transfer. Changes or refunds are only accepted with 48hrs notice. Please ensure all guests arrive promptly for your session. Our session will start without you if you are late. *Any handmade pots not painted within 2 months of making will be donated to local schools to paint in their art lessons. Read our detailed T+C’s.
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.
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.