-
October 2024 by Hdhd Bdbdb
I was excited to start pottery, but my experience with the instructor was disappointing. The older Asian man treated white people nicely but neglected others, which felt racist and made the first class very uncomfortable. Also his way of teaching is not encouraging, feels like the teacher from movie Whiplash, def not suitable for beginners. I still love pottery, but I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone due to the instructor's behavior. Or simply avoid this particular instructor.
-
July 2024 by Vivek Nagaraja
We took their 2 hour spin class, this is a well constructed class. They'll help you sculpt a cup and a bowl.
They provide all the materials/tools needed and also glaze the final product. We get to choose the color of the final product which will be ready in about 4 weeks.
-
June 2024 by Madhur Agarwal
My mom and I took a spin class in April on a lovely Saturday afternoon. The Studio is located at the heart of downtown San Jose. This is a 2-hour class and seems reasonably priced at $99 including all supplies and final glazing costs. This format is truly a great way to introduce beginners to using pottery wheel. We made 2 items using wheel each - a cup and a bowl. I am hoping to be back for other classes and learn something new such as clay building. Overall, I enjoyed my experience with Higher Fire Studio.
Edit 06/02:
The cup and bowl are glazed and were ready to pick up 4 weeks after the workshop. The final glazed items look incredible and professional. 5-star again to the entire process.
-
April 2024 by Theresa Halstead
Instructors were great! The main instructor taught well and was very patient and deliberate with her techniques. The assistant instructor was great at answering questions and helping with next steps. Everyone in the class made two pieces and it was just really cool and fun. I highly recommend checking out a class!
-
February 2024 by Judy L.
We retook the take a spin intro class after experiencing some issues with the previous instructor who no longer works there and it was a totally different experience ! The owners Dan seems very passionate about pottery and maintaining a friendly and inclusive environment in this community. Our kind instructors Joey and Jamie were absolutely amazing! Joey was so great at teaching the class and went over in detail of how to approach each step. He really empowered each student to create their own amazing bowls and cups and his thorough explanations really helped everyone in the class make truly amazing unique pieces! I truly applaud Joey and Jamie for their patience with each student. They were definitely amazing to work with and I would definitely come back again!! Highly recommend this activity to anyone starting out in pottery or interested in dabbling in this fun crafty activity.
-
February 2024 by Jodi S.
Booked a private Take a Spin class with 4 friends. It was 2 hours long for $99, and we made 2 pieces. Anthony walked us through the process & was very helpful. Everyone in the studio was super nice! Had a great time! Thank you!!
-
February 2024 by Maria Cumbe
Truly the loveliest pottery studio in the area.
-
January 2024 by Shreya S.
We were here for a beginner take a spin class. The place is right in downtown , so it was very accessible and we got parking right in front of the store , which was easy. Our instructor was really great , she explained every step with great detail. We were able to make a bowl and a tumbler. Our instructor did help us along the way (if we wanted the help) and made sure we could bring home a good piece of work. After that we were able to pick our glaze , and now we are waiting to bring the final product home. I had such a good time , that I might actually consider doing a more intense program with them .
-
January 2024 by Julie W.
Top notch friendly classes - a wide variety of clays and glazes. So many instructors and assistants with great talents to share.
-
January 2024 by Dara S.
I have mixed feelings because my gripes include a third party service that added to this mediocre experience. Expectations weren't aligned and while trying something new while working with our hands was fun, the overall experience left me feeling underwhelmed. The Take A Spin 1-day class advertises as: Course includes the 2-hour guided lesson, use of studio tools and clay, choice of 15 glaze colors, and firing for 2 pieces...Each student gets their own wheel. Instructor pre-centers your clay. Items are fired, finished, and ready for pickup within 3-4 weeks. Here's what this means: - Each student will get their own wheel to spin a cup and a bowl - The studio centers the clay mound for you to work with so you'll focus on shaping the piece - You are not glazing these pieces yourself as the clay needs to dry before glazing and firing (not something achievable in a two hour class), you are only picking the colors of the glaze Upon walking in after two other participants for our scheduled session, no one greeted us. You can't really tell who are staff, but people will look up to see you arrive and return to themselves. When we were approached it was to to instruct us to put our things on a rack and take a seat. There was no check in, no roll call. Welcoming is not the word for this experience. They also didn't indicate where anything was (that wasn't obvious) at the studio so we guessed which sinks were available to use and where the glazes were set. Our group may have drawn the short straw on instructors compared to most of these other reviewers, because it was an awkward, unenergetic time. For starters, our session ended some twenty minutes early because we no longer wanted to be at there anymore. In this class, you learn to pull a cup first and then use that base knowledge to pull a bowl for your second piece. This information was, like the instructor, condescendingly pointed out and so we didn't bother trying to make bowls. There were remarks and staring from the instructor that heavily singled out individuals to more or less give up. The young tween daughter of the father-daughter date on the way out said to her father she felt like she did a bad job and we told her that she shouldn't feel bad and we all were trying something new, explaining some people aren't supposed to be teachers. I found disappointing as well that despite being taught how to form your clay, the instructor will go to each station to correct it anyways at every step. I suffer no illusions in being instantly good at something new. In fact, I expected to be bad and to look fondly at my shitty piece when I took it home. That did not happen. Instead, I kinda touched it and then it got completely reformed by the instructor correctly. After that, I chose a glaze and went home. Over a month later, I reach out to the studio to pick up my pieces, not having received any notification that they were ready. For some reason the staff alias doesn't get a response, but the info one does. Turns out, they sent the email to the third party experience service vendor who booked on my behalf instead of emailing me directly. That was odd. Upon pick up, I walked past a session like the one I took, towards the back, rose my hand to find help. I generally like the pieces; The white glaze has splatter of blue, but the others were great. I will definitely try spinning pottery again, however, I will not be returning here.
-
January 2024 by Sally Breann
I took the Just Try It 6 week course with no previous experience. The instructors were wonderful, I enjoyed the classes very much and looked forward to them each week. At the end you take home around 10 pieces (combination of vases, plates, mugs, and bowls). Highly recommend. Many of the students were repeating the course because they were hooked and wanted to keep learning and making more pieces! It’s a fun community to experience/be a part of.
-
November 2023 by Kevin V.
Went by myself for the 99$ Take a Spin Class to try pottery and make 2 pieces. Instructor was very friendly and entertaining. When I went to pick up my pieces a month later, I was surprised to see another bowl was readily made for me since the original bowl had a big crack at the bottom when it was glazed and fired! I highly recommend giving this place a try!
-
November 2023 by Steve Higgins
Best clay studio ever !
-
October 2023 by Shreya M.
Came with 5 friends for a 2 hour class ; it cost us $99 per head excluding taxes. Stephanie, our instructor was amazing!! She was extremely knowledgeable, incredibly patient and made the entire experience a lot of fun. We made a bowl and a vase, and those 2 hours just flew by! They'll finish our creations with color and baking, ready for us to collect in a few weeks. I thought about waiting until I have the final product to leave a review, but felt they deserve a solid 5-star rating, regardless. If it weren't for the distance from my place, I'd definitely enroll in the 6-week course.
-
August 2023 by Shilpa Patil
Took two, 6 weeks class. The Studio is amazing. Teachers are great, staff is kind & helpful. I think I finally found a hobby that gives me lot of joy.
