Handmade ceramics, art and souvenirs
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Clay and Craft workshops by the sea
Pottery painting, pottery workshops and art and craft sessions
Handmade Margate is a cosy seaside shop and craft studio, offering relaxing, creative workshops such as pottery painting and hand building for all ages alongside a carefully curated selection of handmade ceramics, art, and curios.
It’s the perfect place to discover something unique — or to make something special yourself by the sea.
Join a Workshop
Explore hands-on ceramics and art workshops, relax as you paint a ready made piece or make and decorate something from scratch.
Upcoming Workshops
Ceramic Pumpkin Making Workshop
Come and make a pumpkin that won’t go soft on the windowsill.
We’ll start with two simple pinch pots, join them together and transform them into one glorious ceramic pumpkin. Make yours plump and traditional, tall and elegant, covered in patterns or carved with a spooky little face.
You’ll add the ridges, stalk, leaves and curly tendrils before decorating it with colourful underglazes. We’ll then dry, fire, glaze and re-fire your pumpkin, ready to collect in time for Halloween and haunt your home for years to come.
This workshop is completely beginner-friendly, with plenty of guidance and room to make your pumpkin as lovely or peculiar as you please.
Workshop details
Duration: 2 hours
Price: £40 per person
Clay: White earthenware clay
Level: Beginner-friendly
You’ll make: One hand-built ceramic pumpkin
Includes: Tuition, clay, tools, underglaze colours, glazing and firing
Collection: Ready to collect before Halloween
Good to know
Pottery can be a little messy, so please wear something you’re happy to get clay on. Shorter nails make pinch-potting easier, but long nails won’t stop you joining in.
Each pumpkin will be shaped entirely by hand, so expect individual quirks, lumps and expressions — no two members of the pumpkin patch will look quite the same.
Cat Sculptures with Potty Jane
Spend two lovely hours making a pair of charming ceramic cats, each full of its own little personality.
Whether you want to make them sleek and elegant, round and goofy, or inspired by a real cat you know and love, this workshop is all about creating two small sculptural companions to take pride of place on a shelf at home.
With step-by-step guidance from Potty Jane, you’ll learn how to shape and build your cats by hand from slabbed clay, adding expression, posture, ears, tails and all the little details that bring them to life.
Once your sculptures are made, you’ll paint both of them with colourful underglazes, adding markings, stripes, spots, faces and any extra decorative touches you like.
This session is suitable for confident beginners as well as those with a little more experience.
It’s relaxed, creative, and focused on making something full of character rather than aiming for perfection. Every cat will come out a little different, and that is very much part of the magic.
Duration: 2 hours
Price: £42 per person
Level: Beginner-friendly to intermediate
You’ll make:
Two hand-sculpted ceramic cat figures
What’s included:
Clay, tools, colourful underglazes, glazing, firing, and step-by-step guidance from Potty Jane
Collecting your work:
Your cats will be ready to collect in around 4–6 weeks, once they have been dried, fired and glazed
£10 booking deposit: this will be deducted from your final piece.
Pottery painting is relaxing, creative and remarkably good at making 90 minutes disappear. Our artists are here with advice, painted examples and plenty of inspiration whenever you need it.
Booking and payment
Pay £10 per painter today to reserve your seats.
When you arrive, choose your pottery and pay the remaining price in the studio.
Your £10 booking payment is deducted from it — so if you choose a £25 mug, you’ll pay £15 on the day.
Pieces start from £15, with most mugs, bowls and side plates around £25–£30. We offer high-quality ready-to-paint pottery alongside a changing selection of one-off pieces hand-thrown by our resident artists.
Smaller add-on pieces are also available if you’d like to keep painting or make an extra little something.
Your pottery price includes
Up to 90 minutes of painting time
Ceramic colours and materials
Help and advice from our artists
Professional glazing and kiln firing
One hot or cold drink
We can post items at an additional cost, depending on size and weight.
Your finished pottery will be ready to collect in approximately 2 weeks.
Children
Children are very welcome, with plenty of smaller pieces and playful examples available. An adult must stay with them throughout the session. Please book one place for every person painting.
Good to know
Additional drinks and snacks are available to buy.
Marlow, our friendly cocker spaniel and assistant manager, is often in the studio. Please contact us before booking if anyone in your group has a dog allergy or is nervous around dogs.
Slow down. Get your hands muddy. Make a mug that is truly yours.
In this relaxed, beginner-friendly workshop you’ll hand-build a ceramic mug using traditional slabbing techniques, shaping it from a simple lump of white clay into a functional, one-of-a-kind cup. Once your form is finished, you’ll decorate your mug using underglaze colours, marks, patterns or illustrations — bold or subtle and joyfully unique, it’s entirely up to you.
No experience needed. This is about process, play, and the satisfaction of making something useful with your hands.
What’s included
– All clay, tools and materials
– Step-by-step guidance throughout
– One handmade mug per person
– Decoration with underglaze colours
– Bisque and glaze firing
– Clear glaze finish
– Your finished mug ready to collect in approx 4-6 weeks
What you’ll do
– Learn slabbing techniques
– Shape and refine your mug form
– Add handles and details
– Decorate with underglaze colour and texture
– Leave the firing to us
The details
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Level: Absolute beginners welcome
Age: Suitable for adults and older children who can happily sit and focus for two hours
Class size: Groups of up to 8 for a calm, hands-on experience
Your mug will be fired and glazed by us after the session and will be food-safe and made to be used every day — tea tastes better from something you’ve made yourself.
Perfect as a treat for yourself, a thoughtful gift, or a creative afternoon by the sea.