Be sure you are ok getting clay on your clothes and shoes, it will likely happen. Clay comes out of almost anything, but stay away from delicates like silk.

Cut your fingernails as short as you can stand. If you cannot it’s ok, but nails get caught in the clay and can be frustrating! We have sponges to help you if you have long nails.

Have a pocket for jewelry/watches or leave them at home. Clay is harsh on settings and can make them come loose.

Arriving by:

Bus- Ballard Clay is directly on the 44 and just a 10-15 minute walk from the 40 (Market St stop).

Bike- We are working on our bike parking! There is a rack in front of The Sloop Tavern.

Parking- Ballard Clay does not have any designated parking. There is street parking on Market (pay attention to bus layover times) and there is a private pay lot across the street and public city parking at the Ballard Locks.

Please do not park at the liquor store next door, this is not our lot!

Members will have a personal shelf (36” W x 18” D x 15” H) for work-in progress, a locker (15” W x 18” D x 24” H) for personal tools/materials. Members have unlimited access to the 16 member wheels during open studio hours. Clay is not included with membership and will be purchased separately. Clay must come from the studio and is priced to include firing and glaze fees, so months that you are producing less you will be paying less and months that you are in the studio more often you will pay more in clay costs.

Members are limited to 50 lbs of clay per month. This is not a production studio and while we expect some folks to be selling their wares at markets, pottery should not be a full-time source of income.

Visit our series class specific FAQs

There are months where members will be producing their max of 50 lbs worth of work and months that you do not go through one bag of clay. The consistent payment for membership is paying for studio rent, cleaning, and staff, but the clay pricing will include kiln loading, firing, and upkeep of the studio glazes whether you choose to use them or not. Clay is priced at $1/lb above retail.

Not right now. This is hopefully something we will offer someday, but please have patience as we adjust to the ebbs and flows of the new studio.

Not right now. Have patience as we are a brand new studio! We will hopefully offer firing only membership soon.

The studio provides all of the basics. However, most potters end up having things that they love to use and are welcome to bring their own tools. They should all be clearly labeled with your name in case of misplacement. They will otherwise be treated as community tools. Members will have a space for keeping personal belongings, class participants must carry their tools to and from the studio.

Pottery, yes! Supplies, no. Clay sales is strictly internal to members and classes. We do not have the storage to become a supply store.

Ballard Clay has a very small retail shop in the studio. If you are looking for a gift that supports local makers, please stop by. If you are a maker looking to sell, please contact us at info@ballardclay.com for consignment details.

Members, workshop, and series class participants are responsible for providing their own aprons if desired.

One time Sip N’ Spin classes, aprons will be provided for those who want one.

Ballard Clay does not use any glazes or clays that are unsafe for food or functional ware. Everything is lead free and where heavy metals are present they are at levels below toxicity. As long as materials are used for their intended purpose. For example, do not drink a cup of glaze please.

Masks are optional in the studio. Ballard Clay is equipped with three Blade HEPA air filtration machines placed throughout the studio. These are one of the industry’s highly rated HEPA filters and they are there to continuously clean the air as well as keep dust levels down.

Ballard Clay will follow all federal, state, and local guidelines when it comes to masking.

We will require N95 masks when handling dry materials for safety reasons, but this will likely be in specific workshops and you will know in advance to bring one.

All materials in the studio will be wet and we do not allow mixing dry materials in the studio and we do not allow lusters or metal glazes in our kilns.