I do. And a wheel, shelves of glazes, and a big table with room for you at it. Clay Club is two sessions that get you started — then you keep coming as long as you like.
The two-session course is £60 all in — clay, glazes, both firings, the lot. The £10 books your place and comes off the total; the remaining £50 you pay on the night.
Clay needs a kiln. Glazes need shelves and patience. A wheel needs somewhere it's allowed to make a mess. Most people who'd love to try pottery never do — a kiln can cost more than a holiday and swallows half a garage.
That's what The Atelier is for. It's my craft cabin in North Anston, and it already has everything the hobby needs. You just bring yourself.
Bertha is the new kiln, and she's a beauty. Herbert, the little one beside her, has been quietly firing everything I've made for years and is still going strong.
Between them, firing is simply not your problem. You make it — we'll fire it.
This is the bit everyone waits for — the lid coming up on a finished firing. No filter and no edit, just me finding out whether the kiln gods have been kind.
Everything coming out of there was made by hand, at the same table you’d be sitting at.
Clay Club is my regular studio club, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The two-session course is how everyone comes in — an introduction to clay, to the studio, to me, and to the other people round the table. By the end you'll know how the kiln works, what the glazes do, and whether this is your kind of evening.
You'll make a glowing tea light house while you learn. It's a lovely thing to end up with — but it's what you make while you find your way around, not the reason to come.
Five people, a glass of wine each, and a table covered in clay. Every photograph below was taken on the evening of Wednesday 19 August at The Atelier — same table, same kettle, same me.
Sculpt your house by hand. You’ll cut the pieces round a template, so nobody is left staring at a lump of clay wondering where to start — and from there the windows, the door and the roof are your own design. I'll show you hand-building from scratch, and there is nothing to live up to. Have a go on the wheel while you're at it. Your house goes into the kiln for its first firing.
It comes back transformed. Glaze it, decorate it, make it yours — and back it goes for its final firing.
Glaze firing can't be hurried. I'll message you the moment your house is out of the kiln, and you come and collect it. And after that? That's entirely up to you.
Two 3-hour sessions. Mornings 10am–1pm or evenings 6pm–9pm. £60 for all of it — clay, glazes, both firings, the lot. Book with a £10 deposit and pay the remaining £50 on the night. Can’t manage two weeks running? Don’t worry about it — have a word with me at your first session and tell me when you’re next free, and we’ll put your second session then.
The two sessions are really a taster — just long enough to find out whether you love it. Most people do.
And then the whole of The Atelier is open to you: the clay and the glazes, every tool on the table, the wheel, and Bertha to fire whatever you make. Which is rather the point — you can take pottery up properly without the expense of buying a kiln and a wheel, or finding somewhere to make a mess.
You just pay as you go. £35 for one session, £60 for two, or £100 for four — the more you book, the less each one costs, and everything is included.
That's £25 a session
No contracts, nothing to cancel, no monthly anything. Buy sessions when you want them and use them on whichever Wednesday or Thursday suits — mornings or evenings, whichever has room.
There's nothing to book or pay for here — and no need to decide now. Finish both sessions, see how you feel, and if you'd like to carry on just say so on the night. I'll take it from there.
Every course is the same: two sessions, normally a week apart, then your finished house to collect once it is out of the kiln. Pick whichever pair suits you — mornings or evenings, Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Small groups — six places a session. Tap Book on whichever pair of dates suits and pick your time on the next screen; the page tells you how many places are left. Can’t manage two weeks running? Don’t worry about it — have a word with me at your first session and tell me when you’re next free, and we’ll put your second session then.
Then say so — that is not a dead end. If there are two or three of you who can't do a Wednesday or a Thursday, I'll put a date on that works for you instead. I've done exactly that more than once, including a Friday evening for three friends who couldn't make either.
Just tell me roughly how many of you and when you're free, and I'll sort it.
Message me on Facebook or use the form at the bottom of the page
£10 holds your place. The remaining £50 you pay on the night — card, phone or cash, whichever suits you. Clay, tools, glazes, the firing and a drink while you work are all included.
Would rather not book online? Message me on Facebook and I'll book you in myself — or email lilly@smoothdaypa.co.uk.
All fired in Bertha at The Atelier, North Anston.
10am until 4pm, with a light lunch. One Halloween piece, carved in sgraffito — you paint the clay in coloured slip while it is soft, then carve your design back through it. £70, six places, and it is ready to collect on Tuesday 27 October, four days before Halloween.
No obligation at all — I will let you know about special days, new dates and anything else going on at The Atelier. It takes ten seconds, and I read every one myself.
The Atelier is my craft cabin on the edge of Sheffield, and Clay Club is the bit of the week I most look forward to. Small groups, a big table, and nothing to live up to.
The Atelier is in North Anston, Sheffield — the full address comes with your booking confirmation. Questions, or want to bring a group? Message us on Facebook or Instagram, or email lilly@smoothdaypa.co.uk.