Pottery Café – Richmond

My kids had enjoyed painting pottery when they were small so I was keen to see the reaction of today’s six year olds to the experience. It’s a tech-free thing you see.

We went along – having pre-booked our place (unnecessarily as it happens, as we were there towards the end of the afternoon and the place was relatively quiet) on a miserable half term afternoon. We explained that we were new to the studio and were quickly “aproned up” and shown to a table.

There was a wall of white things waiting to be painted – plates, jugs, tiles, cats, cup cakes (!), penguins and even a skull pirate head. The prices were rather steep though. At other tables there were mums with (whiney) toddlers and dads with thoughtful 12 year old daughters. On the walls were lists of drinks and snacks – the delicious looking cupcakes at the till when we entered had not escaped our attention.

We watched as a young woman gave us a demonstration. She explained that the paint looked much lighter than it would appear when it had been fired (be aware that you have to wait a few days for your artworks to be fired – and therefore plan to return after a week to collect your treasures. I can imagine some small people would be rather impatient about this). And that we needed to repeat application for a stronger colour. She also showed that if we made a mistake we had to wait for the paint to dry and then sandpaper it off.

She showed us sponges that created special shapes and designs – like butterflies, hearts, stars and dinosaurs. We were also shown the tubes of paint to use for lettering and fine line work. She showed us how to prepare an outline with a pencil of our design that wouldn’t show on the final item. My young friend listened to all this but I could see he was itching to have a go.

Luckily the people on the nearby tables were pros and showed us where to get pencils, a bowl of water (for washing our brushes) and a mixing pallet. The half term special was that we received a small tile for free along with our chosen mugs. I had opted to paint a mug and a tile as well. I’m just a big kid at heart it seems.

We started with the tiles as I thought it might be easier to get to grips with the painting on a flat surface. This went well although I had to rummage around in my bag to find a piece of paper on which to write the date for my young friend to copy – although he was naturally brilliant at writing his name. A bit blobby with those tubes of paint that are ultra-sensitive to pressure from small fingers. It’s not as easy as it looks folks!

So. With a pirate on his tile and a red star on mine we moved onto the mugs. The concentration was impressive – and my six year old took the task seriously as well. He was determined to get it absolutely right and I was frequently sent to fetch more paint, refresh the brush water and wash my hands. After an hour or so we were done. So I cleaned us up and gingerly transported our painted items over to the cash desk which is positioned in a toy shop area. Luckily it was stocked mostly with puppets and fluffies so I wasn’t subjected to a series of “I wants”. Phew.

The cost was a bit of a shock. There’s a standard studio charge of around £5 each for being there. Then add on the cost of the items selected to paint. I recollect around £36 went on my credit card – and we hadn’t had any refreshments either. So this is a treat rather than an everyday experience. But I am looking forward to next week when we can collect our creations.

This particular studio is on the St Margaret’s side of Richmond bridge. But they have another in Fulham. And on the bus home I noticed another studio in Twickenham – seems they are all over the place.