It’s taking longer than we’d hoped to get the keys so we’re really indulging in the paper planning stages. As you may have guessed from the fact we’re well into February and we still don’t have access to the space, it’s looking likely we’ll be opening our doors to you in March 2019 instead of February as we’d hoped.

Stick with us, we’ll get there in the end - in the meantime, here’s a sneak peak of our plans! ✏️

This sketchy plan might not look like much, but let me tell you, this is the beginning of our master plan to transform the space into a functional, inspiring and relaxing pottery studio - for you to have the very best pottery experiences in.

There’s zones for painting pottery, making pottery, getting inspired, a coffee counter, a gallery shop, and that’s just on the ground floor!

We had a super productive and inspiring chat with Andrea, the mastermind behind Becoming Spaces which lead to this updated floor plan. We’re thinking more about your experience as the customer, striving for dream lighting solutions, invigorating colour schemes and accessible table layouts.

We may not have the keys to the space yet, but this doesn’t mean we’re not thinking about every aspect of your future pottery experiences. We’re deep in thought trying to solve the eternal mystery of how we can create an atmosphere that makes you feel welcome and utterly at home in our studio space. We want to be one of those places where you walk in, and you instantly feel at ease - like you’re meant to be there.

So far our list of key ingredients for a welcoming atmosphere include:

Staff presence

Whether you’re walking in to a restaurant or friends house, it’s always nice to be greeted with a smile and cheery hello. Our team will always be on hand to help you feel totally at home, explain the process and guide and support you throughout your creative journey - which leads nicely onto my next topic…

Clarity + expertise

We want your experience with us to be as relaxing as possible, and firmly believe that knowing what to expect before you arrive can help set your experience off on the right foot. For this reason we’ve loaded this website with simple helpful content so you can find the experience that suits you or your group just right! This clarity and transparency will be key in the studio as well; all our products will be clearly priced and easy to view, and every member of our team will be meticulously trained in all the products and services we offer. This means that whether you’re emailing, calling or meeting us face to face in the shop, you’ll always receive great service.

Colour

Coming up with a colour scheme that says ‘adults/children/couples/teens/hen parties/grandparents you’re all going to love this fun/relaxing/creative-but-not-too-messy experience’ was a big ask of our designer. We think he’s hit the nail on the head with this stimulating colour pallet. As with all great branding, our goal is to make sure all aspects of The Pottery Experience coherently flow into one and other, which should mean that whether you’re on the website, browsing our social media, receiving a gift voucher, or in the shop - the colour, design and feel of it should make you know for sure - it’s us.

In terms of deciding how to paint the space it’s a delicate balance to find. Researching commercial creative spaces you tend to see two trends: Trend 1 - paint everything all of the colours to make it look fun and creative, sometimes this can look amazing (see the fabulous Punk Me Up Ceramics) but risks being oppressively colourful with table cloths that distract from the piece you’re painting. Trend 2 - a neutral blank canvas, which is airy and calm with lots of white space but can feel like it’s lacking personality.

Only time will tell if we get this right - so watch this space! 🤞

Comfort

to put it frankly, we’re searching for simple chairs and tables that aren’t offensive on the eyes or the bottom. In our search for studio inspiration I keep stumbling across furniture made of reclaimed scaffolding, pallets and barrels - it is just me that sees this and thinks that’s going to catch on my wooly jumper and ladder my tights? We’re also thinking about other elements that make an experience comfortable - knowing where the toilet is, having somewhere to hang your coat, knowing who to ask for help. On their own they are small details, but if we can meet as many of your customer needs as possible, it’s one less thing for you to think about.

Music

this is a tricky one, on the one hand music can add personality and energy to an establishment, but on the other hand everyone has a different taste in music! A song which for one person is cheery and calming might be utterly irritating for another. That’s before you even begin to think about the lyrical content of the music falling on sensitive or young ears. This is one of the contributing factors that’s making us lean towards curating playlists of classical music. Another swaying factor is the much debated Mozart Effect which was first reported in 1993 after a study at a university in California which seemed to show people who listened to Mozart before they took a test showed significantly increased spatial reasoning skills during the test. Whether it’s scientifically true or not, our sample of people gave listening to classical music whilst getting creative a solid thumbs up 👍

Lighting

Just as walking into a dimly lit space may make you feel uneasy, lights that are too bright are also off-putting. When you’re engaging in a creative and detail-orientated activity there’s also practical considerations, such as the crazy shadows that spot lighting casts when you’re painting, or warm light making colours look odd. Andrea tells us a space should have five levels of lighting each appropriate for the activity taking place, which includes atmospheric lighting to set the mood, task lighting so you can see what you’re doing, spot lighting to highlight focal points and so on.

Have we missed anything?

Leave us a comment and let us know what you think makes for a dream atmosphere.

In other news, it’s taking longer than we’d hoped to get the keys hence why we’re still in the paper planning stages. And as it’s February the 1st today and we don’t have access yet, it’s looking likely we’ll be opening our doors to you in March 2019 instead of February as we’d hoped.

Stick with us, we’ll get there in the end ✏️

Designing The Pottery Experience