Frequently Asked Questions
Weekly Classes + Workshops
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Great! The best way to stay in the loop about our classes is to sign up for our newsletter—you’ll get a heads-up when new sessions open for registration.
Classes like beginning wheel fill very quickly, so if you don’t get a spot right away, don’t worry—just keep trying next time!
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We announce our class registration date in our newsletter, giving a few days’ notice so you can choose the class and times that work for you.
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Weekly class instruction
25 pounds of clay (firing included)
Access to Claymakers’ open studio hours (Tuesday–Saturday, 1–6 pm)
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Students are responsible for providing their own clay tools. While a few tools will be available for common use, you’ll want to build your own collection. New students can purchase a basic pottery toolkit at their first class.
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At the bottom of each individual class page, there is a space to enter your email address for the waitlist. If a space becomes available, everyone on the waitlist is notified at the same time by email. The space is filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Cancellations are not uncommon, but we can’t guarantee that a space will open up in your preferred class.
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Class sizes are limited, and we truly value your participation—when you enroll, we’re counting on you to attend.
If you need to withdraw, you’ll receive a refund of your class tuition minus a non-refundable $25 registration fee per space reserved, as long as you cancel before the refund deadline.
Refund deadlines are shared in our newsletter when registration opens and on our classes page. We’re unable to offer refunds or credits after that deadline, or for missed individual classes during the session.
We reserve the right to cancel or reschedule classes based on enrollment. In the event of a cancellation, you’ll have the option to transfer to another class or receive a full refund.
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We’re only able to offer makeup classes in cases of documented illness or injury. Our classes are in high demand, and we want everyone who registers to be able to fully participate. If you anticipate missing several sessions due to scheduling conflicts, we recommend waiting until you can attend the full session. You can review our full class and registration policies.
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If you withdraw from a workshop at least 30 days before its start date, tuition will be refunded minus the following non-refundable registration fee per space reserved:
Workshops under $150: $45
Workshops over $150: $75
No refunds are available within 30 days of the start of the workshop, once the workshop has started, or for missed sessions. If a workshop is canceled due to insufficient enrollment, you’ll be offered a full refund.
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Currently, Claymakers does not offer children’s programs. Students must be at least 18 years old to participate in our classes and workshops.
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Currently, Claymakers does not offer private lessons.
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Yes! Claymakers offers one-time workshops in a variety of topics: check our classes page for available sessions.
Studio Access + Open Studio
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Open studio hours give current students an opportunity to work independently in the studio outside of class. Open studio is especially beneficial for beginning students who want to practice and build their skills.
Open studio hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 1–6 pm.
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Yes! We offer a limited number of open studio passes each class session. Visit our Open Studio page for more information.
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Claymakers does not offer day passes.
Firing Services
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Yes, we offer firing services on a space-available basis. See our Firing Services page for more information.
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Student work is prioritized for firing. Outside makers should expect that each firing could take up to two weeks—longer if your piece is over 12 inches tall or wide.
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Kilns are loaded and unloaded daily. The order in which pieces are loaded depends on their dryness, dimensions, our class schedule, and other factors.
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Yes, outside kiln renters can glaze their pieces in-studio during open studio hours (Tuesday-Saturday, 1-6 pm). The use of our studio glazes is included in our glaze firing rate.
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We recommend bringing in your pieces as early as possible! You should allow up to two weeks per firing, and longer for pieces over 12 inches tall or wide.
If you’re working toward a specific holiday, gift, or market deadline, please plan ahead. We can’t guarantee that pieces will be fired in time for a particular date, especially during busy seasons.
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We have a lot of student work to look through, and your piece is most likely either still in the kiln or behind other pots. We recommend taking pictures of the pieces you make or using a pottery app to track your work (ClayLab is a cool one!). Pieces can transform so much in a glaze firing that they may be hard to recognize afterward.
After looking thoroughly, if you still can’t find your piece, ask a staff member. Student work can take up to two weeks to be fired, so please be patient.
Store + Supplies
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Tuesday–Saturday, 1–6 pm.
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We cannot take orders by phone outside of store hours, but you can email orders to store@claymakers.org. Emails will be answered Tuesday–Saturday.
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Absolutely! To request a special order, please complete our Special Order Request Form. A member of our team will review your request and get back to you within approximately three days with availability, pricing, and next steps.
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We do not currently accept returns. If you have a product issue, please contact store@claymakers.org.
Visiting Claymakers
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You can find our parking lot at 470 Salem Street, inside a chain-link fence. To park closer to our building, drive through the roll-up door in the cinderblock wall.
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We welcome questions about accessibility and accommodations. For more information about accessibility at Claymakers, please visit our Accessibility page.
If you have a question about a particular class, activity, or area of our facility, or would like to discuss an accommodation, please contact us at director@claymakers.org. We’re happy to talk through your needs and explore what may be possible.
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We do not. We encourage you to research pottery restoration and repair experts on your own.
Newsletter
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If you have a Gmail account, here’s how you can ensure our newsletter goes to your main inbox (big thanks to our student Gabby for the tutorial!):
In Gmail, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner to open Quick Settings.
Click See All Settings to open the full settings panel.
Navigate to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
Click Create a new filter, enter info@claymakers.org, and click Create Filter.
Select Categorize as, choose Primary from the dropdown, and click Create Filter to complete the process.
The filter will appear under Filters in Settings, and emails from Claymakers should now go to your Primary inbox.

