Week 7: Pinch Pottery Studio

Week 7: February 12-18, 2023

If anyone remembers my short stint as a pottery gal at Kids N Clay camp back in Berkeley, ooooh, you are in for a treat!

My Christmas gift to my sister was a personal pottery class for 2 at Pinch Pottery Studio. Back when I was sorting through the different options, Pinch's website stood out to me because of its whimsical feel and pastel colors. I guess you could say that I picked Pinch based on vibes, and let me tell you... I picked right.

My sister picked me up and we got to Pinch at 3:55pm. Five minutes early is my brain's version of being almost late. The building was a massive warehouse with multiple brightly colored doors.

Pinch Studio lives inside of San Diego Made Factory, which is a collective space. As you can see from the pic my sister photobombed, the space hosts "makers, artists, offices, studios, events, coworking, networking, workshops, markets, podcasting, creativity, collaboration, community and so much more."

My sister's lunge to photobomb this was impressive

Wyeth met us at a bright orange door and cheerfully led us inside.

As we walked through the warehouse, past each of the different artist spaces, I was so inspired. I will admit that I felt a twinge of jealously. It would be amazing to have a designated space for creating and crafting, but considering rent prices nowadays, I can't imagine the spaces are affordable.

The vibes, though, of the factory overall, and of Pinch Studio, felt priceless. Pinch was a small, simple space with a lived-in/worked-in feel.

A hastily snapped photo of the warehouse

Inside Pinch, I immediately noticed the attention to color and theme. The colors on the walls inside the studio matched the website that first drew me in. I also loved how the chalky, pastel feel of clay in different drying stages went with the décor.

The first half hour of the lesson was a demo, where Wyeth showed us the basics of wheel-throwing. She gave us an incredibly detailed and passionate crash course in ceramics. I asked random questions and accidentally steered our conversation off-track multiple times. My questions were answered with excitement and genuine interest, which I read as true passion and patience from Wyeth. I told her that she was a great teacher, and I apologized for my strange line of questioning. Apparently it was okay, and she didn't mind, because my sister and I were "so nice and fun."

The remaining hour was dedicated to actually creating something. My sister and I jumped right in. The feel of the clay was therapeutic. It was nice to connect with creating in such a tactile way. I reminded myself to steer away from my perfectionist tendencies. I tried not to focus too much on what the output may look like, and more on the input/experience.

I requested a "candid" photo of my sister and I working. You can see the awesome rows of creations behind us on shelves and the color splotches carefully painted onto the wall by Wyeth herself.

My sister and I hard at work

The hour flew by as we chatted with Wyeth and got to know more about her. She is 25, from Massachusetts, and moved to San Diego with her Naval Officer boyfriend and two dogs. She started Pinch Studio back in just October! I commented on Pinch's nice branding and the great color choices for the website (and walls!!). It was nice to have such easy and fun conversation that was sprinkled with some tips and adjustments on our pottery from Wyeth. I appreciated it, because I was still attempting to create something half-decent.

I ended up only having 50% of my sister's productivity rate. She banged out two cute bowls and I only managed one. I think I was too busy chatting away and asking questions to really get something good. I definitely was trying to make it as perfect as possible, which is silly considering I haven't touched a pottery wheel in at least 11 years. I think my bowl turned out pretty decent.

Our three creations!

The aftermath of our 1.5 hours in the pottery studio was clear when we glanced down and saw our legs and feet covered in clay. I felt relieved for wearing shoes that could easily be wiped clean.

Leaving the studio was bittersweet. I felt like I could stay in there, mushing clay between my hands and chatting with my sister and Wyeth forever. I get to return in four weeks to pick up our finished pieces. I'll update this post with photos of the finished products when I get them.*

The street outside as we left Pinch

I grabbed one of Wyeth's personal Whimsy business cards (and stuffed it into my jeans pocket, which explains the wrinkles...)

Wyeth even complimented us and said my sister and I were both very steady with our wheel-throwing. I now wear that comment almost like a badge of honor, bestowed upon me and my sister by the Great Ceramic Queen Wyeth of Whimsy.

I made sure to let Wyeth know that we had an absolute blast, and that I would be "definitely returning to bother" her. She welcomed it.

I plan to gift pottery lessons to my friends (it is a great gift! and... it also may be a selfish way of getting more time at Pinch).

If you'd like to check out Pinch's website and be thrilled by the pastels and the vibes... https://www.pinch-studio.com/

See you next week.

*Update: I picked up our finished pieces on Monday, March 20th. They turned out great. Wyeth packed them SO carefully for us in tissue paper wrapping and brown bags with our names on them.

I waited to open our bags til I was at my sister's house

I planned to go to my sister's house for dinner on Wednesday so we could open them together. We were SO excited and SO thrilled with the results.

Our 3 finished pieces! Mine is the large yellow one.

I absolutely love my little yellow bowl and plan to use it as a trinket/ring dish.

Up close of the gorgeous yellow glaze