Frequently asked questions

We will keep your unfinished piece for one month and when you return to paint the finishing touches to your masterpiece we charge you a reduced studio fee of £4. If you finish this piece and start a new piece during this time, we will charge a full studio fee. If you need a further 2 hour studio session, we charge a full studio fee of £6 for the third visit. You also have the option to finish the piece at home.


We will fire your item after 4 weeks whether its finished or not. Space is at a premium and we can’t keep unfinished items in storage for more than 4 weeks.

Your painted pottery is usually ready for collection 14 days after painting. 

 

Once you have painted your pottery, its left to dry then glazed and loaded into our kiln for firing.  A couple of days later its cool enough to be unloaded,  wrapped, bagged and placed on our shelf, ready for collection.

 

At this point, we will send you a text message to advise that the piece is ready. 

 

Please collect your pottery as close to the collection date as possible. If you haven’t collected your pottery within 1 month we will try and get in touch to remind you but we reserve the right to dispose of uncollected items after 12 weeks.

We will text you when your pottery is ready to collect and will keep your items for 12 weeks. The last thing we want is to throw things away but we do reserve the right to dispose of items not collected after 12 weeks. We will do our best to contact you and encourage collection but we can’t hold items indefinitely.

Please do not bring hot food to the studio. We find that the smell can be off-putting for other customers. Snacks like crisps, fruit and biscuits can be eaten at the table, but please bear in mind that bisque and sticky, greasy fingers do not mix. We do not recommend consuming food at the same time as painting. 


If you feel the need to eat, please wash your hands afterwards, before touching the bisque. If grease gets on the bisque, it causes a barrier and the glaze will not stick which can be very upsetting after spending time and effort creating your masterpiece.

There is 20 minute restricted parking on Waterloo Road, but Epsom has lots of car parks. Our nearest is the Ebbisham Centre, the Station car park and there’s also one in Hook Road.

Booking is highly recommended, especially at weekends and during school holidays. We have tables of various sizes, so just let us know how many people will be with you so we can reserve the correct size table for you. 

 

We are able to seat a group of up to 10 people. A deposit will be taken for tables of 7 or more when you book.

Yes, there is a £6 studio fee per painter. Only the people actually painting pottery pay the studio fee. If there is an adult with 3 children and only the children are painting, there will be a £6 studio fee for the 3 children, a total of £18 plus the item painted. Please note that we restrict the number of non-painters according to table size.

The studio fee covers the use of paints, all the stencils, stamps and other tools, the glazing and firing in our kiln and your time with us in the studio.


The studio fee is £6 per painter for the 2 hour session, so you could paint a plate and a mug and you only pay the studio fee once.

We are essentially a paint-your-own pottery studio. Our studio can seat up to 28 people, and we have tables which can seat 2, 4, 6, 8  and 10 people. We stock household items as well as ornamental and novelty items. We cater to all ages and feel there’s something for everyone in our studio. We offer 36 colours and provide as much inspiration and guidance you need.

We are usually open 5 days a week, Wednesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  During Half Term weeks and Summer Holidays, we open 7 days a week.

 

We open from 10am – 6pm. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings we are usually open for adults only from 6pm – 9pm.

We are not a birthday party venue but we are happy to accommodate a birthday gathering.  

 

Please visit our birthday page for more information https://www.happyglazeceramics.co.uk/birthday-gatherings/

Please feel free to bring a take-away coffee, or a bottle of drink to the studio. We sell tea, coffee, juice cartons and snacks at competitive prices and offer complimentary water.  Alcohol is not allowed to be consumed other than during Adult Only sessions or private events.

Firstly you choose what you’d like to paint from our large selection of pottery pieces, Everything is individually priced ranging from £8 to £45. You are able to take the piece from the shelf, but please help younger children to do this as all breakages must be paid for. Once you have chosen, we will then run through how the paints work, and offer some tips and suggestions. There are also some basic rules to follow in order to get the most out of your visit. We are always on hand should you need any help or have any questions.m We find Pinterest a great place to start. You then leave your piece with us for 14 days during which we glaze and fire. The piece will then be ready for collection, during which we wrap in tissue paper and place in a paper bag.

No way! We have designed our studio for adults, as we believe everyone likes to create. We’ve created an environment aimed at adults, we often see parents come with the intention that they will sit and watch or help their children paint and within 10 minutes they themselves are happily painting with their kids. We are also open late every Thursday and from 630pm until 830pm it’s adults only.

There are no age limitations. It depends of the individual’s capabilities and attention span, We have had a 5 year old take 2 hours to paint a monster truck with no breaks! For the younger children, we’d recommend an adult being hands-on and helping, especially with the paint as we do not like to see a lot of waste.  Please keep an eye on youngsters as breakages will need to be paid for.

Yes, all the paints and glaze are child safe. They are water based, lead free, non toxic under glaze paints and glaze. They wash out from clothing on a 30 degree wash cycle, but don’t worry we have aprons for the little people should you need to use one.

We recommend only trying a hand print when babies are over one year old. Any younger than a year babies tend to keep their hands clenched and it is virtually impossible to guarantee a good print. So we would always recommend a foot print for any babies under 1 years old.

Yes, we are happy to do the baby and toddler prints on the pottery for free, although during our busy times there may be a short wait. It is always worth calling us to book in prints so we know we are available to help. If you would like us to do any writing or painting of edges, there is a £6 fee per item. If you would like a more detailed commission artwork painted on your pottery piece, speak to us for a quote.

The pottery is dishwasher safe, but not microwave safe. Please note however, that to keep the vibrancy of colours on your painted pottery, it is recommended that the item is hand washed with warm soapy water.

We hear this a lot! It doesn’t matter if you think you are not creative. We give you a run through of the basic rules and tips to get you started, and we are also on hand to guide you through the process should you need it. We advise beginners to keep it simple – sometimes, less is more! We have inspiration tiles and items painted around the studio, which may be of interest to copy of even spark your own flair!

Our under glaze paints need to be glazed and fired to bring out the vibrancy of the colours and to make the pottery food safe. This means that items like plates, mugs and bowls are safe to use again and again. This process takes quite a few days, allowing drying times and the 24 hour firing cycle of the kiln. All good things come to those who wait.

Well that depends on you and the piece you choose. It depends on the design you may wish to paint, it’s complexity, and potentially it’s size. But don’t presume bigger items take longer, it depends on the detail of the piece and your design. Our studio fee covers a 2 hour session, and we find that this is generally enough time to complete a piece. Children have a smaller attention span and generally will need less time. Please note that our session time of 2 hours is the maximum you can stay, don’t feel that you need to stay all that time if your children are ready to leave!

If something goes wrong in the kiln, and yes it does happen on the odd occasion, we will give you a voucher for the same value of your broken item and you are able to come back another time and repaint your item. Our pottery is handmade and some items may be flawed in its first firing process, and so when fired for the second time with us, sometimes pottery items crack or break when in the kiln at such high temperatures. We take every precaution to ensure this doesn’t happen, but sometimes it does. It helps enormously if you do not eat whilst painting and wash grubby hands before touching the bisque.

You’re welcome to bring you’re own brushes, stencils, stickers, stamps and books but you cannot bring your own paint or bisque. This is because our paints are specific under glaze paints that have been tried and tested with our glaze and kiln settings. Using your own will mean we can not predict how it’ll react with our products and processes.

Afraid not, our business is entirely run on the profits we make on painting pottery. These profits pay our rent, our staff and our bills. If we let customers bring their own pottery and just charge the £6 studio fee, the business will no longer be viable and we’d have to close down – and nobody wants that to happen do they?!

Sorry, no. Our insurance and mental stability does not allow minors to be left in the studio without adult supervision. We recommend that children are supervised at all times, especially if they are little ones. If you need to pop out and your children are still painting, they can stay but remain your responsibility.  If you’ve booked your child onto a workshop however, you do need to leave them here as these are drop-off sessions unless you have booked a place for yourself.

Yes of course, we love to paint on your behalf and are happy to discuss any ideas you may have. We will do our best to source the item you’d like painted with any design of your choice. Anniversary plates are very popular but even just a personalised mug, especially for a teacher. Pop in or email us to discuss your ideas and we will put a quote together and get back to you as soon as possible.

Our late night opening is for adults only from 6pm until 9pm on Thursday evenings.  You are able to bring a bottle and some nibbles, but please no hot food.

We require a £6 per person deposit if your booking is for 7 or more people. Please see our Cancellation Policy within the Terms & Conditions for more information.

Our studio has very small step across the front door, and can usually be accessed by a wheelchair without any problem. Our toilet is at the back of the building and is very small, but other than that, we welcome wheelchairs!

Vouchers from Happy Glaze Ceramics make a great gift for someone. Pop into the studio to purchase your voucher, they come in denominations of £20, £30, £40 and £50. These can be used for bisque and studio fee costs during our normal opening hours.  You can also get them posted by visiting our voucher page.