What does rest look like for you? 💚 Also, what do you think I should turn this pinch bowl into? A berry bowl ?? 🍓🫐🍒
.
.
Started handbuilding class again in this gorgeous new class and I am obsessed with this wall and that sunlight ☀️ what are some things youd create with clay?
.
.
.
.
#handbuildingceramics
Don’t ask us how many times we cried today visiting @northernstarmilkbank . We had an incredibly moving day witnessing the quiet, life-saving work that Northern Star facilitates and the bravery of the mothers that donate milk. We are so honoured to create memorial stars for the legacy wall 🤍
New class drop is now live 💫✨🌷
A small glimpse into what’s taking shape behind the scenes 👀
Everything is built by hand, piece by piece, slowly coming together into something we can’t wait to share.
A season of change at Workshop 🤍 🌷
Our building is moving from Heavy Industrial to Industrial Edge Zoning, brining important upgrades to safety, access, and long-term sustainability for our space and community.
Spring classes in ceramics, glass and guest workshops are now live and we can’t wait to welcome you into our new space and our next chapter 🌞
I made a promise myself last year to always be learning something new and I am so beyond grateful I learned about @workshopstudiosyyc in #YYC 💜 Calgary homies if youve been thinking about. It is time... spring registration is live🤍
Classed I have done and what I love about them:
Wheel throwing level 1 (still in this): hands on the wheel is a type of regulating I didnt know I needed until I tried it. It has been a gift to learn how to throw with the most amazing instructors at workshop. I recommend these classes if youre wanting to learn how to wheel throw!! Pottery class is top teir 🤌🏼
Handbuilding: building things / functional items out of clay is just another level of boss. I love this class so much especially if you like creating functional items. I made pendant lights and ill share those soon!! Love love this class and the instructors are also so very talented!! Some instructors make end tables/stools. How cool is that!!
Glass fusing: this class blew my mind!!!!! Cutting, grinding and shaping glass was an absolute dream and watching them fuseee into one another or layering glass was so much fun! I made a bowl with petals and leaves, coasters and suncatchers. This class is so much fun!! And the instructor was amazing!!
#YYC #workshopstudios #pottery #hobbies
💅 Regulating my nervous system 💛
Because self care comes first… so I can show up for everything else💪🏽
A calm mama > a burnt-out one ✨ this is your sign to take time for yourself! Signed up for another wheel throwing class (still level 1) because im still a beginner and love being a beginner!! Did you see that wobble wobble on that last one? 🙈
Clay. The most therapeutic thing ive ever done. I work with intention so some of the peices I work on this time around will be Eid gifts for my friends & family. Handmade gifts are truly special but making my own handmade Ceramic gifts and also learning and doing something i love is just ahhhhh chefs kiss🤌🏼
Alhamdulillah for the ability and opportunity. Please carve out time for yourselves. 💜
YYC homies check out @workshopstudiosyyc for classes (the wait list is long) so sign up for their newsletter- link is in their bio so you can get notified first ✨️
.
.
.
#wheelthrowing #clay #ceramics #yycnow #yyc
BIG NEWS 🦆🌱✨
Workshop Studios is expanding into the former Plant Plant Space. This next chapter includes:
• A brand new ceramics classroom (more programming + more practice hours)
• An expanded members studio
• A dedicated Facet Glass studio for stained glass + architectural commissions
• And a community café called Odd Duck Café
We’ll truly miss our Plant Plant neighbours! Sharing space with @plantplantyyc has been special. We’re excited for what’s next for both of us and look forward to future collaborations together.
Expansion like this is exciting, and it’s a leap. If you’ve been wondering how to support us right now, the most helpful ways are:
– Leave us a Google review
– Purchase a gift card
– Book a spring event (especially corporate bookings in May + June)
We get the keys March 1st.
Let’s build this together. 💪✨
#WorkshopStudios #YYCArts #CalgaryCreative #smallbusinessgrowth
Nine years into running a ceramic studio, here is the part most people don’t see.
New clay costs roughly $1 per pound. Once that clay has been thrown on the wheel, trimmed, rehydrated, mixed with scraps, dried out, rehydrated again, and sieved, it becomes a technically degraded material. Reclaim often contains grog inconsistencies, micro-chunks, and uneven moisture content. For beginners especially, this makes wheel throwing significantly harder and less predictable.
That’s before we even talk about facilities running multiple clay bodies at different firing temperatures. Mixing reclaim across cone ranges or grog contents creates structural risk. So reclaim has to be carefully separated, processed, slaked, sieved, dried, pugged, tested….all by paid staff.
Even if we resold reclaim at 60 cents per pound, after hours of labour at Calgary’s living wage, we would operate at an estimated $15,000 annual loss. For small independent studios, that is not sustainable. It’s not unwillingness. It’s economics.
Some larger institutions can subsidize reclaim as a make-work initiative, but even they struggle with the volume that today’s ceramic surge creates.
So what happens to broken bisque, glaze ware, contaminated clay, mixed bodies? In most facilities, it goes to landfill.
And no…. pottery clay is not “good” for landfill. Only specific liner clay used during landfill construction serves a containment purpose. Manufactured ceramic clay is industrially processed material created through open-pit mining and fossil fuel intensive manufacturing. Once fired or discarded, it simply adds volume.
If you are a ceramic artist or studio holding onto reclaim, bisque, glaze ware, or glass and wondering where it can go, we are building a system for all of us. In the meantime, come drop off your clay reclaim at Workshop in our many barrels at our south lot.
The more material we divert now, the greater the impact. Sustainability is not a trend for us, we’ve operated with this philosophy since the beginning and we are building long-term infrastructure, years in the making, we can’t wait to share more soon! 💛
Happy New Year to our beautiful creative community ✨
2025 brought change, challenge, and deep growth within these walls and our outdoor space! 🦆🦆 As we step into 2026, and as the studio turns 9 this January 😭🩷, we carry those lessons forward with gratitude.
This space is shaped by the hands, hearts, and voices of our members, tenants, and students. Workshop exists because of you. Thank you for trusting us, creating with us, and continuing to build this community together.
Student work!
Another successful sculpture class @workshopstudiosyyc
I am blown away by the creativity, dedication and skill that my students bring to class.
It’s always a pleasure to help people’s ideas come to life.
Very grateful for another year of teaching at Workshop and I can’t wait to start again in the new year.
This class is offered twice a year and it’s an intermediate level, if you have taken at least one hand-building class you’re good to go!
Our cute new gift cards have arrived just in time for the holidays! 🎁❄️
Pick up a physical card from our pickup shed, or choose a digital gift card and have it sent instantly to your inbox 📨 perfect for last-minute gifting ✨
Printing by our friends @beseenstreetteam_yeg
