HICKORY CLAY offers memberships to intermediate and advanced potters.  Each member receives their own cubby to store their clay and tools. All wet work is stored in the studio’s Damp Room. Members can use our student tools or provide their own. Signups below. We offer tours to prospective members on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 1pm, or email to coordinate a separate time.

$185 per month billed every two months

24 Hour / Key Access

After you’ve been a member for two months, you’re eligible to upgrade to key access. Key membership is $250 per month. There is no waitlist.

CLAY & GLAZES

The studio offers six clay bodies and all clay is purchased through the studio. Clays include porcelain, b-mix, dover white, speckled buff, stoneware 1C, navajo, and B-3 are $25 for 25lbs. Our recycled clay is $10 for 25lbs. All glazing is included in the cost of clay. There are no additional firing fees, unless a piece is oversized and exceeds 10” (see below.)

THROWING

The studio has 22 pottery wheels underneath huge clerestory windows creating ample space for members. The wedging table is 8’ long and poured with plaster. Plywood bats and wareboards are provided along with portable drywall boards for reclaiming clay.

HANDBUILDING

The studio has over 30 plaster hump molds for use by handbuilders and an area dedicated to handbuilding with a slab roller and 25+ colored slips. We offer drywall wareboards, plywood boards, rubberized canvas mats, and banding wheels for handbuilding. → Learn More

DAMP ROOM

In-progress work is stored in the Damp Room, a 200 square foot room lined with shelving and kept at a high humidity. Greenware dries at a predictable rate and members are free to explore work of any size. Unclaimed bone-dry pieces are purged the first day of every month.

TOOL SHOP

We offer a wide array of community tools that members and students are able to use, but we also offer a curated selection of high end tools for sale. From diamond sanding pads to bat pins, and mason stains to bisque fix and underglaze decals, we have it all. We represent Garrity, Mudtools, Dirty Girl, and others. Our offerings change monthly to allow constant creativity and inspiration. A selection can be found online here.

PINUP & INSPIRATION BOARD

We are proud of our members’ work and constant progress. We have a constantly rotating display of work “Made Here, By Us” that shows ongoing pieces and is constantly referenced for techniques and inspiration. It is at the heart of our studio.

FIRING

We run our bisque and glaze kilns four times per week and pieces are usually fired within a few days of being dry. We do not charge any firing fees for pieces that are smaller than 10”. Pieces larger than 10” incur a one time $10 fee which covers bisque and glaze firing.

Members who have taken our Gold Luster workshop can participate in any gold luster firings without additional fees.

PARTIES & HAPPY HOURS

We host monthly happy hours on Sunday afternoons and several yearly parties. Our favorite party is the annual “Super Bowl Party” where we compete to make the ‘most super bowl’ while eating chips, dips, and buffalo wings. We also host a Christmas Mug Swap and White Elephant. Our monthly happy hours are themed around a clay technique or demo. We’ve hosted glaze demos, taught how to make colored clay, collar vases, and use new tools.

Studio Hours:

Monday - Thursday 5pm-9pm

Friday 1pm-9pm

Saturday 10am-6pm

Sunday 10am-9pm

JOINING & FEES

Membership is $185 per month. The first two months are prepaid upon purchase. Your membership will begin on the date you select below. Autopay will begin on the 1st of the month after your prepaid time ends. This is slightly different than your receipt.

To cancel your membership, we require 7 days notice prior to your next billing cycle. December membership is full; sign up for January while there is space.