Ancient material. Modern antidote.
ARRIVE.
SLOW.
CREATE.
Umber Works is a neighbourhood gathering place for slow, embodied making with clay and shared creative rituals.
Join us this Summer at the Studio.
Summer Throwing Courses
Four people. Six weeks. Attuned, individual guidance throughout.
A rare opportunity to learn wheel throwing in a genuinely small-group setting.
Designed with beginners in mind but open to all levels, these courses are intentionally limited to just four participants, allowing for plenty of one-to-one support within our calm and carefully considered studio environment.
Whether you're learning to centre clay for the first time or refining an existing practice, teaching is tailored to where you are in your making journey. With your own dedicated wheel and attentive guidance throughout, you'll have the space to develop confidence, build technique, and enjoy the slower rhythm of working with clay.
Upcoming Course Dates
Tuesday Evenings, 6.45—8.45PM
14 Jul • 21 Jul • 28 Jul • 4 Aug • 11 Aug • Glazing: 18 Aug
Monday Evenings, 6.45—8.45PM
27 Jul • 3 Aug • 10 Aug • 17 Aug • 24 Aug • Glazing: 7 Sep
Monday Evenings, 6.45—8.45PM
14 Sep • 21 Sep • 28 Sep • 5 Oct • 12 Oct • Glazing: 19 Oct
For Beginners: How We'll Work Together
(If you already have throwing experience, sessions will be adapted to your individual goals.)
Week 1
An introduction to clay preparation, centring, and the foundations of throwing. You'll learn how to use essential tools and begin creating simple cylindrical forms.
Weeks 2–4
You'll continue developing confidence on the wheel, refining your technique and exploring new forms with plenty of support and individual feedback.
Week 5
A dedicated trimming session. You'll learn how to turn the bases of your chosen pieces, refine their shape, and add details such as foot rings.
Week 6
Glazing. You'll finish your work using a curated selection of studio glazes, preparing your pieces for their final firing.
Course Notes
2 hours (6.45–8.45pm)
With time built in at the end for cleaning down your work area and storing work safely
Includes glazing and firing for up to 8 finished pieces.
Additional pieces can be fired for a small fee.
Ready for collection within four weeks of your glazing session.
Please bring an apron and an old tea towel. Short fingernails are recommended for throwing.
Please see our booking policy for further information.
Summer Throwing Tasters
Four people. One dedicated wheel each. Attuned guidance throughout.
A rare opportunity to try wheel throwing in a genuinely small-group setting intentionally limited to just four participants.
You'll learn the fundamentals of wheel throwing, from preparing and centring clay to shaping simple forms, all within the calm atmosphere of our studio. With your own dedicated wheel and ample guidance, you'll have the space to settle into the process and enjoy the rhythm of making.
We'll select and finish your best piece for glazing and firing, ready for collection in the weeks following your session.
Workshop Notes
Each session is two hours – but we’ll allow for ten minutes at the end to clean down your workstation.
Your final piece will be ready to collect around one month later.
Transparent glaze
Please bring an apron and old tea towel, and consider cutting your nails short for throwing sessions.
Please find our booking policy here.
Sun 19 Jul, 10.30am
Our Sunday Morning series, when the studio light is the most beautiful, explores some more specialist ceramic techniques with a little more time and depth, whilst remaining accessible for complete beginners.
In STATEMENT BOWL, you’ll create a generous statement bowl designed for fruit, market finds, and everyday gathering. Using simple hand-building techniques, you'll shape a large, functional centrepiece made to live at the heart of your counter or table — filled with whatever the season brings.
Workshop Notes
2.5 hours
Make 1 statement piece
Level: Beginner
Book for two and receive 10% off
All materials and firings included
Transparent glaze
Ready to collect c. six weeks later
Please find our booking policy here.
Wed 22 Jul, 7pm
Our Golden Hour series is an invitation to slow, ground, and connect through touch and clay. Each relaxed session is centred around a simple, beautiful object made to be used and enjoyed throughout the summer season.
In APERITIVO, you'll create a set of hand-built sharing plates inspired by long summer evenings, gathering around the table, and everyday rituals.
No prior experience is needed — just come as you are, bring a friend, BYOB, and sit – unhurried – making something both beautiful and useful by hand.
Workshop Notes
1.5 hours
Make 1-3 aperitivo plates
Level: Beginner
“Chalk” clay — a tactile, white stoneware blended exclusively from British clays
Book for two and receive 10% off
BYOB if you wish
All materials and firings included
Transparent glaze
Ready to collect c. six weeks later
Please find our booking policy here.
Sun 2 Aug, 10.30am
Our Sunday Morning series, when the studio light is the most beautiful, explores some more specialist ceramic techniques with a little more time and depth, whilst remaining accessible for complete beginners.
In MARBLED EARTH, explore the intricate beauty of Nerikomi — a Japanese term for a ceramic process that involves layering coloured clays to create patterns and motifs visible in cross-section and then create a piece of your choice — such as a small bowl or decorative tray.
Workshop Notes
2.5 hours (10.30am–1pm)
Make 1 statement piece
Level: Beginners and up
Book for two and receive 10% off
All materials and firings included
Transparent glaze
Ready to collect c. six weeks later
Please find our booking policy here.
Sun 26 Jul, 10.30
Our Sunday Morning series, when the studio light is the most beautiful, explores some more specialist ceramic techniques with a little more time and depth, whilst remaining accessible for complete beginners.
In MATCHA SET, you’ll create a four-piece matcha set using the oldest and most intuitive of techniques: pinching.
Over this relaxed and meditative workshop, you'll make a complete set comprising a Katakuchi (pouring bowl), Chawan (tea bowl), Chasen (whisk holder), and Chashaku (scoop rest). Working slowly by hand, we'll explore form, proportion, and surface, allowing each piece to emerge through touch rather than tools. A calm, tactile morning dedicated to making objects for ritual and pause.
Workshop Notes
3.5 hours (10.30am–2pm)
Make 4 pieces: Katakuchi Chawan (Pouring Bowl), Chawan (Tea Cup), Chasen (Whisk) Holder, Chashaku (scoop) Rest
Level: Beginner
Book for two and receive 10% off
All materials and firings included
Transparent glaze unless otherwise discussed
Ready to collect c. six weeks later
Please find our booking policy here.
Wed 5 Aug, 7pm
Our Golden Hour series is an invitation to slow, ground, and connect through touch and clay. Each relaxed session is centred around a simple, beautiful object made to be used and enjoyed throughout the summer season.
No prior experience is needed — just come as you are, bring a friend, BYOB if you wish, and sit – unhurried – making something both beautiful and useful by hand.
In TREASURE, you'll create hand-built trinket dishes for jewellery, keepsakes, stones, and the little objects that gather meaning over time. Thoughtfully shaped and entirely your own, these pieces are designed to bring a sense of ritual to everyday moments.
Workshop Notes
1.5 hours
Make 2 pieces
Level: Beginner
“Chalk” clay — a tactile, white stoneware blended exclusively from British clays
Book for two and receive 10% off
BYOB if you wish
All materials and firings included
Transparent glaze
Ready to collect c. six weeks later
Please find our booking policy here.
Wed 29 Jul, 7pm
Our Golden Hour series is an invitation to slow, ground, and connect through touch and clay. Each relaxed session is centred around a simple, beautiful object made to be used and enjoyed throughout the summer season.
No prior experience is needed — just come as you are, bring a friend, BYOB if you wish, and sit –unhurried – making something both beautiful and useful by hand.
In STEMS, you'll create a hand-built bud vase around the ancient technique of coiling. Designed for a few cuttings, a single stem, or herbs that mark the season.
Workshop Notes
1.5 hours
Make 1 piece
Level: Beginner
“Chalk” clay — a tactile, white stoneware blended exclusively from British clays
Book for two and receive 10% off
BYOB if you wish
All materials and firings included
Transparent glaze
Ready to collect c. six weeks later
Please find our booking policy here.
Sun 9 Aug, 10.30
Our Sunday Morning series, when the studio light is the most beautiful, explores some more specialist ceramic techniques with a little more time and depth, whilst remaining accessible for complete beginners.
In STATEMENT BOWL, you’ll create a generous statement bowl designed for fruit, market finds, and everyday gathering. Using simple hand-building techniques, you'll shape a large, functional centrepiece made to live at the heart of your counter or table — filled with whatever the season brings.
Workshop Notes
2.5 hours
Make 1 statement piece
Level: Beginner
Book for two and receive 10% off
All materials and firings included
Transparent glaze
Ready to collect c. six weeks later
Please find our booking policy here.
Sat 22 & Sun 23 Aug, Two-Part Masterclass
A special addition to our Summer Series.
Moon Jars are among the most celebrated forms in Korean ceramics — quietly imperfect vessels known for their softness, balance, and sense of calm.
This special two-part MOON JARS workshop is an invitation to slow down and immerse yourself in the process of making. Across Saturday and Sunday, you'll create your own large-scale vessel, building the form gradually and allowing it to settle between stages. We'll explore proportion, volume, surface, and the subtle irregularities that breathe aliveness into these monumental forms.
With 9 hours total spread across two mornings, this workshop offers the rare opportunity to work at a larger scale and experience clay at a slower pace.
Workshop Notes
9 hours, 10am–2.30pm Saturday and Sunday
Make 1 statement piece
Level: Beginners and up
Book for two and receive 10% off
All materials and firings included
Milk White matte glaze
Ready to collect c. six weeks later