Glazing sessions and collecting fired pottery afterwards

Give every student the timeline at the end of the class, then turn the next steps into bookable sessions: a glazing session a couple of weeks later, when the bisque firing is done, and a collection slot once the final firing is out. Open glazing and collection on set days, with several places per slot, and ask students to write the date of their class in the note so you can find their pieces fast. The shelves empty at a steady pace instead of filling up with unclaimed bowls.

A piece thrown on the wheel isn't finished when the student leaves. It dries, gets trimmed, goes through a bisque firing, gets glazed and goes through a final firing. Between each step, days or weeks go by. If the next steps are left to "I'll message you when it's ready", you spend evenings sending messages, students turn up when the studio is closed, and the shelves fill with pieces waiting for owners who forgot.

Bookable glazing and collection sessions give the whole process a rhythm that students can see and plan for.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Each slot belongs to one service, with its own start and end, and its own number of places. Students pick a service, then a slot; each booking takes one place, and when all places are taken, the slot disappears from your page.

Lengths, places and prices are examples: set your own. If glazing and collection are included in the class price, say so in each description.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that you read in your new-booking email. Ask for the date of their class and how many pieces they made. For glazing, ask which colours they're thinking of if you need to prepare glazes.

Glazing is messy and needs your attention; collection takes a few minutes per person. One option is a glazing session one evening a week and collection slots on Saturday morning, repeated each week until a date. If a student can't make any of them, create a short slot for them and book them in from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional.

Every new-booking email shows the student's name, the service, the date and their note. The day before a glazing session, go through your bookings list, take the matching bisqueware off the shelves and set it out on the table with the names facing up. Do the same for collection: fired pieces already wrapped in newspaper, grouped by name. The session starts on time, without anyone waiting while you search the racks.

With calendar sync (Google, iPhone, Mac), these sessions sit next to your classes and kiln loads, which helps you plan an unloading before a collection morning.

Say in the description how long you keep fired pieces, and what happens after: you keep them for a set period, then recycle or donate them. Send one reminder before that date. Students can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list, then confirm yourself, since Book doesn't email them about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.