Pottery Studio 1 Midtown — Local services in New York

Update: After several emails back and forth in January I was told they would mail me my pieces. I provided my address and then never heard from them again. No tracking number was sent, no email to provide an explanation just complete radio silence. I reached out in April for an update and NEVER received a response back. I sent another follow up email, still no response. I try to call and like before the call connects directly to voicemail during their working hours. I receive a text and I ask if my emails would be answered, provide my email address and then nothing. I called again and got through briefly but was then hung up on. I try to text and now there’s no response there either. I’m at a loss. To be ignored on all fronts is disheartening.

Original review: Class was amazing. Pick up process is a nightmare. The day I intended to pick up my pieces I called to verify that the location would be open (as they advise on their Instagram). First off, the number listed on their website never connects through. I was forwarded to a voicemail several times. I did receive a call back eventually, I verified the hours that the Midtown location on 6th ave would be open. The person on the phone confirmed that they would be open until 9pm ( not 10pm that’s listed on google). I drive all the way into Manhattan and arrived close to 8pm. To my surprise the door is locked, nobody answers when I ring the bell and nobody picks up the phone. I figured they had a class and were busy so I stood outside in the cold waiting. I continued to try and call, each time it’s forwarded to the voicemail. I get into the building as somebody is leaving only to find out that nobody’s at the studio. I knocked on the door several times to ensure nobody was present in the studio. Poor communication, people come from all over to do this class and to make this trip within the hours of operation only for it to be closed is wildly inconvenient. I’m very dissatisfied after the fact which is disappointing because I truly enjoyed the...

Everyone was really nice there but overall communication from the company was poor. On the website they said you could make two pieces and price includes 2 firing. I was a beginner (which is why I booked this class) turns out there’s no time. 9/11 of our group were only able to make 1 piece which was disappointing because you expect 2 when you look at the site. Poor communication here because it’s a heavy emphasis on “could” which is misleading

Class wasn’t very structured. You learned things as it came up. If you asked then instructors would help you but if you didn’t ask information wasn’t offered.

They don’t email you about pick up. You have to constantly just check their website (one of the reasons why I felt it was poor communication).

I wanted to make a simple plant pot but I wasn’t able to make it the size I wanted because I was limited by the clay the instructor gave me. When I expressed I had wanted it bigger she didn’t offer to let me use more clay and just said I had to work with what I had. (Again poor communication here. I feel like if she had asked what I wanted to make or started the lesson with some communication with me it wouldn’t have been difficult to do this.) Other peoples bowls were definitely bigger than the item I made and used more clay so I’m not sure why I wasn’t offered at least to use more clay.

It wasn’t a bad experience but I definitely wished I did it elsewhere and would not come back or recommend...

Booked a private class for a bachelorette, and if we didn’t have a good sense of humor, it would’ve been a disaster. I should have know from the start - I got a text that my booking wasn’t confirmed because one staff member didn’t tell the other that I had already paid. Fortunately I had my receipt. The day of, the instructors needed to be constantly prodded to give us next steps and kept forgetting the designs we asked for. For example, I wanted to make a cactus shape, and only after they had me dry it did they realize no one told me to shape my piece during that process. A lot of time was wasted on touching the clay at the wheel, in part because we had to remind the staff multiple times we had paid to paint our pottery at the end. I think they were needlessly trying to fill time, as those of us who had done pottery before did not spend nearly as long at the wheel previously. Once all but one of us had dried our pieces, they had us sit around to add decorative shapes if we wanted to, but largely they made us wait for the last person to arrive at the table. When we finally were given the tools to paint, we only had 20 minutes to do so, which was so disappointing. No one wanted to rush the part we had looked forward to the most. Considering the price, I can’t believe how disjointed the entire experience was, and how disinterested 2/3 instructors were throughout. Could not...