The Creative Minds Behind Clay Sydney Are Opening a Third Studio in Wollongong

Hannah Barclay has had countless Sydneysiders willingly getting their hands dirty, ever since launching her ceramics business Clay Sydney in 2019. Now, with two inner-west studios under her belt and a growing range of popular ceramics workshops on the menu, Barclay is adding to the family — the Illawarra local is launching a brand new outpost in Wollongong next month.

Set to open on Friday, June 24, once current renovations are complete, Clay Wollongong will mirror the offering of its siblings, with hands-on creative classes for budding ceramicists of all skill levels. And yes, that includes complete newbies, too.

by Georgia Matts

On the class menu here, fans of the Sydney outposts can expect to find familiar favourites like the Wine and Clay sessions — a two-hour class where you'll create your own work while enjoying a few BYO bevs — and the bite-sized 'taster' sessions that allow you to road-test the whole pottery class thing before signing up for a full course.

If Clay Sydney is anything to go by, one-off sessions are reasonably priced starting from $80 a pop, which includes all the equipment and materials needed to make, fire and glaze your own piece (to keep).

by Georgia Matts

Longer ceramics courses include four- and six-week tutorials covering practices like wheel throwing (the art of shaping ceramics using a pottery wheel, a la Ghost) and hand building (shaping by hand).

Further down the track, Barclay also aims to evolve the new Wollongong site to double as a creative hub showcasing local ceramics talent from across South Coast. More on that to come.

Clay Wollongong will open from June 24, with the exact address to be confirmed. We'll share more details closer to the launch, but you can sign up for all the info via the website.

Images: Georgia Matts