The Potters' Studio - Berkeley, California

laura leaverton

I’ve been taking classes here for 3 years, and a member for 2 years. The Potters Studio is a community and wonderful resource for those wanting to learn. It’s a non-profit, member supported community of artists. The Gallery space offers member work for sale at regular hours 11-5. You can learn to fire your work in electric or gas kilns, and also soda atmospheric firing, as well as Raku. The potters studio has a broad offering of classes to suit any level of experience. The teachers are highly experienced and very responsive to students. I highly recommend this community whether you are a student or member.

Sanya C

I signed up for a 3-month class with this pottery studio. It’s been more than a disappointing and frustrating experience.

A week into class, the studio lost my pieces. I had thrown 6 pieces, gifts for friends, and left it on the shelf to dry for trimming, came in the next morning, and the pieces were nowhere to be found. No one offered compensation, but just said sorry it happens sometimes. Later in the week, we got a studio email that people were losing their bisque fire pieces.

This is the first studio where something like that has happened. Studio losing students and members pieces.

Second, and the cherry on top - this is not a welcoming place. The studio almost has no diversity. And as one of the few students of color, it felt hostile and unfriendly.

Unfortunately with my experience there, I haven’t been able to return to class or use the students hours. I love pottery but I can’t even bring myself to go work there. Not to mention what a waste of a large sum of money.

serene fang

I love this place. It is the only public studio I know of where you can get trained to fire the electric, gas, raku and soda kilns, and then fire them on your own - which is *huge* in terms of expanding your creative process to include firing. They also have an air-filtered glaze room to protect your nice lungs when you make your own glazes and clays. They also have a closed-loop water recyling system to save water and recycle clay. Staff are very busy bc it's a big bustling urban studio with hundreds and hundreds of members and students, but in my experience everyone is friendly , knowledgeable, and great to know. It's also a lovely place to meet a new clay community.

Pedro Paez

Inner peace is the best way to describe this place. Were every person fuse themselves with the ancient art of creating unique pieces of pottery out of clay. It's the process that brings peace while molding your creation. I met a wonder gentleman Harry, that invite to experiment and immerse into something so deep and beautiful you will need to come here and experiment first hand this. This facility has many great features and truly professional people that support it. Painting, molding with state of the art ovens and an array of spinning table to deploy your vast imagination and create an art piece that only your hands can describe.

Mike A.

Didn’t think I’d post about this but the amount of attitude and discrimination I get from the employees here is a bit ridiculous.

I’ll start with the good: it’s a big place and they have a lot of tools (griffin grips, bats, slab roller, extruder, etc) to use. Lots of wheels, I didn’t count but there’s a few dozen. Lots of tables as well, but sometimes those can get quite full during busy times. Their glaze selection is good and the recipes are similar from batch to batch.

Now for the bad: Don’t come here if you’re not a member. Day-use users are an afterthought to them, regardless of how expensive it is. Don’t bother going on the waitlist, you’ll need to take a class to ever get accepted (I’ve been on the waitlist for almost 5 years now, pretty sure I got deleted). Firing sucks, multiple pieces broken and many times, fired completely separately (even as a set!). This hasn’t happened this much at other studios.

They don’t really give you an orientation, yet expect you to know the ins and outs and unspoken rules of the studio. When I’ve asked questions about how to clean/operate/etc certain things, I’m met with attitude and blank stares of why I’m asking in the first place. Even turning in a day slip has sometimes taken me 15-20 minutes as no one really cares to make time for you. Sid, a regular employee there, is especially rude. There have been many instances where I’m given attitude and talked down to, but not to studio members. There are a few other employees that begrudgingly help. Advice is given with condescension. Simply put, the exorbitant price of the day pass ($12 per hour), is not worth it.

Evelyn, is the only employee there that has really been welcoming and kind to me where I feel like the respect I give is returned. Recently, other members of the studio have agreed with me amount the attitude of some of the employees here and the chaos of management, so I feel a little vindicated in that. One woman in particular mentioned that the attitude, from Sid, she witnessed towards me is not very common.

I’ll never know if I was being discriminated against for a specific reason as they didn’t care to communicate it, or on the basis of simply who I am. That doesn’t matter though as I won’t be coming back after spending/using ~$800 on day use passes. I hope this review will give others a little better of an idea of the place before joining. One star, since I simply cannot recommend a business that can’t respect those who utilize it.

Lev Mazin

It's one of those well hidden places that you can pass on the street for years and never learn about the magic that happens within. It's a ceramic/pottery studio, available 24h for members with keys where they work with clay in all types of techniques and styles.

Friendly passionate community members helped my son and I get acquainted with the potter's wheel and find a new level of appreciation for the meditative qualities of the craft.

Gift Certificates and classes are available - treat yourself or your friends with unrealized dreams to one. Also - check out the ceramic sculptures shop where community members sell their artworks. It's probably one of the best places in Berkeley/Albany to get a unique, affordable gift in this medium.

Monique Ortega

About a year ago I started taking classes here and loved it! The teachers were great. The students very supportive. Recently I have not been happy with the studio. Many of my creations have gone missing with no solutions or apologizes. I even have pictures with dates for all my pieces. Today, one women had her piece broken by someone else on the same day. To spend hours on something to have it disappear or broken is such a waste. A waste of time and money. This place is not cheap. I wish the studio had more policies to prevent such happenings or if someone accidentally breaks something leave a note saying, "sorry"? I learned how to throw here, but I am considering this might be my last class. I can not afford to keep having things go missing.

Julianne Pelaez

This place is amazing. Staff are so kind and knowledgeable. Prices are super reasonable too if you just need to have your pieces fired. If I was staying in Berkeley longer, I would totally get a membership here. Very chill, clean and friendly.