Fire & Earth Fine Pottery

We took a date class with Kris on very short notice. I called on Monday and we got a time slot on Wednesday morning. The studio is easy to find — just look for the purple house and slow down because Fire and Earth comes up next. The studio has a small show room in front and the work area in the back. Everything is very open.
We were early and Kris was very accommodating and started our lesson early. He explained everything so well and in such detail. You can tell he has immense knowledge and wants to share it even if this is the only time you’ll be making a piece of pottery. He wants you to succeed. We were both scared to mess up! Definitely held my breath a couple of times.
Initially, we started with an overview of the steps we would take to create our bowl and then step by step he would use one of us to demonstrate each step. We centered our ball of clay then worked on getting it shaped to be a basic bowl. At the end, we chose how we wanted our bowl to look — rounded or flared. We chose a color for our bowls and we were told once our bowls were fired we would get an estimate for shipping. Since we live in Charlotte, it’ll take a couple weeks to get our bowls but that’s ok.
Overall, I’d love to take one of the longer class sessions if I was local again. I’d highly recommend coming into the studio. It’s very calm and the teacher is personable. I would just mention he’s got Lola and Pepper; two very friendly dogs that hang out and supervise. Kris offered to put them up if it bothered us but it actually helped break the ice at the beginning. Check out my pictures of our awesome first timer bowls!

I’ve been taking lessons here for about a year and I love this place! Kris is a wonderful teacher… He’s very patient and thoroughly explains everything before you start and talks you through the process. I also love his sweet pug, Lola, who is usually hanging around to greet everyone!

I found this studio and decided to take one on one lessons. The owner was so accommodating to my schedule for lessons. During my actual lesson he was very helpful. He explained all the techniques and examined technical words that I might not understand. He helped me as much or as little as I needed and gave great advice and suggestions when I was throwing my own pots.
When I had questions he answered them with great ease. The lessons are such a deal! I had a wonderful time, and even stayed after for another hour or 2 to practice and throw more pieces. He was great at offering me advice to modify my pieces and to make my throwing technique more robust.
Kris is awesome! He gives great lessons.
He also has some pieces that he has fired and glazed and are for sale in his shop which are beautiful. I can hardly wait for my second lesson!

I have to totally disagree with the other reviewer. Kris, the owner of the studio, has always been great to deal with and is a fantastic instructor. For years, I have always wanted to try pottery on a wheel. So a couple of months ago, I brought some girls from my craft group here for a class. I had emailed and spoken with Kris on the phone multiple times before the class and he was always very helpful and easy to deal with. We were all complete beginners with using a potter’s wheel and we had a blast at our class. Throwing pottery is supposed to be fun and it definitely was! He was very hands on with teaching by going around and helping each of us to ensure we all had an end product that we’d be proud to say that we made ourselves. All of our bowls came out beautiful, too.
I enjoyed myself so much at that class that I signed up for an 8 week class. I’ve just started that now and am so excited to improve my skills and see all the different kinds of pottery I’ll get to make. The classes do tend to fill up quickly since he has a lot of students that continually stay on for the next round of classes, but if you’re at all interested in learning to make pottery, I highly suggest Fire & Earth.

The worst place to take pottery lessons ever! The owner and instructor is rude and does not accommodate his customers or students. Throwing pottery is suppose to be a fun, hands on learning experience and he makes it the exact opposite. Please do not support this business, even though it is local.