In 2023 we celebrated being open for 25 Years. Watch the short documentary-film by our very own filmmaker Sam Newton-Matthes!

Gill’s Creative Journey

Founder Gill, inspired by her global experiences and a love for the therapeutic power of art, brought the concept of a pottery painting cafe to life after discovering it in sunny America. Fueled by a desire for change and her background in psychology, she created a space where art could soothe the soul.



Fern’s New Chapter

Fast forward to December 2021, during the pandemic, then-manager Fern, an illustrator with a passion for fostering creativity, took over the studio. Inspired by Gill’s vision, Fern has been reshaping the space, embracing its mission to inspire creativity.


Our Mission and Offerings

Rebranded in 2022, The Painting Pottery Cafe aims to make pottery accessible to everyone. From beginners to seasoned artists, we provide inclusive painting and crafting experiences for all ages and occasions, including families, dates, parties, and team-building groups. We adapt to meet everyone’s needs, ensuring a welcoming and creative environment.


Meet Our Team

Our enthusiastic team includes potters Chelle, Freya, Al, Lucy, and Saz, artists Polly, Amy, and Emily, and filmmaker Sam. This group of young creatives is dedicated to making your experience as enjoyable and memorable as possible.

We can’t wait to welcome you! If you enjoy your visit, please leave us a glowing TripAdvisor review—it means the world to us.

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our ethics:

  • We are a living wage employer and take the welfare of our staff very seriously.

  • Any scrap clay from making sessions gets recycled in a process called reclaiming clay, meaning it can be endlessly used.

  • We avoid washing any extra paint away down the sink, and instead recycle it into new custom underglaze colours.

  • We recycle as much as possible using Recorra, including paper, card, plastics, metals, and coffee grounds.

  • Where possible we order products with as little packaging as possible.

  • We reuse packaging to wrap customer pottery for post, and our friends down the road at Infinity Foods provide lots of reused packing peanuts and boxes for us to use!

  • We sell heavy duty, ethically made (stylish!) totes for you to take your pottery home in.

  • We don’t throw away pottery, if it’s unpainted but damaged we’ll leave it on our doorstep and people love to take it home for crafty projects, or if it’s painted but never collected then we donate it to charity so it can have a new life.

  • We support local businesses as suppliers for our coffee, packaging, cakes etc.