When you’ve finished painting your lovely pottery, we usually talk all this talk about glazing and firing and ticketing and wrapping and collecting and, unless you know the drill, the journey of your pottery can seem a bit hectic! Don’t worry, we’ve got the process on lock down.
For all you lil curious cats, we’ve decided to put together a step by step guide of exactly what happens from start to finish during your experience at The Painting Pottery Cafe. There’s quite a lot to tell you, so we’ve split it into three parts.
So, without further ado, welcome to Part I!
Choosing your Pottery
With nearly 200 items to choose from, this can sometimes be the most daunting part of the whole process for you guys! A few bits of advice to help you choose:
☝️ We have tons of images for you to trace onto your pottery (don’t worry, we’ll explain how in a bit), so don’t feel too intimidated by the mugs, plates, and bowls - they may not have a template, but they’re super easy to turn into a masterpiece!
☝️ That being said, we recommend you don’t put your pottery in the dishwasher or microwave, which may affect your choice
☝️ Don’t worry about how easy or hard it’ll be to paint. After all, you’ll be painting for a couple of hours, but it’ll last forever. In other words, don’t choose something flat just because you think it’ll be easier (and sometimes, it won’t!)
☝️ Think about what you (or the person you’re painting for) will use. If you never have cereal or porridge or soup, maybe a bowl isn’t for you. If the person you’re painting for doesn’t like hot drinks, maybe consider a plate rather than a mug.
☝️Finally, just remember the £5 studio fee on top of the price of whatever you choose to paint. This fee has stayed the same since we opened 20 years ago. It covers the paint, the glaze, the firing, and the promise that your pottery will be ready for you to collect in a week.
Painting Demo
We pride ourselves on our gorgeous demo plates, which help us explain to our customers step by step the ways in which they can best create their showpieces. With so many different tools at your disposal, it’s important we show you how to use them all so you can bring your vision to life!
Painting!
The highlight of it all. Our customers often find that the recommended minimum time of 2 hours just isn’t enough to put paint to pottery. Don’t worry, if it’s coming up to closing time, you can come back another day for just £2.50. A few things to remember:
👌 Light colours first, dark colours on top
👌 Let the paint dry before applying a new layer. 1 layer will look lovely and brushy, 3 will be nice and bold. Don’t put tons of layers of paint or it’ll go wonky in the kiln!
👌 Normal pencil will burn away in the kiln, as long as you press nice and gently
👌 Always choose your colours from the chart on your table, as they change loads in the kiln. You’ve got free reign of your paint on a wheel on the table, so please just beware that it’s very precious and kids can usually do with a helping hand so it doesn’t all get squeezed out!
Fancy a Cuppa?
Being creative is thirsty work, so why not treat yourself to a cup of tea? We’ve got good ol’ Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Redbush, as well as some herbal and fruity numbers! We’re also happy to whip up a coffee for you, and have soft drinks on offer too. And, of course, we have our scrummy seasonal cake to curb your appetite. Go on, you know you want to!
Leave it With Us 🍃
We’ll put together a digital ticket on our fancy new iPad system (ooooh), and double check your contact info. Once you’ve settled up the bill, just leave your pottery on your table and we’ll take it from here! It’ll be ready in a week for you, and if you need it sooner feel free to ask and we’ll do our best 🤞🏽