Get Your Hands Dirty at Throw & Build Pottery Studio

Enrollment is now open for pottery wheel classes at Throw & Build, Wallingford’s newest pottery studio, located at 2510 N 45th St, kitty-corner from Dick’s. These six-week, beginner-level courses commence the week of February 24, with sessions available on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings as well as Wednesday afternoons (the Wednesday evening class is already fully booked).

In addition to regular classes, Throw & Build offers monthly memberships which include unlimited scheduled access to the studio, and mentoring catered to each potter’s skill level. Also, single-session, two-hour pottery wheel tryouts and handbuilding workshops are available for those wanting to just get a feel for working with clay.

The studio, run by husband and wife owners Henry Yiu and Jessica Zou, is an impressive build-out of the red bricked, 3,000-square-foot location that most recently housed Seattle Stained Glass. The airy and bright space has 26 pottery wheels, three kilns, a slab roller, a handbuilding station, and over a hundred glaze combos available for students and members to use.

The primary mission of Throw & Build’s six-week beginner courses is to get pottery newbies “over the hump.” To that end, they make the initial learning experience as smooth as possible, removing frustrations (like the process of reclaiming clay) from the equation. When throwing clay, “centering” is key to success. Henry likens this to riding a bike—you first must learn the basics of balancing and turning on level ground before you can graduate to bombing down gravelly slopes.

Throw & Build emphasizes collaboration and learning by DOING. It’s not a top-down, lecture-heavy environment. Get your hands dirty and have fun—and don’t be afraid to screw up, because you will. Students (and members) are encouraged to help each other, and the studio is open to practice anytime during business hours, which conveniently extend to 9pm seven days a week.

Late last year my wife and I took one of Throw & Build’s two-hour pottery wheel tryout classes, where I discovered that “the hump” is real. I did not get over it in a single session, but I did create a small, somewhat uneven plate (which, full disclosure, started as a bowl). Throwing clay is not easy, but there were moments when I found myself in a zone. It is a mesmerizing and grounding experience, and perhaps most importantly for me, impossible to do with a phone in my hand.

My schedule didn’t allow for me to take a full six-week course, but my wife signed up for a beginner pottery wheel class, and in addition to creating mugs and bowls that now adorn our house, she found her time in the studio relaxing and rewarding. Clay therapy.

If you’re interested in giving pottery a try but cannot fit these upcoming sessions into your schedule, fear not: a new slate of classes at Throw & Build are scheduled to begin every seven weeks, so perhaps mark your calendar for April and May behind a wheel of clay.

Information on all upcoming classes and other events (like their pop-up sale at the end of May) can be found on Throw & Build’s Instagram and in their newsletter. Jessica encourages anyone who has any other inquiries to reach out to them directly at [email protected]. And if you want a quick tour of the studio or to see some of the fabulous works their talented instructors have created, Throw & Build’s doors are open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 2pm.

Jessica and Henry have greatly appreciated the kindness and generosity the residents and fellow business owners of Wallingford have shown to them in their first few months in business. Throw & Build is a welcoming, inclusive, family-owned addition to our neighborhood. I encourage you to take them for a therapeutic spin.