Mugi Pottery

I love this wonderful studio. I have taken classes, showed/​sold work as well as bought pottery too! The teachers and associates are absolutely top notch. The place is small but well worth the price and great location.

5 stars! I attended a couples night class here yesterday & I have to say I was completely satisfied, especially with the fact that my girlfriend and I arrived late due to traffic. We were accommodated immediately. The instructor was very nice and detailed. He had no problem helping out. I was pretty turned off by the negative reviews, but I’m definitely glad I went to try it myself. It is small, but I loved it. The vibe and the people attending were great. I would definitely recommend! There’s no pottery wheel used at couples night because that would obviously take longer than just a night but they do offer many classes if that’s what you’re into.

I have taken pottery classes at Mugi Pottery in NYC for 6 years and I highly recommend the pottery experience at Mugi Pottery Studio in Manhattan. The studio (like all NYC spaces) is small but it’s filled with abundant creativity, warmth and friendship. The community of students is amazing– I enjoy the creative and supportive atmosphere that the studio offers.
The Studio has two owners that run and are the primary teachers of Mugi studio. The wealth of knowledge these to talented women possess is a great foundation for anyone that wants to learn pottery; from throwing at the wheel to hand building pieces at the table. There many classes to choose from and the students range from beginners with no prior experience with pottery to seasoned professionals. There are ample hours of open studio time when students are encouraged to come in to practice and explore their own creative ideas. The studio also offers gallery shows once or twice a year for students that would like to show off their work and sell the items that they have lovingly created.
Mugi Pottery Studio has a laid back atmosphere where ones stressful day is forgotten at the threshold. I highly recommend Mugi Pottery to anyone interested in learning to throw pottery, take a couples class (a two hour class of hand building), children’s classes or parties & corporate events.

If you are considering Mugi for a birthday party, THINK AGAIN. We reserved a date for a children’s birthday party. I called to see if our date was available; I called again to reserve the date and put a deposit down; I called again to speak to the teacher; I called again 2 days before the party to confirm time and date. Parties are held at times when the studio isn’t normally open. When our special day arrived, we waited for the teacher to arrive. HE NEVER CAME. 12 kids were waiting with us outside, and Mugi was shut tight. If failing to come through on a commitment to a 10 year old birthday party wasn’t enough, it took days for the owner to call me back, and when she did she made vague promises of «making it up to my kids» with no follow up. Thanks, Mugi, for ruining birthday memories. Don’t make my mistake. Avoid this place at all cost.

If I could give 0 stars I would. I hardly review on here but just took time out of my day to share the appalling experience I just had with the owner Ogi (something like that) who was one of the RUDEST business owners I’ve come across in a while. I purchased a couples night pottery class thru course horse 2 months ago (also the first time I used course horse). Unfortunately my boyfriend and I broke up the week before the class and I just didn’t want to take the class given it was a couples oriented thing. It was still raw and hoped they would understand I didn’t want to be in a room full of couples doing it with a friend. I called course horse and they suggested I give the studio a call as the refund policy is theirs — not course horse. So I call on Friday and speak to an employee who was super nice and sympathetic and said she thought the owner would likely understand and it wouldn’t be a problem. She suggested I send an email thru their website as it goes directly to the owner. This was on Friday. Come Monday I never hear back, call and owner is not available. Tuesday leave a message with my number. My call wasn’t returned. Call Wednesday as they kept telling me to call back. I finally get a call on Thursday from Ogi the owner and nicely explain the deal to her of which her reply was «well I’m not responsible for your life.» HA! Wow! Really? I’ve never been to your place of business and that’s your response? I was looking for an exception to be made regarding a cancellation policy because as business owners sometimes that’s what we need to do. She continued to say things that were combative, arrogant, and very unprofessional! I was going to suggest a fair solution of getting a credit towards another class bc obviously I have an interest in taking a pottery class — I just didn’t want to take a couples class I purchased 2 months ago for my now ex and I to do the first weekend we broke up. When I said this to the owner she quickly said oh I can do that. My reply… no thanks I’m not at all interested after that reply. I will be going to another pottery studio.

I’ve been taking classes at Mugi for about a year and I highly recommend it.
While researching studios before coming here, I read some negative comments on Unilocal,so I decided to call and ask about things I’d read (like lost pieces, etc). I spoke to one of the owners and she offered lots of clarity and explanation toward other people’s experiences. After talking with her I was confident that it was a great place to jump in and learn a new craft. So if you have a question, call and ask.
The teachers at Mugi are extremely knowledgeable, they are patient and they work with students of all levels. Most of the classes are mixed skill levels, so I thought I’d be intimidated by advanced potters, but I quickly realized that I could ask any question at all and feel comfortable. The advanced students were always willing to give tips and help.
From day one I had my own shelf to hold my work and was able to keep track of my pieces (so long as I put my name on them). Other Unilocalers wrote that their pieces got lost, and from what I’ve seen, they only get lost if you don’t mark them or if you wait weeks or months to come back for them.
All clay and tools are included in the class fee as well as Open Studio times every day where you can come and practice and create. I try to go to open studio at least once a week so that I really improve my skills and get better value for my money.
Learning to throw on the wheel or to hand build with clay are skills that will take time, patience and passion. You won’t be able to make a big exquisite vase or a matching set of bowls and cups on day one. So take a deep breath and enjoy the process. You will have to learn new skills and work your way toward making something you love. That’s the beauty of making something by hand. If you take time and allow yourself to stick with it, the rewards will be much more valuable than the fee you pay to take the class.
Mugi is a great place for beginners and experienced potters alike. It’s a cozy community of artists and hobbyists and I’ve absolutely enjoyed my time spent, elbow deep.

While others that take classes are a joy, Margo and Mugi NO THANK YOU.
Not only is she gruff, unpleasant, nasty more importantly she doesnt teach and just watches and tells you how you’re doing it wrong. This woman should NOT teach. Also I made two items, both of which got «lost» and then made two additional and when I came back they were gone off of my shelf. The lovely Margot told me «well I dont know, I cant remember, how am I suppose to know». Unbelievable.
Take from La Mano in Chelsea or a number of others where youll actually LEARN and have a piece to take with you.
HORRENDOUS.

I took an 8 week course, it was alright. I learned some things about pottery and it’s actually a lot harder than I thought. Margo and the others were friendly. I thought it was kind of intimidating because of all the different level of skills. I think I would’ve done better with private lessons or same level students because my anxiety. Also made some things but when I came back to finish working on them, they were gone so idk I was disappointed about that.

The information provided about the «Couples Night» is completely misleading. What they don’t tell you is that you are only allowed to make slab or coil forms — the same building techniques third graders use in art class. Even though every picture on the website shows either people throwing on the wheel or completed projects that were thrown on the wheel, as a customer, you don’t get to go near one.
I’ve taken advanced pottery classes in the past, so, as a part of my Christmas gift, my girlfriend signed us up for one of the Couples Nights thinking that I would enjoy working on the wheel as well as teaching her. We were both incredibly disappointed to learn that we had been misled. Despite the fact that the site doesn’t explain what couples can and cannot make — and that this was a Christmas presents — no refund was offered when we tried to cancel.
I really, really wish we could have saved our money and, more importantly, our disappointment.

The instructors are good at helping you work with clay, but they (1) really dont give a damn about your finished product; and (2) don’t know how to help you glaze a piece.
The other reviewer is right– they take very few cares to make sure that your piece is left in a safe place, un-​trampled on, and ready to work on. Only one of the instructors glazes pieces in studio (the rest do it in some kind of fancy wood burning oven in the countryside). So when you want to know if a glaze will work, no one knows, and no one seems to care that you might put a lot of work into a piece and then have it ruined by a bad glaze. Furthermore, the people who load the kiln do not take any care to put your piece in the right part of the kiln for the type of glaze you are using (this is standard in any decent studio). Also– when I wasn’t able to pick up some pieces I made immediately, they were gone by my next trip to the studio– and I paid a LOT in firing fees for all these pieces! My name was on them! They had my phone number and email! But no one contacted me to tell me my pieces would disappear if I didn’t pick them up right away.
I have been to a lot of studios, but never one that cared so little about student work. There are certainly better studios in Manhattan. The JCC on 76^th street is one. I would be happy to hear about others. But skip this. The atmosphere is cute, the instructors friendly, and the shop in the front has some stunning artwork. But if you want to make and take home some nice stuff– don’t go here.

I went to a couples night at mugi pottery, I was really excited and at the end of the class I was very pleased with the experience. The instructor was great!
My only criticism regarding the class is the pottery pick up.
(which is one of the reasons you sign up –to make pottery). I was told it would take ¾ weeks for the pottery to harden/​glaze and fire. When completed I was told I would receive a phone call to come pick it up. (Mugi even took my number)
I never received a phone call when the pottery was done, every time I called the studio the person on the phone was not very helpful and said to call back or «yeah, it might/​probably is done»
Finally when picking up the pottery, it was unorganized and require a lot of «digging» as a result I only found a couple of the pieces made.
I suggest implementing a better pick-​up procedure, since one of the objectives is to make pottery… pick it up and use it.

I’ve been going to Mugi for years and this place is friendly and amazing. I strongly recommend signing up for classes or simply buying some of the beautiful and unique hand-​made pottery. If you are looking for a non-​judgmental, friendly and welcoming/​warm atmosphere to make or shop for pottery, go to Mugi!

I was a student here for a while before I hurt my foot and had to stop going. As a pottery experience in NYC it might be very high quality but you need to be prepared for the fact (not provided up front) that if you can’t go to the «free hours» on the weekends you won’t really be able to do any projects because every time you get there to your weekly session you will find out that the bowl you made last week is either still wet or too dry to trim. Also, the studio is always very crowded and you have to kind of weave your way past people to get around the table. My spot on the shelves was very high up and for whatever reason people always piled stuff up on the stepladder so I always had to put other people’s stuff away before I could start.
Also, when I injured myself I asked for a refund of unused classes and was denied.
Overall though the teachers and fellow students are friendly and helpful, so… 3 stars. Recommended if you have the spare time to devote on weekends and lack claustrophobia.

Mugi Pottery Studio is a really nice place to take pottery classes, or to shop for pottery, and even paintings. They are a gallery in front, and a studio in the back for beginners and experienced potters of all kinds. I took a class on a whim at the beginning of summer, and it was so great. Like Yoga for the hands. They’ve been in the upper west side for years, and have even, I think, been a location for a movie. The teachers are so nice and patient, letting you do what you like while guiding you at the same time.
And DO check their $ 5 and $ 20 bins for a lucky find on your way out!