The Pottery Studio

Whether you’re an experienced hand or there to try something new, The Pottery Studio is a creative mainstay in downtown Tauranga with a focus on the experience, not the end result. Playing with and slinging clay is not only fun for everyone, it’s satisfying, entertaining and memorable, and it even (hopefully!) comes with a take home keepsake.

What started out in 2020 as a pop-up ceramics gallery exhibiting the work of local diploma students and their tutors, has over time evolved to play more of a supporting role to the pottery workshops. While the gallery has always provided the visual attraction, the workshops create the ongoing viability. Fast forward to today, where the range of workshops caters to all ages, all abilities and a multitude of events, such as wine and clay evenings, hen’s nights, birthday parties and team building. Since 2021, there is also a particularly picturesque studio located in central Hamilton.

The interior of the pottery workshop has the makings of a giant children’s classroom. Big communal tables, with the walls lined with the creative output of its participants. Local tutors host the regularly run 2 hour workshops, helping participants use the slab and former technique to create their work, partially drying it and then colouring using an underglaze. Afterwards, the studio finishes the works off in the kiln before participants return to collect their completed products. The real emphasis of the workshops is to have fun; the keepsake is definitely more of a byproduct.

The reach of The Pottery Studio has increased dramatically with the launch of their mobile workshops. This involved fitting out a dedicated van with all the equipment necessary to host a workshop for up to 60 people. Now the likes of Palmerston North, Whakatane and Taupo all receive monthly visits, with plenty more towns on the horizon.