Bondi Clay

UPDATE: For the course of the COVID-19 lockdown, Bondi Clay has launched a set of online tutorials and take-home clay kits. You can pick up full and half bags of white stoneware clay and tools from the Bondi studio, or have the clay delivered if you live in the Eastern suburbs. 

Online tutorials cover off wheel throwing techniques, basic pinch pots, hand-built vases and more.  When you're ready, you can drop your work of art back to the studio to be fired for $10. More info is here. 

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Bondi Clay is a locally owned and run ceramics studio and workshop based in the beating heart of Bondi. You’ll find this naturally-lit beauty just off the bustle of Bondi Road on Flood Street. 

This slice of heaven has sustainable practices front of mind. It's one of the few studios that doesn’t use single-use plastic bags, and only uses renewable energy to power its equipment and lights. 

The studio itself is every creative’s dream, having a bare and minimal skeleton with basic shelving, timber floors, sweeping floor to ceiling windows and the occasional indoor plant for a splash of green. You’ll also find eight state-of-the-art automatic wheels, two electric kilns, stoneware clay, a wide selection of dipping paint and building tables (to give you ultimate freedom and space).

As for the classes here, there’s a bunch worth casting your eye over. If you’ve always wanted to give pottery a go but have commitment issues, the “Taster” class is for you. This one runs for two hours and gives you all the know-how on building technique and throwing on the wheel. 

There’s also a customised keep cup class where you’ll get to design and create your own sustainable coffee vessel.

If you can lock yourself into something more long-term, try out Bondi Clay’s workshops that span 4 to 6 weeks. These look like hand-building sessions on slab-building and coiling to make bowls, plates, dinner platters or decorative vases.

Image credit: Bondi Clay