The Pottery Place

Clean, airy, nice choices. But prepare to pay $ 30+ a kid for the most basic statue with a few colors. Took some 5 year olds and it was an expensive hour. Maybe better suited to slightly older kids. Also — saw a young toddler/​baby literally covered in glaze including her face and was a little put off that management did not educate the parents. While the glazes are non toxic when fired, they don’t belong in anyone’s mouth.

This place is SO expensive — we took our kids there and a niece (total of 5 people) — three of us made very small pieces and two of us made medium size pieces. Just to be in there for 90 minutes it cost us $ 300. Since we live in California, we had them ship the pieces to us – they said it would be a one time $ 5 fee for packing all of the pieces — and then ground shipping through UPS. And they said we would have the pieces in CA on or before two weeks from the day we made them (a week for firing them) and a week for shipping.
Well — we still haven’t received the pieces and ups says it will take another 8 days until our items to get here (2 weeks was this past Saturday).
We were charged $ 82 for shipping. Apparently they boxed all of the pieces in separate boxes…
We love this type of experience for our kids — and the pieces that they have to choose from are really great, but man was it too pricey.
So for $ 400.00 we’ll have our 5 pieces someday soon…

I really loved this place!!! It’s such a fun and relaxing thing to do… And it’s great for all ages!!! Kids love it and adults do too! Pricing isn’t bad either! My piece came out great and I hope to go back soon!

For the holidays this year I decided to give my wife gifts with a coffee theme. While watching television, I saw an advertisement for the Pottery Place and decided this would be an absolutely ridiculous present. I had to go do it. Even better, I decided to put my hand prints on a coffee mug; completely ridiculous!
I arrived on a Saturday morning and the staff walked me through everything. I was worried the standard mug would be too small, so I went with the beer mug. It did not look too big.
I wish I knew her name, because the woman who helped me was simply amazing. I know they are probably trained to praise everyone’s efforts. They could very easily slip into patronizing but they made me feel great about the whole process. The woman helped me get my hand prints on the mug and explained how well the printed ended up coming out. Then I painted my design and was done in less than an hour.
By the time I was done, I was excited. Yes, this was completely ridiculous. It looked like something I might have done in elementary school, but I knew the moment I was done my wife was going to love it.
But I had to wait a week!
I went to pick it up the next week and the piece was shown and it was better than I could have predicted. What I thought would end up faint and dull was really bright and stood out just like I wanted. The hand prints came out perfectly, just as I was told it would. My awkward hand writing over the front was so lopsided it was perfect.
I couldn’t wait to give it to DeAnna!
Which posed the next problem, we were still a week away from the first night of Hannukah. I had no idea how I was going to sneak this mug into the house without her noticing. I decided I had to give it to her the moment I saw her.
This mug, in all of its ridiculous glory, receive perhaps the second greatest reaction of any gift I have ever given. Second only to the engagement ring.
Now, I have to admit, I’ll end up going back to paint another mug soon. DeAnna dropped the mug the next morning and it shattered into a hundred pieces. I tried to go the week before Christmas, but the place was just plain packed. As much fun as it was and as much as DeAnna was upset, I was not about to ask a child to wait to make their presents for their parents. So I expect I’ll be back there in a few weeks and start painting another. I just don’t know how I will be able to top the first.

I went here once about 3 years ago as a first outing with my Little Sister (I volunteer with Big Brother Big Sister Capital Region). My Little Sister was 12 ½ years old at the time and decided to paint some mermaid figurine. I painted a star shaped bowl. It was a little pricey but we had a good time.
While it was pricey, I found it so very soothing and relaxing (and I generally dislike doing arts n crafts as I don’t have the patience or skill) to paint until the shrieking started. They gave you lots of stencils and stamps to use so my bowl looked awesome with its purple star motif on the star shaped bowl. I want to go back and make another piece, but I don’t’ want to go by myself and my Little Sister is not so interested in going there any more as she is nearly 16 years old.
You have to leave the piece there to be fired and can pick it up 1 – 2 weeks later, which was a bit of a pain with my schedule, but I guess there is no way around it.
I know the place is not intended for my age demographic, but it was nursery school screeching loud in there at times. They do birthday parties there, so I am assuming that is what the screeching was about.

When looking for things to do on a lazy Sunday, this place usually comes to mind.
Paint your own pottery is the thing to do here and they have quite a selection of pieces to choose from. From teapots to mirrors. little animal figures and dog bowls. It’s basically something for everyone and the pieces can be as simple or complicated as you want them to be.
When you get in the staff goes through the «it’s an $ 8.00 studio fee per hour, per person + the price of the pottery you choose». They then tell you to wash your hands prior to touching. the soap they provide really dries my hands out and maybe that’s how they want it, but I can’t stand the way it feels :/​The sink I had to wash my hands in had a basin of brushes in it, so maneuvering around that was kind of tricky. Whatevs.
The staff also say they will get your paint for you, which they do. However they hardly give you anything and I had to back and fourth every couple minutes for more paint. Apparently they only get your paint the first time. Eventually I just brought the bottle to my table. If the staff had given me more paint or didn’t just sit and watch while I walked back and forth, I’d have given another star. They could have at least told me to just grab the bottle after my fifth time up.
My daughter enjoyed herself, my friend got through it and I spent way too much time on a big dog bowl. but it’s a pretty great dog bowl *pats own back* lol ;)
My daughter didn’t finish her pieces, so we took them home. If you don’t finish you can return with your pieces and pay 67cents every five minutes until you finish. Depending on how long it takes, you may just want to do the $ 8.00. or pay what almost $ 40 per hour? If you do finish them, they at some point put them in the kiln and you can pick your pieces up a week later. or have them shipped.
If you’re looking for something creative to do with free time, this place is a nice option :) Just bring some hand lotion for afterward! They also have events for kids every month. I saw all types here this past Sunday, adults on their own, a table of teenagers, and my family table, so anybody would be comfortable here.