Wheel Throwing Class & Course Policies

Our studio has 6 potters wheels at this time and we can accommodate up to 5 students per session plus one instructor. Please read all the policies below, they answer many questions you may have about our wheel classes and you are responsible for following them if you sign up for a class or course. Thank you.

Sign Up & Payment Policy

We accept online payment via credit card and also in-studio via cash or credit card. Due to the nature of the product, instruction and costs associated with our wheel throwing operation, we do not currently accept any coupons or discounts for classes or courses. Classes and courses must be paid in full at the time of sign up- we cannot hold unpaid spots for any reason.

Scheduling and Cancellation Policy

We reserve the right to cancel and reschedule a single session class no less than 24 hours before the start of the class if there are less than 2 student enrollments. We will inform you in advance of your class with rescheduling options in the event of low-enrollment cancellations

Specific to the Open/Public Single Class Sessions: We reserve the right to cancel and reschedule class to a future date if there are less than 2 people scheduled for any single session class. You are expected to arrive 5 minutes early to class so you can sign in, get settled, put an apron on and select your seat as we start right on time. Those arriving late past the start of the class time may not be able to immediately participate on the wheel as the instructor and other students will already be on the next step and will not have the time or ability to catch you up to speed until the piece currently being worked on is complete and we start again. With a single instructor, classes are designed to move along quickly in stages but as a group. There are no refunds for cancellations, no-shows, or being late and missing out on some or all of class. However, if you can substitute another person in your place in advance of a single session class, you are welcome to inform us that someone else is taking your place, your payment for the class has already been made so any exchange of funds for their substitution should be handled privately between parties, not through the studio.

Specific to the 4-Session Course: There are no refunds or credits for cancellations, no-shows, or being late and missing out on some or all of the classes. However, if you can substitute another person in your place in advance of the start date of the first class in the 4-session course, you are welcome to inform us that someone else is taking your place for all 4 sessions (you cannot substitute someone for single classes within the course). Your payment for the course has already been made so any exchange of funds for their substitution should be handled privately between parties, not through the studio.

Weather Related Cancellations

In the event of weather related cancellations: For single session classes or individual sessions within a course, class may be canceled up to 1 hour prior to the start of class and an attempt to contact you will be made and we will reschedule your lesson to a new session if we are closing the studio due to the weather. For 4-session class students, we will set up a mutually agreeable time with all students or offer an open wheel session equivalent to the class that was missed.  Refunds are not available for weather related cancellations as weather is out of our control and our policy is to reschedule.

Class Start Time and Attendance Policy

Please respect your time, the instructor’s time, as well as that of the other students attending class. Due to the structure of the short, single class sessions and to ensure that students receive a full, uninterrupted experience during class, please do not arrive late. It’s best to arrive 5 minutes early so that you have time to get settled, pick your wheel and put on an apron. There are no refunds (or reschedules) if you arrive late, cancel or just don’t show up.

Firing/Glazing of Stoneware Policy

We will generally fire clay pieces to bisque within 10-14 days at a Cone 04 bisque firing. Please check your receipt for your expected fired and ready date so you can come back to glaze it. We will send you a text when your bisque pottery has been fired and is ready for glazing. Once you have glazed your bisque pieces, we will get them in the next available Cone 6 glaze firing kiln load. We hold a separate Cone 6 glaze firing just for our stoneware pieces and this will be held (kiln gods permitting) approximately every two weeks.  Actual firing date may vary slightly based on our Wheel Instructors’ work schedule.  Stoneware pieces loaded in these specific kiln firings will generally be ready on the following afternoon for pick up. You will receive a courtesy text that your pottery is ready for final pick up (after the glaze firing) once they are unloaded from the kiln.  Please check the estimated Cone 6 firing schedule on the day you glaze your piece before you leave so you can have an idea of when it will approximately be ready. (As our wheel throwing classes ramp up, additional firings may be held and your glazed pieces could be ready sooner than approximately every 2 weeks. Please inquire with one of our wheel instructors if you would like to know more specifics). Pieces left at the studio more than 60 days (bisque or glaze fired) are not allowed- please read our 60 Day Hold Policy below.

60 Day Hold Policy

If you don’t glaze/pick up your piece(s) within 60 days of your original class date, they will be considered abandoned and become the property of the studio. We will choose to use them as student samples or donate them, or if they are extra beautiful we will paint and sell them to recoup the cost of the lost storage space you held up by not coming back and completing them. There are no refunds, re-do’s, store credit, or compensation in any form for pieces that are abandoned more than 60 days. If you want it, you better come and get it, please and thank you.

Age Restriction Policies

Classes are for anyone age 10 & up.  Children less than 10 years of age require a parent or guardian to also participate and purchase a class session for themselves. We generally do not recommend wheel throwing for children under 8 years of age). If you feel your child is more advanced than their age and can handle the class, please speak with the owner, we are happy to discuss and make exceptions to our age restrictions or parent participation- they are more "guidelines" than rules and are here to just guide you in having a great experience with us.

Any child under the age of 12 cannot participate alone- the need a guardian adult present in our studio. We do not have seating or standing room for non-participating parents/guardians. They are welcome to stay and paint pottery during class in the main room, sign up for the class with the child, but they cannot drop off their child (unless it’s a studio sponsored camp-specific activity).

 Clay Policy

We do not allow outside clay to be brought in. You must purchase your stoneware clay from us directly. We only fire pieces made on our wheels at our studio. We do not allow hand built pieces as part of our wheel throwing sessions and any hand built pieces will not be fired and the clay will be scrapped/recycled, regardless of size or beauty.

Policies Specific to Open Wheel Time

Please be respectful of time and use the timer provided at the wheel and set it to the 1hour and 45-minute mark so you know when your wheel time is over and cleanup should begin. At the 1:45 mark, you are expected to have completed your last piece for the session and you will start cleaning up so that the next person can use the wheel at the immediate start of the next session. Customers going over their allotted time will be charged a fee and/or have wheel privileges revoked if time and rules are not followed and respected.

Open wheel time means you will be working unsupervised on your own. Wheel instructors may not be present and will not be available to assist you. Our regular studio staff present (non-wheel instructors) will only have a limited ability to assist with basic safety operations and policies of the wheel studio, they are not trained to teach wheel-throwing.  If you are not skilled enough in wheel throwing to DIY it, you should not rent open wheel time, you should sign up for one of our classes or courses first before attempting open wheel.

BYOB & Food Policy in the Wheel Studio Area

BYOB is welcome in the wheel throwing area of the studio during specific ADULT ONLY classes and ONLY for those 21 & older, we reserve the right to ask for ID as proof of age.

Non-alcoholic beverages only are welcomed during mixed age group/family style classes.

We generally do not recommend bringing food to wheel throwing classes as our wheel area is cozy and has no table space for food. You are welcome to bring a personal size snack such as a granola bar, etc. or something that can fit in a pocket or purse. This activity is messy and is in a cozy space so we highly recommend lidded beverage containers as wet clay and glaze can splatter everywhere.

Non-Toxicity Policy

For the safety of our customers and staff, our studio only uses glazes that are certified non-toxic. We do not allow customers to bring in outside glazes or their own mixed glazes as we cannot guarantee non-toxicity, besides glaze/clay compatibility being a concern.