The table and the wheel – Handbuild & Wheel Throw Workshop

Clay can be worked in two very different ways. On a still surface, it’s shaped slowly by hand — coiled upwards into form or carved from a solid block, built at its own pace with patience and attention. On the wheel, it’s centred and lifted into shape through rotation, guided by the steady pressure of your fingers as the clay moves beneath them. Two methods, both ancient, both still practised in studios around the world today.

This workshop gives you both. Over three hours, you’ll spend the first half handbuilding a piece at the table — learning pinching, the most intuitive way of shaping clay by pressing and thinning it between your fingers; coiling, where rope-like strands of clay are stacked and smoothed into form; or carving, where you hollow a vessel out from a solid clay block. Then, after a short reset, you’ll move to the electric pottery wheel and throw a second piece — experiencing the same material from a completely different angle.

No prior experience needed. Your instructor will guide you through each method closely, with personalised attention throughout. By the end of the session, you’ll have made two pieces — one by hand, one on the wheel — and you’ll have a real sense of which approach speaks to you.

Minimum age: 10 years old. Younger age requires a guardian to participate with & suitable for beginners

What You’ll Make

Two pieces, shaped two different ways:

A handbuilt piece — shaped at the table using either coiling or carving. Coiling builds form upwards by stacking and smoothing rope-like strands of clay, allowing for vessels with organic, hand-worked surfaces. Carving takes the opposite approach: you start with a solid block of clay and hollow the form out from the inside, leaving behind a piece that carries the marks of the tool and the decisions you made along the way. Both are slower, more deliberate ways of working than the wheel.

A wheel-thrown piece — made on the electric pottery wheel using the foundational movements of throwing: wedging, centering, opening, and pulling form. Wheel throwing produces more symmetrical, vessel-like shapes and introduces you to the rhythm and responsiveness of clay in motion.

After the workshop, we process, glaze, and kiln-fire both pieces in our studio. Transparent glaze is complimentary but you can choose up to two studio glaze colours from our palette, which our team will apply on your behalf for an additional charge.

Finished pieces are ready for collection approximately 2-3 months after your session.

Session Details

Duration — 3 hours (1.5 hours handbuilding, 1.5 hours wheel throwing)

Workshop Fee — $88 per person

Clay — Materials for 2 pieces (one handbuilt, one wheel-thrown)

Pieces — 2 glaze-fired ceramic pieces to keep (1 handbuilt & 1 wheel-thrown)

Glazing — Complimentary transparent glaze.

Minimum Age — 10 years old & up. Younger age requires a guardian to participate with & suitable for beginners

What’s Included

All materials & tools

Instructor’s guidance

Post-class pottery processing

Labour for packing and unpacking the pots from the kiln twice (Bisque fire & glaze fire)

Sorting and packing

Optional Add-Ons

Rescheduling fee — $20 per person if you need to move your booked session to another date

Studio colour glazing service — $10 per pottery work

Group Bookings

Our studio offers small class sizes for personalised guidance — but we’re equally set up for group gatherings. Whether it’s a team-building session, a birthday, or a private workshop for friends wanting to try pottery together, we’re happy to shape a session around your group. Get in touch and we’ll plan it with you.

Good to Know

Come in comfortable clothing you don’t mind getting clay on. Keep your nails trimmed — it makes a real difference when shaping on the wheel. Aprons are provided.

Please arrive at least 5 minutes before your session begins. Latecomers may miss the opening demonstration, which we cannot repeat in order to keep the class going. On arrival, kindly remove your shoes on the first floor and change into our studio slippers before coming upstairs. No food or drinks are allowed in the studio, and we ask that you avoid bringing valuables.

If you need to reschedule, a $20 rescheduling fee per person applies. Pottery that remains uncollected beyond 4 weeks from day of notice in the whatsapp collection notice after completion will be discarded without any further notice, kindly refrain from enquiring if it is still around after due date.

Clay is an unpredictable material — cracks, warping, and imperfections can occur after the workshop during drying or firing, even after a piece has left the wheel in good shape. This is a natural part of working with clay, and something every potter learns to accept. We do not offer remakes or replacements for pieces that cracks after the class. What you take home is handmade — shaped by your hands, in a single session — and that’s what makes it yours.

Finished pieces left uncollected for more than 1 month after notification will be discarded. Collection only — delivery and shipping to be arranged by participants

Please review our Studio Policies before booking. By signing up for this workshop, you agree to uphold all studio policies here.

Continuing Your Practice

If clay stays with you after this session, we offer structured class packages — from Basics through to Intermediate — where you can develop either handbuilding or wheel throwing techniques over multiple sessions with ongoing guidance. Participants who sign up for a class package on the day of their workshop receive complimentary firing credit for 2 pieces.