Where to make pottery in Sydney

At Silky Shapes you’ll learn how to mould clay into anything from a basic bowl to an intricate sculpture. Beginner’s classes at this intimate studio are held in three lesson packages across three weeks. They feature wheel throwing, trimming and glazing.

In our introduction, we learned the process of weighing the clay, releasing the air bubbles, tossing onto the wheel – an essential throw which secures the clay to the device. You get to watch the little ball of clay form into different shapes and sizes at the end of this messy process.

“I hope they are gaining the ability to leave stress aside and fully immerse themselves into a really creative, beautiful process where they start with a lump of clay and end with a fully functional piece,” says Yegana Jafarova, owner of Silky Shapes.

Classes at the Crows Nest venue range from wheel throwing to hand-building, slip casting, mold making, coiling and slab building. But Jafarova will help you work on passion projects outside of these criteria, too. 

“If someone walks in and says ‘I want to make a lamp-shade with three tiers’ I'll sit down and discuss the best way to help them work and how to build it.” 

MakerSpace &Co is a not-for-profit creative space where students can access materials to learn different design skills. This includes ceramics, woodwork, metal work and digital fabrication.

Their ceramic studio is an open space with all the tools necessary to craft pieces such as cups, bowls, tea sets and jewellery bowls. Sustainability is a high priority here, with all excess materials being recycled for later use. They keep wastage to a minimum, from the water filtered through the tap to the clay used in the classes. They have a machine called a pugmill that gathers all leftover pieces of clay and processes them into a fresh batch. 

We moseyed in on the first class of the introduction package, where students learn the basics of wheel throwing, trimming, hand-building and glazing over the course of four weeks to create simple but lovely pieces like bowls and cups. 

Intermediate and higher-skilled classes are also available once you’ve mastered the basics. For personal projects or tutored sessions, they offer a membership to the ceramics studio. For your monthly fee of $200, you’re granted access to discounted classes, members-only events and use of the ceramics studio at any time to work on your projects.

The Pottery Shed is exactly that: a warehouse with everything you need to make your pottery dreams come to life. Walking through the atrium, you’ll see pieces for sale that were made on-site in an intimate seating space that opens to high ceilings and clay covered floors. 

There are allocated areas for each step. You’ll find pottery wheels for throwing clay, an area for trimming and another for glazing your finished creations. As you explore the space, you’ll come across shelving with hundreds of pre-fired vessels wrapped and ready for the next part in the process as well as a dedicated shelf for finished works.

Charismatic owner Joe Darling has a history of making pottery dating back to 1976 in California, and is on hand to assist you with any queries. He may even share a story or two, like how he won the Army Commendation medal for the best pottery tea set. The rest of the energetic staff will teach you step by step how to make your own bowls and cups with earthenware clay.

Beginners tend to get messy and make a few mistakes, however broken pieces and excess clay is recycled on the premises. You can expect to jam out to sweet tunes and have plenty of laughs while you create a new star for your mantelpiece.

Something at Mary’s is a small ceramic studio in Bundeena. The space overlooks the ocean, so you have a salty, scenic vista to inspire your creations in class. Your teacher Marion Stehouwer has over a decade of experience in the field, hosting pottery-making classes for individuals and small groups. In the personalised classroom featuring only four wheels, she’s able to attend to all questions as you get to know the clay and building process.

There’s a carefree and casual vibe to the classes, which lets beginners feel comfortable making mistakes or asking questions. While most pottery spaces hold lessons for the entire process, from throwing to glazing, these classes focus primarily on the throwing and trimming aspects, with wheel throwing, trimming and hand-building lessons. However, Stehouwer is happy to assist students with sculptures and other projects. 

Group bookings are also taken for corporate team-building classes, hens parties and family sessions. And unlike many other spaces, Something at Mary’s is mobile. The workshops can be brought to your work or added into the fee to hire a hall, with all clay and materials provided to make hand-built pots. 

For a super relaxed pottery making experience, Clay Sydney is a great chilled-out option. As a fairly new company, they’re very enthusiastic and offer a wide range of workshops. 

If you’re new to the ceramic scene, they offer taster classes, which give you an introduction to wheel throwing, firing and glazing. If you’re an experienced ceramicist, they also rent out their spaces to members who want to work on their own projects.

They host wine and cheese hand-building classes on Friday nights where you’ll learn how to build mugs and mini vessels. The snacks are included and BYO drinks are encouraged.

Clay Sydney also provides private tailored classes. They offer workshops in their studio for groups of 10-30 people, and can bring the clay action off-site for groups of up to 100 amateur makers. Snacks are provided and you can bring your own beverages.