Pottery wheel taster sessions: places, clay and expectations

Set the number of places in a taster session to the number of wheels you have, keep the session to about two hours, and tell people honestly what they'll make: one or two small, imperfect pieces, which you'll trim, fire and glaze later. Put what to wear and what's included in the description, and let people book a wheel online. A taster that promises a perfect vase disappoints; one that promises clay up to the elbows and a first bowl delights.

The wheel attracts people who have never touched clay. A short, affordable session lets them try without committing to a term of classes. For you, a taster fills the studio at quiet times, introduces people to your work and can lead to regular students or commissions. It also takes little preparation compared to a full course: wedged clay, clean wheels, aprons, and a clear sequence.

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. People pick a session; each booking takes one place, and when all places are taken, the session disappears from your page.

Lengths, places and prices are examples: set your own. For the shared-wheel session, each booking is one pair on one wheel: say in the description that one person books and writes the second name in the note.

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 whether they've tried pottery before, whether they're left-handed (you may reverse the wheel), and any mobility issue for sitting at the wheel.

Book doesn't sell gift vouchers, but you can sell them yourself and, when the recipient picks a date, book them into a session from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional; with their email, they get a confirmation and a calendar file. For a private group, such as a birthday or team event, book the whole session for them from your calendar with the number of people, right after creating it, so it's never offered to others.

At the end of each taster, tell people about your regular classes or next level. Collection day is a second chance: when they come back for their fired pieces, they see what they made and are ready for more. Keep tasters on a regular weekly slot, such as Saturday afternoon, repeated each week until a date, and add extra sessions before holidays. Participants can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule or cancel from your 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.