My Pottery

Are you searching for a relaxing, deeply therapeutic artistic escape where you can paint your own vibrant ceramic keepsakes, master the spinning potter’s wheel, or fashion custom clay sculptures? My Pottery, positioned beautifully on the first floor of The Marlands Shopping Centre in central Southampton, provides a spectacular, calm indoor sanctuary perfect for family crafting days, peaceful personal hobbies, and creative group celebrations.

What Is My Pottery?

My Pottery is a highly engaging, fully inclusive arts studio that utilizes bright open crafting benches and modern motorized pottery wheels to help visitors discover the tactile joy of working with clay.

• How it works: For a painting session, you select your unpainted bisque ware from the studio shelves, grab your ceramic paint brushes and underglazes, spend up to two hours illustrating your design, and leave your piece with the studio staff to glaze and blast inside their high-temperature kilns.
• Why people love it: It offers a wonderfully stress-free environment. There is no requirement to possess any innate artistic skill, as the incredibly patient studio instructors remain on hand to demonstrate simple texturing tricks, stencil applications, and color-blending methods that guarantee a professional gloss finish.
• Who can go: The workshop is beautifully set up to accommodate makers of all generations, welcoming little toddlers painting their very first animal piggy banks alongside adults exploring intricate wheel throwing and glazing during technical evening blocks.

Is My Pottery Worth Visiting?

If you are looking for highly relaxing, immensely therapeutic indoor activities in Southampton to escape a gloomy rainy afternoon or spend peaceful quality time with children, My Pottery is an outstanding city destination. The thorough layout of raw pieces, combined with expert technical guidance, provides brilliant creative value.

Overall, My Pottery stands out as an exceptional, highly therapeutic creative landscape, keeping artistic minds and relaxed families thoroughly inspired and fully engaged.

What Can You Expect?

Visiting this central crafting workshop delivers a beautifully managed, structurally organised artistic experience. The studio layout sets up distinct workspace zones optimized for both painting and pottery production.

• A vast array of pre-fired bisque ware: Browse through extensive display shelves filled with plain unpainted plates, teapots, mugs, tiles, and cute ceramic animals ready for decoration.
• Professional grade clay throwing wheels: Experience specialized mechanical potter’s wheels designed for centering and shaping wet clay cylinders under expert tuition.
• A complete glaze and kiln firing service: Leave your finished painted items to be layered in clear protective gloss glaze and baked inside the high-heat studio kilns.
• Brightly lit open-plan painting tables: Work comfortably alongside friends at long crafting tables stocked with fresh brushes, sponges, palettes, and ceramic underglazes.
• Structured technical clay masterclasses: Participate in weekly learning blocks that explore pinch pottery, slab building, coiling techniques, and detailed brush glazing.

Things to Keep in Mind

Because the studio operates at a fixed visitor capacity to ensure comfortable table space and individual tutoring, all painting slots and clay wheels must be strictly booked in advance online before travel. A non-refundable booking deposit of £10.00 per person is registered to hold your seat, which is deducted cleanly from your final item total on the day.

Tickets and Prices

Reviewing the pricing system and studio session structures at My Pottery before arriving helps you choose the perfect creative activity tier and manage your crafting budget efficiently.

• Main Pottery Painting Price Range: The core collection of bisque ware sits between £15.00 and £30.00 (Exc. VAT). This includes items such as plates, mugs, bowls, and various pots. This price completely covers an up to two-hour session fee, as well as painting, firing, and glazing, with no additional charges.
• Small Novelty Ceramic Items: The smallest ceramic items, such as the studio teddy bears, are priced affordably at £10.00 (Exc. VAT).
• Larger Ceramic Bisque Ware: Larger specialized items, like teapots and intricate vases, are priced above £30.00 (Exc. VAT), with the highest tier premium items reaching up to £100.00 (Exc. VAT).
• Painting Session Extension Fee: If you are unable to complete your painting within the standard two-hour session, there is a small fee of £5.00 (Exc. VAT) to book an additional studio session block.

How To Get There

Navigating to the studio room inside The Marlands Shopping Centre on Above Bar Street is exceptionally straightforward whether you walk from the city arteries or use local transit.

• By car: Drive into central Southampton toward Civic Centre Road, turning directly into the dedicated multi-story public parking facilities linked straight to the shopping mall corridors.
• By train: Southampton Central serves as the primary railway station, positioned within a very brief 5 to 10-minute flat walking distance from the main shopping centre entrance gates.
• By bus: High-frequency city bus networks stop directly outside the doors of The Marlands on Above Bar Street, making public transit incredibly convenient.

Where To Park

If you are looking for parking near My Pottery, the central shopping location is served directly by massive dedicated city centre parking structures.

• Marlands Car Park: A large, secure multi-story municipal parking facility located straight off Harbour Parade, providing direct step-free lift access to the shopping floors. Standard hourly parking fees apply.
• Westquay Retail Park Car Park: A highly convenient, expansive open-air parking facility situated within a brief walking distance, providing easy access to the surrounding shopping developments.
• Euro Car Parks: A large local parking alternative located nearby, offering reliable hourly charging rates close to the central civic and shopping areas.

Where To Eat Nearby

If you are searching for places to eat near My Pottery, you can purchase fresh treats right on the shopping concourse or explore independent restaurants steps away.

• Costa Coffee Marlands: Located directly adjacent to the studio entrance on the first floor, serving up quick toasted paninis, fresh cakes, and hot barista coffees.
• German Doner Kebab: Positioned just down Above Bar Street, offering high-quality toasted kebab meats, fresh salads, and signature dipping sauces.
• La Tavernetta: A charming independent Italian restaurant situated right near Civic Centre Road, packing traditional stone-baked pizzas, hot pasta dishes, and rich espresso bowls.

My Pottery FAQs

1. What is included in the standard price when booking a pottery painting session?

The core price tag fully covers your entry fee for an up to two-hour painting block, access to all studio paints and brushes, professional clear glazing, and the kiln firing service with no hidden additional charges.

2. What happens if I run out of time and cannot finish painting my piece in two hours?

If you are unable to complete your intricate painting within the standard two-hour session, you do not need to rush. There is simply a small £5.00 (Exc. VAT) fee to book an additional studio session to finish your masterpiece.

3. What are the lowest and highest prices for unpainted ceramic items in the studio?

The smallest items, like little teddy bears, start at £10.00 (Exc. VAT), while the main price range for standard mugs and bowls sits between £15.00 and £30.00 (Exc. VAT). Large, complex statement items like vases can reach up to £100.00 (Exc. VAT).

4. Do I need to have prior pottery or painting experience to book into a class?

Not at all. The studio is purposefully designed to be beginner-friendly. The taster classes and painting sessions are fully guided by supportive instructors who teach all the fundamental techniques at your own pace.

5. Can we buy creative gift vouchers to give to friends or family members?

Yes, absolutely. My Pottery operates a popular gift voucher service, allowing you to purchase custom monetary vouchers online that recipients can redeem against painting sessions, wheel tasters, or multi-week courses.