DO I NEED A RESERVATION TO COME IN AND PAINT? NO
ARE PRICES ALL INCLUSIVE? NO. There is a $10 studio fee per painter. The Studio Fee covers the glaze and firing process.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME? Most items are priced around $20-$30 + a studio fee.
WHY NOT JUST MAKE THE PRICES ALL INCLUSIVE? Great question! Because we have found that this pricing model works best for us and our customers.
IS THERE A STUDIO FEE FOR ONLINE/PAINT AT HOME PIECES? NO. The prices are adjusted for take home pieces. You do not get the full array of colors nor do you get the tools or one-on-one help from our staff, so the studio fee is not added to each piece.
DO YOU OFFER DISCOUNTS? YES. There are weekly discounts on studio fees. There is a SALE section in our online store and we offer a VIP Card. Click for details
THIS SEEMS EXPENSIVE…. We try very very hard to keep prices in line with the customer experience and the ability to stay in business. If you compare to a movie ticket with treats we fall in line with that options and you get to take home a great piece!
WHY DOES THIS COST SO MUCH? This is very labor intensive and the cost of labor and overhead is very high per piece. Read the following if you are interested.
- Choose the piece with instruction by a staff member.
- Take a table and choose paints with the help of a staff member
- Staff member gets the paints for each painted and offer help along the entire painting experience.
- When complete the staff member takes the individual pieces and takes photos to match the customer sheet. Its important that the correct piece goes with the correct sheet!!
- The pieces get set to dry on a drying rack in the back room
- The pieces generally dry a minimum of 24 hours.
- After 24 hours a staff member will take each individual piece and either dip or brush on a clear glaze.
- The piece is then moved to a 2nd drying rack for another 24 hours of drying.
- Once the clear glaze has dried each piece needs to be put on tiny stilts with metal prongs. Anything that has glaze on it will stick (permanently) to the kiln shelf if not stilted.
- The process to load a kiln can take 1 hour to several hours depending on the pieces and the stilting process.
- The kilns are then fired to 1828 degrees. The firing and cooling process takes about 24 hours (or more if the kiln is really full
- Once cooled each piece needs to be pulled from the kiln and that tiny stilts removed.
- After stilts are removed each piece needs to be dremelled as the tiny metal prongs leave very sharp points from the glaze.
- Once all pieces have been unloaded and dremmeled they need to be bagged
- Each item will need to be matched to the customer sheet with a photo. Once matched they are individually wrapped to keep from banging together and breaking.
- They are then put into a bag, stapled with a customer sheet and a coupon.
- Bags are then arranged alphabetically on the baggings shelf for pick up by customer.
DO I NEED EXPERIENCE TO PAINT POTTERY? NO
DO YOU HOST PARTIES? YES. 8+ people. You do need to make a reservation for parties
DO I HAVE TO PAINT IN THE STUDIO? NO. You can order online and paint at home or stop in and choose your items and paint at home.
IS THERE AN AGE LIMIT? NO. Any age can do this. Little ones may do it very quickly but if you don’t mind them just enjoying the experience we’re ready for them.
WHEN I’M DONE PAINTING CAN I TAKE MY PIECE HOME WITH ME THE SAME DAY? NO. When you painting a pottery studio you are using glazes. They need to be put into a kiln to set the glazes and make them food safe.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET MY PIECE BACK? It takes about 7 days. Your piece needs to dry and then be dipped in a clear glaze. It then needs to dry again. Once dry it will be placed in the kiln and fired to 1828 degrees. To get the kiln that hot and then cooled down again it takes about 24 hours. At that point the piece needs to be dremmeled for sharp points, matched with your sheet and bagged.
CAN I GET AN ORDER RUSHED? YES. We can almost always put your piece ahead of others if you need something fired and returned before 7 day. The quickest would be 48 hours and thats not always guaranteed.
IF I’M PAINTING AT HOME CAN I USE MY OWN PAINTS? NO. NO. NO. NO. We use glazes on the pottery. NOT acrylic. Acrylic will not make it through the firing process and will RUIN your piece.
CAN I PAINT MY PIECE WITH ACRYLICS? YES. We have acrylics that look gorgeous on ceramic pieces. However, they can only be used on decorative pieces. Acrylic does not make piece food safe and it can not be fired in the kiln. You can use your own acrylics too if you like.
WHAT IF I TOOK MY PIECE HOME AND USED SOME OF MY OWN PAINTS ON IT ALONG WITH YOUR “PAINTS”? Remember, our paints are actually GLAZES. If you combine acrylic paints with glazes you have ruined your piece.