Embrace slow crafts at this Eccleston Yards studio, founded in 2019 by Lucy Attwood and Gregory Tingay
For many office employees and city dwellers, extreme typing and relentless scrolling are about the most we ever work with our hands. Add in plenty of screen time and the result is technological overstimulation, so it’s no wonder people are looking to slow things down by taking up crafts.
Studio Pottery London is one place that’s experiencing a boom as they gain more and more “converts to the wheel” (apparently Austin Butler, Alexa Chung, Josh O’Connor, Faye Wei Wei and Harris Reed are all fans), and after a two-on-one class with Artistic Director Gregory Tingay, we’ve got the pottery bug too.
There’s obviously a limit to how much you can achieve in just one session but Gregory does an excellent job of getting you to understand the fundamentals. You also get to make a basic pot that gets professionally fired and glazed for you, so you have something actually decent to show for your efforts – the same can’t be said of every pottery experience, especially ones where you’re let loose with the paints. He explains all the steps really clearly and does a demo, and then you have plenty of hands-on time with the clay, from wedging it to throwing it on the wheel. The extra benefit of a private class is that you can get lots of direct attention, meaning you can improve quite quickly, and we managed to produce a lovely looking pair of pots if we do say so ourselves.
Studio Pottery London also offers group taster sessions, foundation classes, and ongoing courses, and experienced potters can also become members to gain open access to the studio, so it really does cater for all levels. It’s a gentle, calming space and we found great joy in doing something tactile, in repeating and improving the same task – and we’re already plotting when can next go potting.
Stay in the loop…
Sign up to our drops & get us in your inbox.
We’ll be in your inbox every Wednesday at 11:30am.
Put the kettle on!
29 Eccleston Place, London SW1W 9NF
studio-pottery-london.com