The Clayroom

Wow– a kid friendly paint your own pottery place. Our experience was fabulous. The staff was very helpful, kind and attentive. My five year old is very active. He loved painting and he didn’t break anything. Double win. I highly recommend this place and we will definitely come back.

Cuts shop, friendly staff, and of course a creative vibe. My sister and I went to decorate some mugs and it was a fun process! The worker was kind and gave a quick and easy tutorial. Many options of ceramic pieces to choose from and they were all uniformly made within their respective designs. I loved sitting and just focussing on creating something with my hands. It was super relaxing and the radio was playing the perfect 90s music. Can’t wait to see how my mug turned out!

The Clayroom is one of the best places in Brookline to spend a cozy afternoon or evening with your friends, your kids, or a date. The value is second to none, the atmosphere is so welcoming, and the pottery painting itself is loads of fun. The staff are extremely helpful, and the pottery selection is fantastic. The owner treats his customers like family, offering snacks and smiles. Definitely see for yourself how great it is!

I’ve always had a great experience here. Pick any ceramic piece you want, paint it, and pick it up after Sunday afternoon. They have a variety of pieces: mugs, dessert plates, mixing bowls, figurines, and more. Doug is welcoming and will explain the process to you. Make sure you pick up your pieces within a reasonable amount of time so that someone doesn’t take your work home with them. This is a great place for kids, adults, and large groups.

Love the wide range of items you can paint here. I have painted everything from ice cream bowls to plates, all which I use in my home.
Doug the owner is incredibly helpful and loves to give pointers. He always remembers return customers.
I recommend making a reservation since it it small. If you get hungry while painting I recommend going on Tuesdays when Doug orders pizza or Wednesdays when they serve wine, cheese, and crackers.

We went on Tuesday night for the free pizza (which was pretty good although it came around 6:30 — 6:45, not right at 6) and I was initially disappointed in the pottery selection. I was hoping for a very basic salad-​sized round plate but all they had in that size was one with scalloped edges. It seems like they might go through the more basic pieces quickly as they did have a variety of more fanciful things in stock (donut and ice cream boxes, dragon and unicorn statues, etc.)
There’s an $ 8 studio fee in addition to the price of your chosen pottery, which seems a bit expensive, but the experience is worthwhile. Also, if you come on a Monday or with a group of 4 or larger, the fee is reduced (Monday is half off fee!). They have a good assortment of colors and stencils and rulers to help make your dream creation. You pay after you finish and pick up the pottery 5 days later.
A few cons in addition to the selection:
–space is a bit narrow so be careful maneuvering around the other painters
–there are no aprons, so be aware of that when you decide what to wear (the paint is washable, but still)
–wish they had more «mini bottles» for detailing as I had to keep stealing one from the person next to me as we both wanted to use the same color for fine details
The staff were nice and I was really happy with how my bowtie plate came out. I’d recommend others go on a Monday or Tuesday to take advantage of a reduced fee and/​or free pizza to ensure a good value!

This has been one of my favorite places to relax with a friend or just to get something and paint by myself. I really like how this place is the adult version of plaster fun time, but when you finish its something you can actually use. There arent any of those weird awkward streaks.
The help here is amazing when it comes to color advice as well as just helping you with basic things. I really like coming here because they greet you in a friendly manner and they always make conversation even when your just waiting for the blowdryer to finish your coats.
The only negative thing is that sometimes when you come pick up after the baking off your clay items, there maybe smudges and a little cracking from who knows what. So just be careful when you are painting.

This place is a blast especially on a rainy night or something fun to do in the middle of the week. It’s a relaxed and fun environment and the owner was really nice and friendly. They have a cool selection of things to paint and plenty of paints and other art supplies to use also the prices were super reasonable. I will absolutely go back!

I love this place! How can you not. My girlfriends and I come here on Monday nights for half price admission. The guy that owns the place is super awesome and helpful — I find he’s mostly just helping me fix all of my awful mistakes on my pottery as I am no where near artistic. Which is why I love this place — we can come in, relax, paint some pottery, listen to some good music, drink some wine. It’s perfect-​great little spot!

There’s a party going on right here
A dedication that last throughout the years
So bring your good times and your laughter too
We’re gonna celebrate and party with you
Come on now
Celebration, let’s all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration, we’re gonna celebrate and have a good time
(lyrics by DJ BoBo)
We held our party here at The Clayroom in Coolidge Corner. A pizza party for $ 20 bucks a person (8 person minimum) covered $ 12 in pottery (I think we actually got credited $ 16), all studio fees (normally $ 8pp, but lowered to $ 6pp for groups of 4 or more), pizza, and drinks.
Pizza — one large pizza is ordered for every 4 painters, which comes out to 2 slices per person; with choice of pepperoni, cheese, or veggie.
Drinks — lemonade and water, one of each (which I feared would be insufficient for our party of 10)
With a reservation placed in advance, they were able to set aside a table for us where we could sit together as we worked on our individual projects. After we each picked our ceramic, a short pointer of the paints and hair dryer was provided. Three layers, blowing them dry between, to make for a more solid base color. The pencil markings burn off, so don’t hesitate to draw your design on before painting it on.
As it takes 5 days for the pieces to be fired in the kiln to give it the nice shiny dishwasher/​microwave safe coating, come here only if it is convenient enough for you to return to Coolidge Corner to pick up your piece later.
Tip: Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.
3.5 stars.

I’ve been here for casual sober pottery painting with a former student and her little sister, and for the unlimited wine & cheese deal on Wednesdays. For the wine & cheese thing, you pay $ 30, can paint any pottery for up to $ 20, and have lots of wine, cheese, crackers, and cookies. Eat dinner first, lest you have a hungover Thursday.
The owner is incredibly helpful, there’s a great selection of whimsical and practical pottery (so you can make a pie plate and spoon rest, or a princess fairy coin bank), and the turnaround is pretty quick (you can pick up your piece ~5 days after your visit).
Definitely, definitely make a reservation because this place gets packed, especially Wednesdays and Saturdays!

A truly 5-​star experience all around: fun, great customer service and a super value.
Where to begin? Here are some helpful tidbits:
— Definitely call ahead and make a reservation
— You can bring your own food and drink (they have a bottle opener and cups too!)
— Check Groupon for great deals
— Check their website for cool specials like Pizza Night
Ok, now that we have that out of the way, I can go on raving about my experience:
The owner, Doug, was super helpful, friendly and informative as soon as we arrived. He sat us right down at a reserved table, opened our bottle of wine and gave us the lay of the land. He stressed the importance of following proper technique, such as blow drying each layer of paint before moving on to the next layer — and why it was important. There were lots of options for pottery pieces to paint: everything from practical platters, mugs, and bowls (even a sake carafe) to fun ornamental pieces like animals. No piece was really more than $ 18 except maybe the very large ones, which were closer to $ 24.
There were lots of paint samples to choose from, and Doug does all the cleaning of the brushes and paint pallets for you. There are also squeeze bottles with a very fine tip for you to do accent work, making for a nice contrast. There are stencils available too and Doug is always available to help fix a mistake or offer advice if you’re trying to achieve a specific goal on your piece.
The place was full, but it never felt stressful or crowded. Clearly, painting pottery has a calming effect on most people and everyone was more than happy to share paint or wait a short minute to use one of the blow dryers. It takes about a week to get your pottery after they whisk it away for firing.
All in all, really great deal, friendly people and calming, clean, fun place for the activity! Would definitely recommend.

What a great place! The owner is so chill, kind, and helpful. He made the experience that much better! We felt so comfortable there like it was somewhere we had been a thousand times. It was a fun social place where we also talked to other people and still had a romantic date. The price was as expected– 2 big bowls, $ 18 each, and $ 8 painting studio fee. Great deals– I’m coming next time for wine and cheese night or free pizza on Tuesday. Can’t wait to see how our bowls turned out and then make more!

Tip: MAKE A RESERVATION! The Clayroom is pretty popular, especially on Saturdays. Even if you are coming at a time that isn’t as common, call a day ahead (or at least the morning of). Reservations can’t hurt!
Anyway…I absolutely LOVE coming to The Clayroom. My friends and I have been here twice; it’s a great place to sit, destress, and hang out (we’re here usually for around 2 hours), and each time it has surpassed my expectations.
The Owner: Doug is an awesome guy; he’s incredibly helpful and I’m pretty sure he remembers everyone who comes in. He went above and beyond to make sure we had a great time painting, even though he had many other customers to take care of.
The Price: The first time, I went with a group of 6 and we ended up paying something around $ 12 per person (which is incredibly cheap) because of a Groupon deal. The second time we went, I couldn’t find the deal again, so we paid the normal fee. But in my opinion, even paying the normal fee ($ 8 studio fee + the price of your pottery) is worth the experience and the art that you get to keep.
My friends and I definitely will be coming back to The Clayroom — hopefully on a Monday night for half price studio fees or Tuesday night for free pizza. This is by far the best ceramic studio I have ever been to!

AMAZING service, great activity, good prices and killer deals.
I came here as a group of 10 for my friend’s birthday and I had such a great time. We made our reservation for 4pm and even though we were seated around 4:45pm, it was no big deal because the guy was super accommodating. He told us we can look around to get ideas, pick our ceramic (mugs, plates, statues, bowls, etc) and gave us the run down on how the paint will look like once it was done. It was my first time at a clay room, but he made it so easy to understand everything! In our birthday package, each person paid $ 20 and we got to pick a $ 12 piece of ceramic, had access to all the different paints, got three pies of pizza of our choice and two cartons of lemonade! I MEAN WHAT A STEAL! Not only that, but because we had to wait, he let us stay and design for as long as we needed.
It’s also BYOB so in celebration, we had wine, cider, gummies, chocolates in addition to our pizza and lemonade. This is the perfect place to come for people of any age! You do have to come back to pick up your arts because it takes a few days for it to be complete, but other than that, it was a great experience!

I had a Groupon for the Clayroom and checked their website to see that it was encouraged to make a reservations, so I did that! I went with friends on December 2014. We came in at 4:30 and was finished by 7 (spent 2.5 hours there).
We (a group of 4) came in and was escorted to a table. It was extremely cold outside that day, so it was still pretty chilly inside as well, but the owner of the shop said it would get warmer soon as he was baking the finished pieces of potteries. He told us to choose what we wanted to paint first and then he would give us instructions since it was our first time there. Then we waited for around 10 to 15 minutes for the owner to give us instructions-​not going to complain since the place was packed.
The service was good. No one rushed us to hurry up even though it was pretty crowded. The workers were really talkative with one another.
The only problem we experienced was not really knowing the exact amount for our piece of pottery. Yes, the Clayroom has labels on the racks, but they did not correspond to the pottery pieces when we came; they were probably moved around before and fixed after we picked our pieces. So at the end when we were calculating the total amount, some pieces we picked were supposedly more expensive than what we saw with the mismatched labels. To be sure, make sure to ask the workers there if the labels are not in the right place.
The Clayroom is a great place to chill and to be creative. I would recommend.

The other reviews on here are really great, so maybe my experience was abnormal, but I wanted to write a review anyways. It’s kind of long, so here’s the summary:
My boyfriend and I went in last Tuesday to paint some mugs and a Christmas ornament. We had a great time painting, but the pickup process has been botched multiple times, resulting in 3 EXTRA TRIPS to the studio to finally get all our pieces.
And here’s the detailed version, for those who are curious:
The owner was really nice and personable when my boyfriend and I went in last Tuesday. We had the place to ourselves and had a great time painting and talking to him. We were told our pieces would be ready on Sunday, so we left happy campers.
I came back on Sunday to pick up our pieces and was told they weren’t ready. I went back with the owner to show him the pieces that we had painted (there were 3 pieces all sitting together waiting to go in the oven that afternoon). He said they accidentally got placed with the next day’s batch so they would be ready Monday. No problem, things happen. So I left and came back Monday. This time 2 of the 3 pieces were ready, but the 3^rd piece wasn’t even in the oven yet. I don’t understand how the 3 pieces got so separated, especially after I came in the day before and showed him the 3 pieces we had painted. That irritated me.
Then, when we got our 2 pieces home on Monday, we noticed that one of them (a Christmas ornament) was useless because the glaze had baked into the hole of the ornament, so we couldn’t hang it on our tree. I had made sure to clean out the hole when I was painting it, so I was frustrated that the owner didn’t take the same steps when he put the glaze on it.
So today I went back to collect our last piece and brought the ornament with me to see if the owner had a drill he could use to open up the hole. Finally our 3^rd piece was ready, but the owner told me he didn’t have the right drill bit with him. He said he «usually» clears out the glaze from these ornaments so this doesn’t happen, but he must have forgotten to do that with our ornament. So now I have to go back another time to pick up the ornament after he brings in the right drill bit tomorrow. He tried to get the glaze out with a drill bit he had there today, but it wasn’t the right kind of drill bit. I’m not sure why he wouldn’t have the right drill bit there that he needs to fix this problem, since I’m sure its not a totally uncommon issue.
Even after all these trips in the studio over the last week, the owner seems to have no memory of who I am and hasn’t really apologized for all these inconveniences.
Anyways, I really enjoyed the painting experience, but I feel everything after that was sloppy and disorganized. I’ve painted pottery numerous other times at other studios and never had these problems. I can’t say I’ll be returning to the Clayroom.

Such a fun place to go to! Now I’ve been to a few other similar pottery-​painting places prior to this one, but this is by far the best. The relaxed, chill atmosphere is inviting and totally on point for zoning out to painting whatever masterpiece you’re working on. The owner is super friendly and helpful too! Best part is this won’t break the bank, prices are completely reasonable and worth it! I’ll definitely keep coming back here, loved it!

First time visitor … this place was great! The young lady was so sweet and helpful… she explained the process and checked on us frequently. Awesome customer service!
Pick your item to paint and then get your paint tray in the back! When you’re done, nothing else to do, but pay. Leave your pottery on the table and they do the cleanup! Come back in 5 days!
Fun time with my 2 year old! I went on a Wednesday around 4 and it was kiddy central so be mindful when making ressys. They have adults only Wednesdays after 6.
bring a smock/​shirt to put over your child’s clothing as they don’t provide aprons. Recommend you reserve a table, the space is limited with only approx 10 tables. Parking might be difficult on beacon, only street metered.

I came here once during an evening and once during the daytime, and they were very different experiences. The evening was very laid back (but make sure you make a reservation, as one time we showed up and it was completely full). The evening time is nice as there is radio music going and its mostly adults painting. However, the downside of going on a Monday was that they were out of alot of supplies (e.g., not as much pottery pieces to pick from, or paints to use).
During the daytime, it was mostly kids there so alot of movement and high energy, but the man working there seemed great with the kids and very engaged in helping them, and even checked in on us from time to time (which in the evening, the lady who gave us the quick guide to how things worked, pretty much just did her own thing the rest of the night).
One major downside was a bit of the disorganization and missing supplies. Though it was helpful that they have tiles to show what the colors would look like after they are fired in the kiln, however, it looks like only ½ of the bottles of colors actually had a coordinating tile… and for acouple of the tile colors I liked, turns out they were completely out of that bottle!
Despite wishing they were more stocked in their supplies, I did like how they have stencils you can use, as well as fine tip bottles for more detailed work; this was the first clay painting place I’ve been to that had these, and I was a big fan, as these helped make my piece more mature looking (hopefully!).
FYI — if you run out of time, you can come back another time to finish the piece, at no additional charge, however, you do have to take your piece home with you, so a bit cumbersome if you have a bulkier piece.