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.
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.
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 for you.
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.
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.
Most people who finish the course want to come back. So Clay Club simply carries on — same table, Wednesdays and Thursdays — and what you make next is entirely up to you.
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 is nothing to book or pay for here: finish the two sessions first, and if you would like to carry on just say so on the night.
Every course is the same: two sessions, then your finished house to collect once it is out of the kiln. Mornings 10am–1pm or evenings 6pm–9pm — you choose when you book and keep the same slot for both sessions.
Collect 3–6 October, or from the 15th
Mornings only on these two dates
Six places a session, first come, first served. £60 all in — 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.
Would rather not book online? Message me on Facebook and I’ll book you in myself — or email lilly@smoothdaypa.co.uk.
Make it on the Saturday, collect it on the 27th, and have it lit on your windowsill for Halloween.
A whole day at The Atelier to make one Halloween piece properly, with time to take your time over it — and a light lunch in the middle of it.
You will be working in sgraffito. You paint your piece in coloured slip while the clay is still soft, then carve your design back through it with a fine tool, so the clay underneath shows through the colour. It is the technique that lets you build and decorate in a single day, and it is far more forgiving than it sounds — the line you carve is the line you get.
Everything is included: the clay, the slips and glazes, every tool on the table, and both firings. No experience needed, exactly like Clay Club — this is simply the whole thing in one go instead of two evenings.
Your piece stays with me to be fired and glazed, and it will be ready to collect from Tuesday 27 October — four days before Halloween.
£70 for the day, lunch included. Book with a £10 deposit and pay the remaining £60 on the day.
Would rather not book online? Message me on Facebook or email lilly@smoothdaypa.co.uk and I’ll book you in 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.
Clay Club is for grown-ups and older makers. These two are for the little ones — all materials and firings included, no experience needed. The next dates are not set yet. Tell me you are interested and I’ll let you know the moment they go up.
Our signature family workshop. Build a magical fairy garden together — sculpt toadstools, paint a little wooden fairy house, add moss, pebbles and fairy dust. It goes home with you the same morning.
£20 per family place (1 adult + 1 child) · £12 each extra child
Choose a piece, paint it your way, and we’ll glaze and fire it in the kiln so it comes back shiny and keepable forever. Lovely for ages 5 and up. Collected or posted once it’s fired.
£20 per family place (1 adult + 1 child) · £12 each extra child
To hear first: message me on Facebook or email lilly@smoothdaypa.co.uk.
All fired in Bertha at The Atelier, North Anston.
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.