Menu
Book a class

01 · Clay3 classes

Clay

Throwing on the wheel and building by hand, with glazing and both firings in the price.

Clay hands shaping a terracotta pot on a spinning wheelIllustrative photo

Wheel taster

A first go on the potter’s wheel. Centre a ball of clay, open it up and raise two small pots, with a tutor at your elbow.

When
Thursdays 6:30pm to 9pm and Saturdays 10am to 12:30pm
Length
Two and a half hours
Group
7 places at most
Ages
14 and over
Price
£52 per person

What you will cover

  • Wedging and centring
  • Opening and raising a wall
  • Cutting the pot from the wheel
  • Picking a glaze colour

Included

  • Your own wheel for the whole class
  • Clay, aprons and tools
  • Trimming, one glaze and both firings

We trim, glaze and fire your two best pots, and they are usually on the collection shelf about a month later.

Book the wheel taster
A row of students bent over potter’s wheels in a timber studioIllustrative photo

Seven-week wheel course

Seven Tuesday or Wednesday evenings with Nell, in a group of seven that stays together throughout. Taller walls, trimmed feet and handles, then a glazing night for everything you threw.

When
New groups start on Tuesdays 6:30pm to 9pm and Wednesdays 6:30pm to 9pm, every 9 weeks
Length
Seven evenings, two and a half hours each
Group
7 places at most
Ages
14 and over
Price
£295 for seven evenings

What you will cover

  • Centring larger amounts of clay
  • Cylinders, bowls and mugs
  • Trimming a foot ring
  • Pulling and fixing handles
  • Dipping and layering glazes

Included

  • Up to 12 kg of stoneware clay
  • Studio glazes and every firing
  • A shelf for work in progress

Glaze firings run every fortnight, so the last pots from a group usually reach the shelf about a month after the final evening.

Book the wheel course
A student building a coil pot on a small banding wheelIllustrative photo

Hand-building evening

No wheel needed. Pinch, coil and roll slabs into a planter, a bud vase or a little dish, at whatever pace suits you.

When
Fridays 6:30pm to 9pm
Length
Two and a half hours
Group
10 places at most
Ages
14 and over
Price
£39 per person

What you will cover

  • Pinch pots
  • Coiling a wall
  • Cutting and joining slabs
  • Underglaze colour and simple decoration

Included

  • Clay and hand tools
  • Underglaze colours
  • Both firings

Pieces dry slowly on our racks before two firings, so allow about a month before they reach the shelf.

Book the hand-building

02 · Paint and print2 classes

Paint and print

Drawing, watercolour and lino, all taught at the long table by the window.

A painter adding watercolour to a coastal sketch on a drawing boardIllustrative photo

Drawing and painting mornings

Unhurried mornings with pencil, ink and watercolour. A fresh still life or theme each week, and the kettle always on.

When
Wednesdays 10am to 12pm
Length
2 hours
Group
10 places at most
Ages
14 and over
Price
£28 per morning

What you will cover

  • Looking and measuring
  • Line, tone and shadow
  • Washes and layering in watercolour
  • Composing a small painting

Included

  • Paper, paints and brushes
  • Drawing boards and table easels
  • Tea and biscuits

Everything you draw or paint goes home with you the same morning.

Book the drawing and painting
Two leaf prints in black ink next to their carved block and two red-handled cuttersIllustrative photo

Lino printing afternoon

Draw a design, carve it into lino and pull a short run of prints by hand on paper and greetings cards.

When
Sundays 1pm to 3:30pm
Length
Two and a half hours
Group
10 places at most
Ages
14 and over
Price
£46 per person

What you will cover

  • Transferring a drawing
  • Handling gouges safely
  • Rolling ink evenly
  • Hand burnishing and registration

Included

  • Lino, cutters and a bench hook
  • Water-based inks
  • Paper, cards and envelopes

Your carved block and every print leave with you, laid flat in a card folder.

Book the lino printing

03 · Young makers1 class

Young makers

A Saturday clay club for children aged 7 to 12, run by Farah.

Two children rolling and cutting clay at a long shared tableIllustrative photo

Young makers clay club

Clay for children: animals, pinch pots, tiles and badges, with simple glazing. Farah runs every session, with ten children at most.

When
Saturdays 2pm to 3:30pm
Length
An hour and a half
Group
10 children at most
Ages
7 to 12
Price
£18 per child

What you will cover

  • Squeezing, rolling and joining clay
  • Making a creature or a pot
  • Pressing patterns into tiles
  • Painting with glaze

Included

  • Clay, tools and child-size aprons
  • Glazes and both firings
  • Squash and a biscuit at half time

Fired pieces go on the collection shelf with the child’s name on them, usually about a month later.

Book the young makers

Weekly timetableClosed on Mondays

The week at the studio.

Classes run to the same pattern every week, apart from the winter closure. A new seven-week group starts every nine weeks, and no group runs into the winter closure.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Next datesDates work themselves out on your device

Next dates for every class.

Every date is a request until we confirm your place. Pick one and we will check there is room.

The weekly timetable
  • Clay hands shaping a terracotta pot on a spinning wheel
    WeeklyClay

    Wheel taster

    Thursdays 6:30pm to 9pm and Saturdays 10am to 12:30pm

    Two and a half hours£52 per personIllustrative photo

  • A row of students bent over potter’s wheels in a timber studio
    WeeklyClay

    Seven-week wheel course

    New groups start on Tuesdays 6:30pm to 9pm and Wednesdays 6:30pm to 9pm, every 9 weeks

    Seven evenings£295 for seven eveningsIllustrative photo

  • A student building a coil pot on a small banding wheel
    Every weekClay

    Hand-building evening

    Fridays 6:30pm to 9pm

    Two and a half hours£39 per personIllustrative photo

  • A painter adding watercolour to a coastal sketch on a drawing board
    Every weekPaint and print

    Drawing and painting mornings

    Wednesdays 10am to 12pm

    2 hours£28 per morningIllustrative photo

  • Two leaf prints in black ink next to their carved block and two red-handled cutters
    Every weekPaint and print

    Lino printing afternoon

    Sundays 1pm to 3:30pm

    Two and a half hours£46 per personIllustrative photo

  • Two children rolling and cutting clay at a long shared table
    Every weekYoung makers

    Young makers clay club

    Saturdays 2pm to 3:30pm

    An hour and a half£18 per childIllustrative photo

How a class worksDry, fire, glaze, fire

From soft clay to a fired pot.

Painting and printing go home with you on the day. Clay takes longer, because it has to dry and be fired twice.

  1. 01

    Make

    You make your pieces on the wheel or at the table, and a tutor checks in with each person in turn.

  2. 02

    Dry and first firing

    Work dries slowly on our racks for about a week before its first firing, the bisque.

  3. 03

    Glaze

    On tasters we glaze in the colour you chose; on the course you dip and brush your own.

  4. 04

    Second firing and collection

    A second, hotter firing melts the glaze. Your pieces then wait on the named collection shelf.

Rows of unglazed bisque pots and vases on metal shelving

Studio safetySample policy

Safe hands in a busy studio.

  • Both kilns are in a separate locked room. Only studio staff load, fire and open them.
  • Closed shoes near the wheels, and long hair tied back.
  • We mop and wipe rather than sweep, which keeps clay dust down.
  • Lino is cut on a bench hook, with the blade always pushed away from your other hand.
  • Children under 10 need a parent or carer on site for the whole session.

A sample of how a studio like this might run. A real studio sets its own rules after its own risk assessment.

QuestionsCosts · Kilns · Friends · Access

Questions about the classes.

Another question?

Ring the studio during opening hours, or write to hello@marlpit-studio.example.

Call 0161 496 0273
01Is anything extra to pay on the day?

No. Clay, tools, glazes and firing are in the class price. On the seven-week course, clay beyond the first 12 kg is charged at cost.

02Is the kiln dangerous to be near?

Both kilns sit in their own locked room. Only studio staff load, fire and unload them, and students never handle hot work.

03Can friends sit together?

Yes. Ask for two or more places on the same date in one request and we put you side by side.

04I am left-handed. Does that matter on the wheel?

Not at all. Our wheels reverse direction, and tutors teach either way round.

05Is the studio step-free?

The studio is on the ground floor with a level entrance and an accessible toilet (sample details). Tell us in your request if you would like a seat at the wheel adjusted.

06What if I cannot collect my pieces?

We keep finished work for 12 weeks. Ask a friend to collect for you, or ring and we will put it aside a little longer.

Wooden easels holding bright children’s paintings on a sunny wooden terrace outdoors

Ready when you are

Bring your hands. We bring the clay.

Choose a class and a date, and we will get back to you to confirm, usually the same evening, and always by the next afternoon.

Book a classCall 0161 496 0273Or give a gift voucher

A fictional studio

This is a demonstration website. Marlpit Studio is not a real business: calls, emails and social links do not reach anyone, and no booking is sent, stored or confirmed.

Close note

Marlpit Studio · demo website

A fictional studio.

This is a demonstration website. Calls, emails and social links do not reach a real studio, and the number shown is a drama-range example.

Classes, prices, reviews, ratings and tutor profiles here are fictional samples. Nothing is booked, sent or stored.

See the booking request