Summer Holiday Workshops!

With the holidays just days away and for those who’ve already started we thought we’d better let you know about all the ace family clay day and Sculpting studio activities we’ve got planned for our Blandford studio this summer!

Clay Days

Tuesday 26th / Thursday 28th July and Tuesday 23rd / Thursday 25th August! Starting at 10:30am or 2:30pm for 2hrs.

Each session starts with a quick wheel demo and talk through the tools on offer to help create sculptures and pots. Children are then invited to have a go themselves with the help (if needed) from our experienced and friendly potters! Once their pottery has been crafted and dried, participants are encouraged to coat their marvellous masterpieces with lashings of paint! We then glaze and fire everything and will get in touch between 3-5 weeks later to let you know when to come and pick it up or for £15 we can wrap and pack your pieces and post them out to you.

These sessions are a great introduction to the young creatives in your life. They also give parents and children the opportunity to spend much needed time together and allow creative imaginations to come to life in a nurturing and free spirited environment.

Children from as young as 3 are invited to come and clay with us and you are welcome to leave your older ones here (10yrs upwards) if you need to do a bit of shopping in town or just have a break for a couple of hours!

Our sessions are £20pp and we advise booking in advance. You can do this by calling directly or sending an email.

Saturday Sculpting!

From Saturday 23rd July right the way through the summer holidays we will be open for drop in pottery sessions from 10:30am – 12noon / 1:30pm -3pm or if you like to plan ahead we’ll be taking bookings the Friday before no later then 4pm

Prices start from £5 – £30 depending on what you make and whether you decide to take it away with you on the day or leave it with us for a fire and glaze!

Call us on 01258 455232 or email hellopotteryparlour@gmail.com to book any of our workshops this summer and create memories that will last forever and ever!

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Pottery Willies… It must be Hen Season!

June 7, 2016Group Workshops, Hen Parties, Inspirations, Ladies Night, Parties for Grown UpsAdult Workshops, Blandford Forum, Dorset, Girls, Girly Get Together, Group Workshop, Hen Ideas, Hen Parties, Ladies Night, Pottery, Pottery Parties, Wedding IdeasHepziHickish Leave a comment

A usual Monday morning photo shoot consists of a weekends worth of magical and exciting creative masterpieces produced from the extraordinary minds of the little people that join us for their birthday parties! I love seeing their works of art!

However I find myself this week with what only can be described as willies – lots of them… In fact in the last few weeks I’ve seen not much other than these blessed objects!

Last weekend saw our biggest hen party yet with 20 joining us for an afternoon of creative freedom crafting pretty, interesting and hilarious keepsakes! Champagne, afternoon tea, dressing up and listening to favorite music encouraged these hens to get messy with clay and oh did they…!!

Here is a little collection from our most recent hen parties doing what they do best! Note to self if you don’t like willies look away!!

To find out more about our Hen Parties head to http://www.potteryparlourdorset.co.uk

Fizz, Friends and Pottery…It Must Be Ladies Night!

March 11, 2016Comments Book, Group Workshops, Inspirations, Ladies Night, Parties for Grown Ups, Top of the PotsAdult Workshops, Blandford Forum, Dorset, Friday Night, Ladies Night, Pottery PartiesHepziHickish Leave a comment

The perfect way to end a busy week!

Whether it’s been rushing around with children or manic in the office all week, Fridays belong to us girls! Restaurants, bars and dare I say it gym are a thing of the past! An evening in the Pottery Parlour on the other hand is something entirely different… If you’d like to rejuvenate your senses and unleash your inner creativity then join us for Ladies Night! No Children, No office and no nasty hangover! Just you, your friends, our heavenly studio, as much clay as you can get your hands on and well go on then, a bottle of fizz if you fancy it!

Our March workshop saw this fab bunch get creative and by all accounts have a wonderful evening in the parlour!

We have workshops just like this happening through out the year on the first or second Friday of every month. Our next evening is Friday 8th April. Sessions start at 7:30pm until late and cost £25.00pp. Single and group bookings are welcome with a maximum of 12 ladies per workshop. Bring your own wine and we’ll do the rest! To book simply send us an email or give us a ring!

Lustre Firing Workshop

March 1, 2016Individual Tuition, Inspirations, Projects, Top of the Pots, Vanessa Conyers CeramicsHepziHickish Leave a comment

When you want to learn how to do something you’ll travel for it! And for an afternoon of lustre firing Caya did exactly that! With 2hrs drive each way and on what felt like the coldest day in January!

This lovely lady was first introduced to lustre firing during a workshop demonstration in her local town and on closer inspection, looking with great interest at a pair of her mums earrings. (Pink stars lustred with gold edges). Her initial thoughts were that if she could be taught how to apply the lustre using simple techniques she could then go on to make and decorate pieces at home, this was all good and well until she realised nowhere close by could offer such a workshop…Until she came across The Pottery Parlour!

Here are the wonderful results from her workshop and with Vanessa’s guidance and technical advice these lovely pieces were decorated and fired in our kiln! She even managed to create a pallet wheel to help identify the colours and which bottles of lustre to buy when the time comes to do it alone!

Individual sessions such as this are available for anyone at any level whether it be just starting out or gaining knowledge to start your own projects.

“I was absolutely delighted with the course and the finished results which you kindly fired for me. The afternoon course with Vanessa was perfect for me as I wanted to learn how to apply metalic lustres onto pieces that I had previously made and so the whole thing was tailored to what I wanted to achieve. Thank you so much for a very enjoyable 2 hours in your lovely pottery parlour”.

Farewell 2015 you’ve been beautiful!

With a warm fire gently crackling away in the background and a mug of tea in hand I should be finding it fairly easy to write this final post for 2015. Truth is I’m not! Looking back through the year in pictures it’s difficult to pin point exactly where to start. So because I joined the team in April I have decided to go with a round up of all the wonderful projects I have been introduced to since becoming part of the team! My recipe consists of: Glorious pottery created in house and out and about. What wigs and hats really get up to, festival fun, pottery shows and to top it off a kitty cat surprise none of us expected! I hope you enjoy looking back through our year. Oh and one final thought… #Heyclay! See you in 2016!

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Close up ofTown Tile (artists impression)

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BBC’s GET CREATIVE CAMPAIGN THE POTTERY PARLOUR PRESENTS TILE YOUR TOWN!

Tile Your Town is a celebration of all things clay! We have teamed up with the British Crafts Council to bring you a workshop that is sure to get your creative juices flowing. On Saturday 5th December we will be fashioning a door from wet clay, slicing it in to pieces and offering it to anyone who wishes to come and take part in our workshop. Tools, stamps and paint will be on offer to help you craft a tile into a beautiful piece of Blandford history. Once created and painted the tiles will be fired in our kiln and reassembled ready for the grand unveiling in February 2016.

COMPETITION!!

Alongside TILE YOUR TOWN we are running a fabulous competition! With the winners taking centre stage to our mosaic mural.

All you need to do is… Draw, paint, make a collage or write a poem about something you love about our fabulous little town on a piece of A4 paper. The winning designs will be digitally printed on to individual tiles and make up the centerpiece to the door. There are 6 places to be had and anyone of any age is invited to take part in our competition.

Please send your pictures with: Name, email, address and tel no to: The Pottery Parlour 3 West Street, Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 7AW or email: Hellopotteryparlour@gmail.com

We look forward to welcoming as many of you lovely lot in to the studio on Saturday 5th December for our FREE workshop!!

TIME:10:00AM-4:00PM

HOW MUCH? FREE!!!

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October/November – Christmas is nearly here!

November 12, 2015Children's parties, Clay Days, Group Workshops, Hen Parties, Inspirations, Pottery Shop, Top of the Pots, Vanessa Conyers CeramicsBlandford Forum, Children's Parties, Clay Days, Dorset, Hen Parties, http://www.milliepilkington.co.uk, Pottery, Pottery Parties, Shop Local, Vanessa Conyers CeramicsHepziHickish Leave a comment

Well October came and went pretty quickly didn’t it? Here we are with mid November fast approaching and Christmas appears to be just around the corner to. Ahh!! Oooh!!

October saw our half term clay day workshops fully booked with lots of happy potters visiting the studio. We’ve been busy almost every weekend helping to celebrate Birthdays and Hen parties and we’ve welcomed a new potter to the team! Lucy our newest member has been experimenting with clay for years. She is a teacher and finds pottery relaxing in her spare time. When she is not doing either of these, Lucy loves spending time with her children and walking her dog!

Throughout October, Vanessa and the team have been busy beavering away creating The Pottery Parlours first proper shop! We are delighted to announce that The Pottery Shop is now open for business! We are here Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm until Christmas Eve. Please pop in when you are next in Blandford Forum to discover and marvel at the delights of Vanessa’s award winning ceramics. All current collections are here as well as samples from her new SS/16 collection, which include delicate blue and creamy white pieces with her signature gold lustre embellishment. Please note – The pieces you purchase from our shop are a snippet of the gallery prices! So, If you are a lover of beautiful handmade ceramics and want exquisite gifts for your friends and family this Christmas our shop is the place to be!

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What A Larmer Time!

July 22, 2015Clay Days, Inspirations, Ladies Night2015, Dorset, The Larmertree FestivalHepziHickish Leave a comment

Last week/end we had a lovely time at the fabulous Larmertree Festival! Here is a round up of all the unusual things we saw, people we met, golden ticket winners and a bit of what we got up to too!

Woweee It’s Brownsea!

June 24, 2015InspirationsBrownsea Island, exploring Dorset, Nature, Young ExplorersHepziHickish Leave a comment

Today we’re travelling down to Poole Quay to catch the ferry to a treasure island! When I was 5, I thought this secret place was called Bouncy Island! No longer 5 but still, as I step onto this enchanted little Island it takes me straight back to that tender age I loved so dearly for this land has not changed. The Smell of the heath mixed with breezy sea air suddenly fills me with an urge to be the first to spot a red squirrel! But before we take the little path, we notice something sitting high up on a wall gazing out across her empire a peahen no less!

Sitting on a rug listening to birds. Exploring using maps and running as fast as we can to the natural play area where climbing, balancing and jumping are all part of this task! Being very quiet and taking photos of lots of little wild creatures! Taking in the view from every direction and a gentle stroll back towards the port where a cream tea is the essential part of waiting for the ferry back home. Smiling, laughing and simply enjoying Brownsea Island. That’s what we’ve done today. Oh and by the way, I wasn’t the first to spot a red squirrel this time, it was my 5 year old son!