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Wheel-throwing Taster

One-Off, Hands-On Learning

Try a technique, take it home.

Learn the ‘How’ Behind the ‘Wow’

Taught by real-deal artists.

Always Something New

Fresh themes, fun formats, cool skills.

Date and time

Sunday, 30. August 2026, 17.30
Further dates

Overview

Beginner

No previous knowledge required for this event.

DE & EN

Our Instructor speaks fluent English and German.

Studio Basel

Spalenring 103, 4055 Basel

2.5 Hours

Includes an intro, clay time, clean-up & mingling

Workshop

A guided, one-off creative experience where you'll create and take home your own finished artwork.

Description

🎡 Just curious? Even better.

This is your chance to dip a toe (or both hands!) into the wild, whirling world of the pottery wheel — no pressure, no experience needed. In this wheel-throwing taster workshop, you’ll learn how to center, pull, and shape clay like a true ceramic boss. It’s messy, magical, and way more satisfying than your average Saturday scroll session.

You’ll get hands-on with the basics of wheel-throwing — and walk away with at least one piece to call your own. Plus, you’ll leave knowing whether this hobby is a fling or the beginning of a full-blown love affair.

No experience necessary. Just bring your curiosity — we’ll handle the spin cycle.

✏️ What to Expect

A chill, beginner-friendly session led by our wheel-throwing wizards
Step-by-step intro to centering, pulling, and shaping on the wheel
Time to finesse your form and feel the clay do its thing
A playful, supportive vibe where mistakes are just part of the fun
All tools, clay, and good energy provided

🎁 What You’ll Take Home

One fired & glazed ceramic piece (included in the price — we’ll handle the rest)
The option to keep more pieces for CHF 15 each
The pure joy of creating something from spinning mud
A solid intro to wheel-throwing, and whether a full course is your next step

🧠 Who It’s For

Total newbies who’ve always wanted to try “that Ghost movie thing”
Hands-on creatives craving a screen-free adventure
Friends, dates, teams — anyone up for a shared spin
Future potters testing the waters before diving into a full course

📦 A Few More Things to Know

No need to bring anything – just wear something comfy you don’t mind getting a bit clay-kissed
Please arrive 10–15 minutes early to settle in
Firing and glazing takes 4 weeks – we’ll let you know when your piece is ready
Tickets are transferable, but non-refundable within 36 hours
If you fall in love with wheel-throwing (warning: you might), we’ve got full courses and studio classes waiting for you!

FAQ

We recommend arriving 10–15 minutes before your workshop begins. This gives you enough time to enjoy your complimentary welcome drink, settle in and get ready for your first spin.

Our workshops start on time, so please make sure you’re ready to begin. If you do arrive late, simply take your seat quietly and your ceramic artist will help you catch up as soon as there’s a suitable moment.

Your artist will introduce you to the pottery wheel and demonstrate the process step by step. You’ll learn how to prepare and centre the clay, open it up and gradually pull and shape the walls to create your first forms.

Then it’s your turn. You’ll have time for several attempts, experiment with the clay and gradually get a feel for how it responds to your hands. Your ceramic artist will be right there whenever you need guidance and support.

At the end of the workshop, you’ll choose which piece or pieces you’d like us to glaze and fire for you.

Your ticket includes everything you need for your first experience on the pottery wheel:

🏺 Clay and all necessary materials
🎡 Your own pottery wheel during the workshop
🛠️ Full use of our ceramics tools and equipment
👩‍🎨 Hands-on guidance from one of our ceramic artists
🔥 Firing and glazing of one finished piece
✨ A relaxed and welcoming studio atmosphere
🥂 A complimentary welcome drink

Made more than one keeper? Additional pieces can be glazed and fired for CHF 15 each.

Ceramics need a little patience—the creative process doesn’t end when the wheel stops spinning.

Your piece first needs to dry completely before it can be fired in our kiln. If you’d like to finish and glaze your piece yourself, you can come back and do so during a Glazing Workshop, Open Atelier or Studio Class for an additional fee.

Otherwise, simply choose one of our classic glaze options and our ceramics team will take care of the glazing and firing for you.

The entire process usually takes around 2–4 weeks. We’ll let you know as soon as your piece is ready for collection.

You have two options.

You can come back and glaze your piece yourself for an additional fee — either during a Glazing Workshop, Open Atelier or Studio Class. If your piece needs any additional finishing before glazing, you can take care of that then too.

Or you can simply leave the finishing to us at no extra cost. Choose from one of our classic glaze options, such as white, off-white or transparent, and our ceramics team will take care of the glazing and firing for you.

Ceramics can’t be taken home immediately after the workshop because your creation still needs to dry, be fired and, depending on the workshop, glazed.

The entire process usually takes around 2-4 weeks.

We’ll let you know once your piece is finished and ready for collection. Please wait for this confirmation before coming to pick it up.

Not at all.

Our Wheel Throwing Tasters are designed especially for first-timers who want to discover what working on the pottery wheel feels like.

Your ceramic artist will guide you through the process, from centring the clay to shaping your first little vessel. And don’t worry if your first attempt wobbles, collapses or turns into something completely different from what you imagined — that’s all part of discovering the wheel.

Working on the pottery wheel can get a little messy, but clay generally washes out easily.

We’ll provide an apron, but we recommend wearing comfortable clothes that don’t mind getting a little clay on them.

And one genuinely useful tip: short nails make wheel throwing much easier. Long nails tend to dig into the clay while you’re shaping it, so if possible, we recommend keeping them short for your workshop.

You’ll usually have time for several attempts during your workshop as you gradually get a feel for the wheel.

Your ticket includes the glazing and firing of one piece of your choice.

If you create more pieces you’d love to keep, additional pieces can be glazed and fired for CHF 15 each.

Our Wheel Throwing Workshops are intentionally kept small, with a maximum of 6 participants.

Everyone works at their own pottery wheel, and the small group size gives your ceramic artist plenty of time to provide individual, hands-on support.

Every workshop ticket includes one complimentary welcome drink to help you settle in and get your creativity flowing.

Typical options include:

☕ Coffee, tea or matcha
🧋 Iced tea
🌿 Mate
🌸 Rhubarb Schorley
🍊 Orange lemonade
🫚 Ginger beer
🍺 Beer (18+)
🍷 Wine (18+)
🥂 Prosecco (18+)

The exact selection may vary slightly between locations, but we’ll always have something delicious waiting for you.

Of course!

If you’ve booked together, we’ll do our best to seat you together. If you’ve booked separately, simply let us know when you arrive and we’ll try our best to arrange seats next to each other.

Yes!

If your workshop takes place in one of our Creative Cafés, you’re welcome to order additional drinks, coffee, cocktails, and food from our à la carte menu throughout your visit.

If your workshop is hosted in one of our Art Studios, you can still enjoy another round of drinks from our Welcome Drink Menu. Additional drinks in our studios are donation-based, so you can simply contribute what you feel is appropriate.

Yes! We regularly host birthdays, team events, bachelor and bachelorette parties, family celebrations, and private workshops.

If you’re planning something special, we’d love to hear from you.

Tickets may be transferred to someone else at any time.

If your plans change, you can reschedule your booking up to 72 hours before the workshop.

Unfortunately, cancellations or changes are no longer possible within 36 hours of the event.

For full details, please see our Terms & Conditions.

Caught the pottery bug? There’s plenty more to discover.

A Taster gives you your first experience at the wheel, while our Wheel Throwing Courses are the perfect next step if you’d like to really develop your technique. You’ll progressively become more confident with centring, pulling, shaping and creating consistent forms.

From there, you can continue practising with guidance in our Studio Classes or work more independently during Open Atelier.

And if pottery becomes a regular part of your creative life, our Ceramics Membership makes it even easier to keep practising and creating at PIE.

A guided, one-off creative experience to learn something new and have fun.

Learn more about PIE Workshops