frequently asked questions

You can PAINT your own pottery!  But unfortunately, you are not making your own pottery from clay.   We are a paint your own pottery studio & more.  The “& more” part includes glass fusing, workshops and special and events.  So, this means you are painting on bisque.

Newly formed clay is called leatherware and becomes greenware when it dries.  The greenware is fired in a kiln, resulting in bisque.  The bisque, which is what we have lots of, is what you paint (glaze) and then the piece is fired again and becomes your masterpiece.

We do not, but we can recommend where to go to use one – just ask.

The short answer: 30 minutes (typically toddlers through 5 years old), 60 – 120 minutes (older children and adults).

The long answer:  “How long will it take to paint my piece?” is kind of like asking “how long does it take to make dinner?”  To make dinner, some people whip together the first thing they find, pop it in the microwave or toaster oven and dinner is prepared, served and eaten in 30 minutes or so.  Eezy peezy!  And then there are those who brainstorm what to eat, scour the internet for the perfect recipe, gather the ingredients and then start to cook.  These people enjoy prepping for the meal, they like to dice, chop and sauté and will add extra spices or ingredients along the way to kick it up a notch. And after what can sometimes be hours…viola!  The meal is prepared and served like that of a fine restaurant.

In the end, there is no right or wrong answer to how long it should take to paint.  I really just depends on the age of the painter, the size of the piece and how involved you want to get in painting your masterpiece.

No worries!  We will wrap your piece up and give it to you to take home.  Return to our studio with your unfinished piece and we will set you up with the colors needed to finish it. There is never a charge to return to the studio and it usually only takes one return trip, at the most, to complete your piece.

No worries again!  Absolutely NO experience is needed!  We have lots of tips, tricks and techniques to help you along the way.  We have transfer paper (like carbon paper), stencils, stamps and a ton of ideas for inspiration.  We also offer workshops (Paint & Pour!) that will teach you step-by-step how to paint pottery and these classes are a great way to start learning some of the secrets to painting pottery.

No worries!  We can paint a piece for you – we do lots of custom painting.  We can either paint the whole piece for you or finish up what you started.  Click here for details about personalization and customization.

Kids at any age can paint, providing they are old enough to hold a paint brush.  We have even had kiddos paint with their fingertips.  The paint is lead-free and non toxic and very washable – so no worries if some paint ends up on the clothes.

We encourage the kiddos to do their own artwork and for the parents to NOT worry about touching up here and there or making it just right.  There are no mistakes in art, just a change in plans.  And we strongly believe you will appreciate their artwork years to come and a certain piece that was painted age-appropriately will be snapshot of a certain time in your child’s life.  And based on our experiences with our own kids; you may not appreciate their artwork now, but when that little one is older and paints like a pro – you will cherish those beginning pieces…sigh…sniff…sniff.

Plan for a 1 week turnaround.  We will call you and/or email you just as soon as your piece is ready for pick up.

Once you leave, the behind-the-scene magic occurs!  Even though your piece may look dry when you leave, we give it a good 24 hours to make sure all there is no moisture left between the bisque and paint layers.  We then carefully hand dip your piece into a giant tank of “overglaze”.  Overglaze is the product used to make your piece shiny, bright and food safe once it’s fired.  This process is a two step process, with 24 hours between each dip.  Again, we must wait for the overglaze to thoroughly dry…tick tock tick tock.  Once it’s dry, the piece is ready for 1 or our 2 giant kilns.  The kilns heat up to about 1850 degrees and then must cool naturally and slowly…tick tock tick tock.  During the warmer months, the total time in the kiln is 30+ hours and roughly 26 hours during the cooler months.

Yes, no and no!  Yes, all pieces are food safe unless we specifically state otherwise on a particular project.  Unfortunately, no we do not recommend using the microwave and dishwasher.  We know there are lots of you who have put your pieces in the dishwasher for years!  But as industry professionals, we’ve got to stick with what our industry suppliers tell us and that is a big NO for microwave and dishwasher.  After all, it’s hand painted, why not treat it with special attention?  And if anything else, it can serve as a great lesson in dishwashing for the kiddos!

Do to the nature of kiln-fired arts, slight imperfections can occur. Your individually handcrafted pieces along with their imperfections and slight slips of the artist’s hand are what make them special.  On rare occasions, kiln fired pieces can crack or shatter during the firing process.  And on even rarer occasions (I promise – it is far and few between), there is human error on our behalf or factors that are beyond our control.  If a piece cracks or shatters, you will be notified immediately and a credit will be issued.  We value your patronage and rely heavily upon your recommendations to friends and family. Please know that if something unfortunate does happen, we will make every effort within reason to rectify the situation to your satisfaction because we pink puffy heart love our customers.