We’ve put together some general guidance and info on what to expect during your visit. If you’d like to read the seriously detailed risk assessment instead, please scroll to the bottom of the page.

We trust that you will be following the most current government advice. This is currently that you may only socialise with your own household, support bubble or other person specified by the government.

You can see all the most up to date info for our area here ➡️ www.gov.uk/guidance/north-east-of-england-local-restrictions

What’s on?

We’re currently open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am-5pm. We’ll be adding more days when we can!

Preparing for your visit:

Firstly and most obviously, if you think you might be sick please stay at home. We’d much rather you drop us an email and cancel your visit than risk the health of our team and other customers by powering through a high temperature or a persistent cough. If we suspected any visitors may be displaying symptoms they will be discreetly asked to leave and all areas they may have contaminated will undergo a deep clean.

All visitors will be asked to read this info before they visit so we’re all on the same page. We’re following government guidelines on masks, which means that where possible you are required to wear one when you visit as we are technically a shop. Once seated at your table you may remove your mask and put it safely in your pocket. You must put your mask back on when moving around the studio or talking to someone outside of your bubble. This info does not apply to those who are not required to wear a mask (children and other groups).

Booking is advised as we have very limited seating available. We will have a contact number/email for at least one person from each group, these details will be stored for 21 days to help with the NHS track + trace system. If you develop symptoms shortly after your visit please let us know so we can discreetly contact guests who were present during your visit. If possible please leave coats etc safely in your car.

You must arrive on time for your booking. Arriving more than 5 minutes early/late can get us in a bit of pickle as we might not have had time to clean your table, or might end up with too many people standing in the studio. If you are a bit too early you can go for a nosey around Fern Avenue Antiques while we prepare your table. Equally if you are running late please call to let us know.

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What to expect During your visit:

We know people are at varying levels of social comfort so please do say if you’d like us to do anything to make your visit more comfortable for you.

🪑 The studio is very spacious, we’ve moved our tables around and had the tape measure out to check there’s at least 1m between tables. We’ll be making a conscious effort to keep at least 1m between us and you whenever possible, and we ask that you do the same. Please help us keep the studio clear by leaving large bags/coats in the car / at home if possible.

😷 Our team will be wearing either a mask or visor and will keep 1m+ away from you at all times, you must do the same. If you forget to keep your distance or pop your mask on we’ll give you a friendly reminder :)

🧴 There is hand sanitiser available on every table + most communal surfaces. Please clean your hands as soon as you’re shown to your table. You’ll have access to our communal materials + displays, but we ask that you clean your hands before and after you touch things and try not to touch your face to prevent cross contamination - we will be doing the same.

🎨 Before you start painting we’ll give you a demonstration into how the paints work, if you rather watch a demonstration video before you arrive to reduce the amount of contact between yourself and our team please follow this link to our demonstration video. This is the page for people who are hiring kits to paint at home, so you can ignore most of the info and focus on the demonstration video. Let us know once you’ve chosen your pottery that you’ve watched the demonstration online, but do feel free to ask us any questions.

🚽 You are able to use the toilet during your visit. It is cleaned regularly and there’s cleaning supplies in there too for you to use if you’d like to give surfaces a wipe before you do your business.

☕️ You can order tea / coffee / sweet treats during your visit. Large menus are on display in the studio, rather than small menus on each table. We’re still BYOB if you fancy a tipple!

💸 When you’re finished your pottery experience, we ask that you’ll pay by card to reduce the amount of cash we have to handle. If you do need to pay with cash we’ll give it a clean before it goes in the cash box to be given as change to another customer.

I think that about covers everything! If you have any questions before /during / after your visit about our covid-19 measures please ask us directly. We’re trying our very best to adapt our studio for this new world, whilst keeping the uplifting social and relaxing atmosphere that our visitors have come to know and love.

Look forward to seeing you soon Hazel + the pottery experience team xoxo

Below is the very serious and formal risk assessment as promised.