Ceramic Supply, Inc. — Local services in Lodi

This place has all things Clay people need, (and want, which is different, haha)! You can place an order for your supplies online (by emailing them!?). Then drive up to the bay in the back by the parking lot,(where you call them, like the good ole times before texting was invented, heheh ) and they will bring it out. If you are a weakling (like me), the very awesome woman (who is like twice my age, and I’m 60(ish)) will effortlessly flip the 50lbs boxes of clay into the back of your Subaru. You can also look forward to the second Saturday of each month (well, except for some random months) where many supplies are 20% off(except for some things, like, say, clay?!)! They will truck out your clay to you (over 500 lbs of clay, or maybe it is 500 dollars of clay (which is about 2 boxes, JK). I do very much appreciate Ceramic Supply of Lodi (NJ)! They have a friendly Instagram presence for sure. And, mostly, going to the lovely(not lovely)town of Lodi beats the heck out of traveling to Philly,...

I've shopped here for years in spite of the consistently rude and unhelpful staff. Generally, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt: work can be annoying and we all have bad days. But at Ceramic Supply, it seems like it's always a bad day. I just had a phone call that tipped the scale & I'm done with this place.

Me: "Hi, do you carry X product?" Them: "No, we don't have it right now." Me: "Okay... do you generally carry it?" Them: "Yes." Me: "Great... do you know when it might be back in stock?" Them: Hold on. Me: Sure. Them: Call back in 2 to 3 weeks. (Hangs up)

It's just too much work to get what you need and wade through the unhelpful, disinterested staff that always act like you're putting them out. I always dread calling Ceramic Supply for this reason and now I don't have...

There are many things to love about this shop-- number 1 is the customer service, then the wide range of products and supplies, and the fact that there are so few shops available to purchase ceramic supplies. Their products include everything from various clays, to tools, to glazes, to paints, to kilns, and kiln hardware. The second Saturday discounts are great as well! The draw backs for me include a small parking lot and warehouse setting (uneven flooring, dripping roof). It also often seems like some things are low/out of stock, although this could easily be more of a supply issue, and how heavily the store is shopped on second Saturdays. I encounter this the most when I am trying to replace specific glazes, and can no longer find that...