Our Open Day is Back!

We would like to invite you to join us at our annual Open Day event on Saturday 14 September 2024, from 9.00am to 3.00pm.

Here's what's in store...

• Showroom Sale & Clearance | Grab and bargain and save on delivery costs!
• Factory Tours | A unique opportunity for an in-depth look at our clay production. Free of charge - registration required.
• Throwing Demonstrations with Jon French | A chance to watch Jon at work, and learn about his practice.
• Mayco Demos with Todd Hickerson | Three 1hr demos throughout the day. Free of charge - registration required.
• Mayco Full-Day Workshops in the week prior to the Open Day - spaces limited to 16.

Booking links for tours and Mayco workshops>

We are delighted to welcome Master Potter, Jon French to our Open Day. Jon will be demonstrating throwing (including miniature throwing!) all day in our showroom. Jon is a talented potter and painter, and has had a fascinating career. At the age of 16, he left the Essex countryside and took the bold step to move to the industrial town of Stoke-on-Trent and become an apprentice at Wedgwood. After 29 years working for them, he decided to go it alone and now produces his own ceramics utilising his main talent of hand-painting. In his time at Wedgwood, Jon worked in many divisions - Coalport, Masons, Jasperware and the Visitor Centre. Jon has worked on some of the finest collections and commissions for the finest homes and Palaces around the world, and created designs for high-end department stores - mainly in Japan. Jon's scope of work covers hand throwing the original basic shape to hand painting of portraits, classical scenes and prestige hand-gilding.

We are looking forward to welcoming Mayco’s Cone 6-10 specialist, Todd Hickerson, to Potclays this September! Todd will be leading four full-day mid-high fire glazing workshops on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before our Open Day - plus a full day of FREE demonstrations during the Open Day itself. The workshops are designed to help you get the most out of Mayco Stoneware, Stroke and Coat, Jungle Gems, Elements, Textured glazes, and Mayco Fluxes, Washes and the brand new Engobes. If you're looking for flexibility in your firing temperatures or creating firing freedom, this workshop is for you. Todd will help you explore a variety of Mayco glazes that give great results from cone 04-10. He will also be covering the use and best practices of the new Mayco Engobes and stoneware glazes to achieve new and unique looks. Through this class you should gain the confidence to take your glazes further, experiment more, and make the most out of just a few glazes. Free Mayco samples will be handed out to participants, and a full range of Mayco products will be available to purchase at Open Day discounts.

Join us on a tour of our factory with Potclays Director, James Otter to learn about where our raw materials come from and how they are processed. Our tour will take you right through the manufacturing process, to the end result.

Raw materials and blungers

We will take a look at our raw material bays and materials warehouse, and watch material being loaded into the blungers. From here the slip is pumped to the 'rough arc' storage tank.

Sifters and sliphouse

From the 'rough arc', the slip is pumped to the vibratory sifters which remove contaminants. The slip is then transferred to the 'fine arc' storage tank. From here, the slip is pumped to the sliphouse. Watch the team 'drop a press'.

Panmills

Watch as material is loaded into our 'one of a kind' panmills and blended. Hear the fascinating story of our panmills and their surprising former life. Watch the clay as it is unloaded and sent down chutes leading to the pugmills.

Pugmills

We'll see how the processed clay is transformed into a homogenous rectangular extrusion which is then sliced and bagged ready for sale.

If you’d like to stay in the area, there are plenty of accommodation options nearby. For example, Premier Inn Hanley and DoubleTree by Hilton are just over a mile away from Potclays. The Clayhanger Guest House is ¾ mile away (Newcastle direction). Take a look at VisitStoke website for ideas for places to visit.

How to find us

If you are using Google Maps or a GPS/SatNav device...

If you are in a car or small van, please use postcode ST4 6JW for directions to our front entrance (2 metre height restriction). 

What3Words for Showroom/Reception: ///create.expert.bigger.

Read our Contact Us page for more information.