Hand Eye Design Ceramics

Had the most incredible time with James ( instructor) during our private lesson today ( me and my bro+sis in law) the smaller class size gave us alot of 1:1 instructional time allowed us to practice the various techniques! We all completed our vase/pot/bowl and felt like pros after , thought it was our first time ever ;) thank you James for the memorable time and we can’t wait to pick up our finished glaze works of art!

Took a private class last month for my boyfriends birthday and it was such a lovely time. I really enjoyed the lesson in an open space with lots of natural light. James was a great instructor who was patient, attentive, and was incredibly knowledgeable. Can’t wait to go back!!

Went to Hand Eye Design Ceramics for a team building event and it was a absoofantastic experience. All 7 of us had no experience and James, the instructor walked us through the process step by step. Great teacher and we all had a great time. Very cool studio/facility with everything you need already there, just show up and have fun! And PS watching Ghost is not a prerequisite, but 100% chance there will be a joke or two during the pottery class!

I learned a lot over the 6 weeks, gained a huge appreciation for the craft of pottery and am very happy I finished with a few acceptable pieces. Having said that I do have several major criticisms of the class I would like to share. The biggest one of all being the class was NOT made to be in any way fun by our teacher James. The focus was solely on learning the EXACT RULES we have to follow and not at all about having a good time and learning along the way. Paying $350+ and feeling like I was going back to high school was really a frustrating experience. I feel like we were not being taught as adults but rather teenagers that needed to follow strict rules; having now been to another studio this really is not how the art form should be taught. As well as this way too much of the class is taken up with demonstrations which felt more like an ego trip for our teacher James than a lesson. Again when paying this amount for an experience I personally would like to spend most of the time doing the activity I am paying to do and not watching someone else do it for 45 minutes before starting. Having spoken to a few of the other students they also agreed that they demonstrations were way too long and too detailed to retain any information. We would all just forget and have to ask again once we started. The last 2 things I was disappointed about were the studio itself which is extremely cold and not very nice to be in. Having signed up based off the photos on the website i was upset to be put in a “overflow” space down the street (see attached photo). And finally the fact that we had to wear masks is simply a joke at this stage. I’m a very responsible and safe person regarding my health but this alone was enough to ruin my experience. There isn’t a single place in the world outside of hospitals that these are still mandatory and wanting to have a relaxing experience after work was very much tarnished by this frankly ridiculous “rule”. There are a ton of places in the city to learn this beautiful art form so take your business there if you are looking to have a good time.

Went there on a date night and had the pleasure of having Hannah as our teacher. She did a great job showing us through the beginner steps of using the wheel. Very fun experience!

I recently completed a 6 week beginner course at Hand Eye taught by James and am starting another course next week. James was incredibly informative, enthusiastic, friendly, and provided great one on one feedback throughout the course. The studio provided a fantastic low stress environment to learn and practice a new skill, and his approach of demonstrate then practice allowed a great mix of information and time on the wheel. To address the elephant, Craig's review below couldn't have been further from my own experience and I highly suspect its a case of getting out what you put into the environment.Overall, this class provided a great introduction into the world of wheel throwing and highly recommend anyone interested to check out this studio. For anyone considering taking a course, the absolute highlight for me was the free open studios. Most other studios in the city charge a fee and being able to practice and simply get more time on the wheel every week accelerated my learning and allowed me really valuable time to practice and gain comfort on the wheel. In addition to classes I usually spent another 6 hours a week practicing and creating cups, bowls, and vases, which honestly was an incredible value compared to many other studios. I easily saved $200 compared to the fee's I would have incurred at many other studios for the additional practice time, and came out with a ton more finished pieces than I would have if I didn't make use of the open studios. Finally, James and his team are all a fantastic group of welcoming and amazing people and create a great sense of community if you take the time to chat and say hello to everyone. Psyched to be starting another course soon and couldn't recommend more as a great place to try out ceramics.

Nice community-oriented pottery studio that felt welcoming as a beginner but still offers lots to learn as I progress. Prices are reasonable for classes and drop ins. Have taken a couple of workshops and my experience was that some instructors were better than others. Riley was great and they are always happy to answer the endless questions I have about techniques and supplies.

I took a 6 week beginner wheel throwing class and it was fantastic! The teacher (and TA) were amazing - so patient and encouraging and explained/demonstrated really clearly, the studio was bright and people were really helpful. It was such a fun thing to do. I wasn't sure what time expect but in the end I came out with a bunch of pots I'm really happy with. I would highly recommend this class!