Choplet Ceramic Studio & Gallery — Attraction in New York

I took 1 beginner lesson and another “free time” in the studio. I’ve heard many good things about the place regarding the people and the atmosphere but honestly I’ve had a very bad experience☹️

Side note- a year ago I took a private lesson in my home country of 3 hours which cost me half of the price - it was super knowledgeable, very fun with drinks and cake his mother made, I ended up creating 5-10 pieces, they were trimmed by the guide after the lesson and I could choose the glaze colors for every piece !!!!

Here- total opposite experience : To begin with , The beginner lesson was very expensive (90$/2hr) I feel like the whole “theory part” of the lesson was just done very fast without wanting the participants to know nothing about what we were doing or to learn about the material but just to repeat whatever the guide does. The guide was super impatient and fast. I remember she said “no one is going to leave without at least one good piece”- lie… no one had one good piece at the end Two hours is certainly not enough for a beginner. Not to learn the basics, neither to create something that works, at least not in that method of teaching. I had absolutely no idea of what I was doing. The only reason I managed to do something was because of the theory I remember I learned while doing the other lesson in my country a year back. There were 5 “rounds” in total- first 2 we repeat the guide then we continued on our own pace. Going to my 4th round I got clay that was super hard to use, telling that to the guide she just said that it’s a bit hard and it happens sometimes.. she even tried to soften it herself and couldn’t, needless to say i couldn’t work with it and just wasted my time and eventually throwing the piece.

I ended up having 2 bowls. I wanted to take the 2 of them and guess what: you have to pay extra for your 2nd piece…. Yeah that’s right!!!! You pay for something you already paid for and you actually created by yourself. What a joke!

It doesn’t end here of course. You also pay for the glaze if you want it in a specific color. If not you’ll just get it white like everyone.

Ok. Next “free time” no guide - session - I came with a friend- we paid 50$ each. they told us -only when I asked - that we need to bring our own clay ???? If not we can buy it for 20-40$ in the studio AND we need to bring our own tools or to buy them for 14$? Then in the studio they said they might not be able to bake the clay in their oven because of its characteristic.

The receptionist were very stressed and not nice. One shouted at me when I couldn’t hear her through the glass.

Anyway. I don’t recommend this place in any way. Not for the waste of money nor the time. Find somewhere else and please tell me where you went so...

I would suggest looking for another studio. The handbuilding course I took was a waste of time and money for me. The classes ($90 for two hours) and firing costs are very high (16 cents per cubic inch). I've taken wheel courses at three studios, and have explored handbuilding during open studio times elsewhere. I signed up for my first handbuilding course at Choplet and was excited to get valuable instruction. But the instruction was frankly worthless.

The instructor either last minute was asked to teach the class (she didn't seem prepared, the materials were prepared by someone else and only 2 out of 7/8 colors were usable) or she's just a bad teacher. I was very surprised that the instructor didn't even accurately know the timeframe of the class, firing rate, or what was included in the cost (only one small piece as included in that rate despite the instructor having us make 4 pieces). It was an additional $30 to fire the pieces we made in class - none of which was larger than a small plate. When she asked us what we wanted to make, I said the spoon that was in the picture advertising the workshop. I think it is natural to think 'hey, we'll make what is in the photo' and she didn't seem to know how to make those spoons (she discussed out loud wondering how they were made, so this isn't my assumption).

I took another handbuilding class at a Brooklyn studio that provided such lovely guidance and gave best practices, explaining WHY we should do something a specific way in order to give the piece stability, safely dry or fire it, etc. I encourage you to look elsewhere as there are definitely other studios that are providing more affordable and higher...

I signed up for an eight-week class at Choplet. After my first class, I discovered that I had a tumor that paralyzed my right arm and required immediate surgery.

Facing a mountain of medical bills and up to two months of lost income during recovery, I reached out to Choplet to see if I could get a partial refund. The owner Nadeige sounded hesitant but said she would try to find someone to fill my spot. The next day, she instead suggested that I find a friend or family member to take my spot. Somewhat flustered, I responded that I was preoccupied with my upcoming surgery and probably wasn't up to that task.

Sensing that we weren't getting anywhere, I asked if I could instead get my partial refund in the form of class credit for a future Choplet class if/when I recovered. Was still willing to give them a chance at this point. But Nadeige emailed me back with a flat out refusal, and took the extra step of blaming me for not cancelling before the first class happened. She complained that it was much harder to find me a replacement that way. Well Nadeige, I can agree with you that I wish they'd found my tumor earlier. I wish it hadn't progressed to the point where it disabled my arm and needed invasive surgery. But I understand it has been hard for you too - I feel better at least that you have my money for seven classes that I'll never take, the clay I'll never use, and the firing fee you'll never have to work for, all to warm your cold selfish heart.

Don't let the cute studio space fool you. Choplet is as greedy and soulless as any chain corporation and will stop at nothing to suck you dry...