Getting Started
Pottery Classes: Schedules, Pricing & What to Expect
Everything you need to plan your first visit to our North Riverdale studio — class formats, what a session actually looks like, current pricing, and answers to the questions every beginner asks.
Noel Yardley June 2, 2026 · 9 min read
If you've been meaning to try pottery and keep landing on our page, this is the post to read first. Here's exactly how classes work at our North Riverdale studio — the formats, the schedule, what it costs, and what actually happens once your hands hit the clay.
We're a small studio on the quiet side of the Danforth, a few minutes' walk from Greektown's restaurants. Most people who come through the door have never touched a wheel and are quietly convinced they'll be terrible at it. They are not. Clay is more forgiving than you think, and the room is full of people in exactly the same boat.
Our studio at 112 Hampton Ave — natural light, room to make a mess.
Where to find us
TWO STUDIOS - 112 Hampton Ave, 80 Barton Ave
Our east end studio is at 112 Hampton Ave, two blocks south of Chester Station in North Riverdale — Toronto's East End. If you're coming by transit it's a short walk from the Danforth subway line; by car there's two-hour street parking on the surrounding streets. (Our old Gainsborough Road location has closed — all programs now run from Hampton.)
Our west end studio is at 80 Barton Ave, just north of Bloor Street West in Toronto’s Seaton Village neighbourhood. Located near Christie Pits, local cafés and shops, the studio is an easy walk from Christie Station and the Bloor subway line, with TTC access close by. Come visit us in our new west end space and see what’s happening at Noel Yardley Ceramics.
Ready when you are
Registration for Fall 2026 is open at both studios!
Wheels fill quickly — grab a spot.
Three ways into clay
You don't have to commit to anything big to start. We run three formats, and most people begin with one of the first two:
3 HOURS · ONE EVENING
Introductory Workshop
The low-commitment way in. You'll learn the basics of wheel-throwing, play with a few shapes, and choose two pieces to keep — glazed, fired and ready a few weeks later. Perfect for a first taste or a gift.
8 WEEKS · WEEKLY
Foundation Course
Where real skill builds. Eight weekly sessions covering hand-building, wheel-throwing, decoration and glazing. You leave with a body of work and the ability to keep going on your own.
PRIVATE · BY BOOKING
Events & Date Nights
Couples' date nights, bridal showers, birthdays, and corporate team-building. We bring the structure and the clay; you bring the group. Great for non-makers — nobody needs experience.
Schedules
Foundation courses run in eight-week terms across the year, with daytime, evening and weekend sections so there's usually something that fits around work. Introductory workshops run most weeks, with extra dates added around holidays and gifting season. Exact dates and remaining spots live on the booking page — it updates in real time as classes fill.
What it costs
Pricing is per term or per session and includes clay, glazes, firing and the use of all studio tools — there's nothing extra to buy to get started. Current rates:
Introductory Workshop
3 HRS · 2 PIECES KEPT
$95
8-Week Foundation Course
INCL. ALL MATERIALS & FIRING
$525
Couples' Date Night
PER PAIR
$240
Private Group Event
FROM, PER PERSON
$75
Indicative pricing — confirm current rates and dates on the booking page.
Everyone's first bowl is wonky. That's not a bug — it's the part you'll be weirdly proud of in six months.
What a first class actually looks like
You'll be handed an apron and a fist-sized lump of clay. After a short demo, you sit at a wheel and try to centre — getting the clay to spin true under your hands. This is the hard part, and it humbles everyone. Then you open it, pull the walls up, and shape something: a little bowl, a cylinder, a cup that wants to be a bowl. Your teacher moves bench to bench, hands-on, fixing wobbles before they collapse.
At the end you'll trim your favourites and set them on the drying shelf. They get bisque-fired, you glaze them on a later visit, and then they're fired again. About three weeks after you start, you collect finished pieces you can actually use.
Centering — the part that humbles everyone, then hooks them.
Questions we hear every week
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None at all. The vast majority of people who walk in have never touched clay. Classes are built for beginners, and teachers work bench to bench.
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Clothes you don't mind getting clay on, and short nails (long nails fight the clay). We provide aprons and towels. Closed-toe shoes are best.
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Roughly three weeks from when you make them — clay has to dry, get bisque-fired, glazed, then fired again. It's worth the wait.
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Yes — our glazes are food-safe, so your mug and bowls are ready for everyday use, dishwasher included.
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Absolutely. Book adjacent spots in a course, or come to a couples' date night designed exactly for two.
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Get in touch as early as you can and we'll do our best to fit you into another section — availability depending.
So — which should you book?
If you're curious but cautious, start with an introductory workshop. If you already know you want to make real things and stick with it, the 8-week course is far better value and where the magic actually happens. And if it's for a group or a gift, talk to us about an event or a gift card. Whatever you pick, the first step is the same: pick a date.
Pick a date and we'll see you at the wheel
Summer 2026 registration is open at our Hampton Ave studio.
Noel Yardley Noel Yardley is a ceramic artist and the founder of Noel Yardley Ceramics. His Naked Raku sculpture is held in private collections internationally.
Our Studio
112 Hampton Ave
2 blocks south of Chester Station in North Riverdale.
2 hour street parking available.
please note: our Gainsborough Road studio has closed.
All our programs will now be offered at our new Hampton location.
Naked Raku Sculpture by Noel Yardley,
Private Collection, Berlin