How the Claystation has become Hackney’s hottest place to pick up a new hobby.
Claystation specialises in pottery from creation to completion – and you can learn even if you are a complete beginner.
The new pottery workshop is located in Containerville – which is a hub of small businesses such as tattoo parlours, nail salons and a dog groomer.
Claystation can be found nestled in the middle – London’s answer to sophisticated arts and crafts.
The new studio is the brainchild of Gioia Sulas, who has a passion for sharing the art of pottery with those who haven’t yet experienced it, or perhaps want to learn a little more.
Giola hails from Northern Italy and has been practising the craft since the age of 20, initially being inspired by her grandmother on her holidays to Sardinia.
“My grandma used terracotta jars for water. She put the jars on the floor when it was hot outside, and the water was at the temperature you needed. The water had a special flavour to me. This remained in my memory and was a very important experience.”
After opening studios in the Italian towns of Trieste and San Gimignano, she completed an academic course in Faenza focusing on how to teach pottery.
From there, she went on to show children and people with special needs how to hone in their creativity – something she holds as an extremely important life skill. Gioia carried this on for ten years, and has been in the pottery business ever since.
Her lifelong passion shows in the creation of Claystation and how she speaks about the effects of making pottery – in her opinion, a mindful and spiritual experience: “The work on the wheel is like meditation – it’s like a metaphor of life. The wheel turns, and you have to stay still and become in charge. When the clay is in the centre, you can do anything you want, because everything is in the right place.”
Claystation currently offers three choices of lesson – a ‘taster throw’, a day session and a five-week course with one session per week. All are led by Gioia herself, and prices range from £60 to £240.
Whilst the studio is not child-friendly, Gioia has has opened the door for everyone who is of the correct age, no matter their capabilities. Available dates are listed on their website.
The opening of the studio comes alongside a boom in the pottery industry in London, with places such as Social Pottery in Kentish Town seeing a rush of popularity. Here customers are invited to bring their own food and drinks and paint pottery, within a two-and-a-half hour session. There are several more scattered around the city as Londoners are searching for different ways to socialise with their friends.
You can click here to visit the Claystation website, and follow them on Instagram here.
Featured image by Francesco Ghersina.