*COVID-19; updated 23rd December*
Due to Oxfordshire entering Tier 4, I have made the difficult decision to put pottery experiences on hold for the time being.
Kasia Fiszer Photography
Individual pottery experiences
I run pottery experiences from my home studio in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
To enhance the relaxing, therapeutic process of throwing a pot, I use candles and play calming music to create the perfect atmosphere for you to take a moment away from the outside world.
There are three workshops you can choose from depending on what you would like to take away from your lesson. These can be found in the shop section of the website. In each workshop you will watch a demonstration given by myself whilst enjoying a biscuit and a hot beverage of your choice. When it is your turn to jump on the wheel, I will guide you through the process to ensure you create your very own piece of hand-thrown pottery.
When I am able to start up my pottery experiences up again COVID-19 social distancing measures will be introduced, to ensure you feel safe and relaxed during your experience. There will be sufficient time between each pottery experiences. Everyone in the studio will need to wear a mask at all times, there will be some surgical masks provided or alternatively you can bring your own if you'd prefer. There will also be hand sanitiser which will need to be used when you arrive for your experience. During this time, there will not be any hot beverages or biscuits provided but you are more than welcome to bring a drink with you. Please get in touch if you have any questions.
Here are the links to the workshops for more detail;
Pottery experiences
- Experience what it's like to throw a pot on the wheel, from a ball of clay into a pot form. Your pot will then be fired and then it'll be ready to collect.
- This experience can be completed in one session and it'll take about an hour and a half.
- This experience is £70
Make a plant pot
- Experience what it's like to make a plant pot from start to finish. In your first session you will throw a ball of clay into a pot, after a week or so this pot will be dry enough to turn which is what you do in your second session. You will use the metal tools to carve away the excess clay, neaten up your pot and stamp your name into it. After your pot has been fired for the first time it will be glazed, this adds colour onto your pot and makes it watertight. Your pot will then be fired for the second time, after it has come out of the kiln it will be ready for collection.
- This experience has 3 sessions in total, the first two are about 1.5 hours and the final one is 30 minutes long.
- The total cost is £100
Make a mug
- The 'Make a mug' experience combines the first two experiences. In your first session you will throw mug bases and after a week or so, when the bases are dry enough, you'd pick one to attach a handle onto. This base will be turned (excess clay carved off of the base and neatened up) and then stamped with your name. You will then pull a handle and attach this onto it to make a mug. Your pot and mug will be fired and then the mug will then be glazed in your 3rd and final session.
- This experience has 3 sessions in total, the first two take about 2 hours and the final one is 40 minutes long.
- The cost of this experience is £140
Experiences for two can be arranged for each workshop, the price of the experiences are per person so an additional experience will need to be purchased from the shop.
Please get in touch with any questions by emailing info@FICHceramics.co.uk.
Pottery Experience Testimonials
“Me and my mum had a throwing lesson yesterday with Fi and we LOVED it so much! Fi is an awesome teacher and overall lovely person. It's lovely to see an old friend from school doing what she loves and being an absolute pro at it. I can't believe she taught me how to make a pot in basically an hour and I had never even done anything like this before! So happy with the pot that I made. Great fun, Great teacher and great person. Going to be booking more sessions for sure!! Thanks so much Fi! Xxx”
“I second that! She is a fabulous teacher, so patient! I too am so happy with my pot. What a fabulous evening! Thank you Fi! Xx”
“Had so much fun with Jon today! Did another session with Fi Chappelle I managed to make a bowl today!”
“I got my hubby a pottery lesson for his recent BIG birthday and I also got one for me as it sounded like fun. We had lots of giggles watching each other's efforts. We both really enjoyed our lesson and made fab- in our opinion- pots. Fi guided us extremely tactfully! Fi was lovely and is a bubbly, fun person. She even gave us choccy biscuits. A pottery lesson with Fi was a very successful present for a very difficult to buy for person. I would fully recommend for anyone.”
“My boyfriend and I had a lesson and it was the best experience! So much fun and I was v proud of our little pots. If you're in the Oxfordshire area definitely look her up, a really great unique gift idea, or just a fun weekend activity! Thanks so much Fi, can't wait for the end result :) x”
“My Mum thoroughly enjoyed her Ceramics workshop yesterday with the fab @fichceramics | I bought the gift voucher as her Christmas present. Highly recommended! I may have made a little purchase for myself while I was there ~ cheeky!”
“I had so much fun yesterday at the lovely @fichceramics 😊 learning how to throw clay, we had lots of laughs and a cute little pot at the end of it. Thank u so much for having us Fi”.
“Had a brilliant session with Fiona today - looking forward to the next one”
“I had such a great time with Fi learning how to throw!! She was a very patient and helpful teacher, and I'm so happy with what I managed to create. Recommend this class to anyone, it was brilliant to try something new, and is so much fun! Huge thanks Fi xxxx”
“Thanks so much for the lesson and for your patience. I loved it!”
“Had great fun tonight learning how to throw a pot with Fiona. Adrenaline crafting!”
“Had a brilliant session with Fiona today - looking forward to the next one"
"I was bought a FICH for my Christmas present and I had a wonderful time learning all new and exciting techniques for throwing a pot. I'd done it once before and wasn't very good so was very new to it all. Fi is an awesome teacher and great to have a chat and a cuppa tea with. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars!!”
“I had such a great time with Fi learning how to throw!! She was a very patient and helpful teacher, and I'm so happy with what I managed to create. Recommend this class to anyone, it was brilliant to try something new, and is so much fun! Huge thanks Fi xxxx”
“Thanks so much Fi! I've had so much fun doing my one to one pottery class. I loved learning every part of the process and we've had a great giggle too! So friendly and such a lovely inspiring environment surrounded by your beautiful work. Would definitely recommend! X”
“My wife and I did one of Fi's classes last night and it was loads of fun. Neither of us had done any kind of pottery before so it was a challenge but amazingly we both managed to make a pot! Fi is a really good teacher and makes the whole class a great experience. Looking forward to doing another one!”
"I just want to say a big thank you to Fi for giving myself and Annie a wonderful pot making session yesterday. I may have produced something, ahem, a little more original, but I am really looking forward to seeing the finished piece. Thanks again. I may well come back for another go. 😁😘"
"Such an awesome and satisfying experience. Thanks Fi!"
"Thank you for making my dad so welcome today! he said he really enjoyed his pottry lesson and had a few laughs along the way! I will look forward to seeing his finished pot! We will recommend you to our family and friends."
"Thank you Fi for your talent as a teacher. I have had so much fun throwing, turning and glazing my first pot"
"I purchased the throwing experience with FICH for my 12 year old daughter for Christmas and she thoroughly enjoyed it! The experience was carried out over 3 sessions. My daughter isn't the most confident and often hesitant at trying new things, however, Fi made her feel relaxed and happy very quickly! She was really pleased with her final piece and is keen to have another go in the future. My daughter and I would definitely recommend this experience. Thanks again xx"
"My son and I really enjoyed the experience of making our pots. Having never done it before we didn't know what to expect. Fi created a very relaxed environment and expertly guided us through various steps. We managed to both finish with very respectable looking pottery! I would highly recommend her to anyone who would like to give pottery a try."
"I got the best present from [my fiance] today, POTTERY!!! got to make a pot, pretty successfully too. Thanks so much @FICHceramics you are wonderful, hilarious and such a great teacher. Thanks for having us!!"
