Unglazed bowls drying on long wooden shelves in the studio

Pottery Studio

We throw, glaze and fire tableware for restaurants, cafés and homes from a former cutlery works in Sheffield, and teach anyone who wants their hands in clay.

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A hand holding a stack of stoneware plates and bowls

About us

Clay keeps a record of every hand that shapes it. At Fettle we make plates, bowls and cups that carry that record onto busy pass counters and kitchen tables: thrown on the wheel, fired slowly and built to be used every single day.

Hands shaping a terracotta pot on a turning wheel
See our work
MakeTableware made to order for restaurants, cafés and hotels. LearnWheel and handbuilding classes on evenings and weekends.

Where clay meets the table

We design and make whole services for kitchens that cook for hundreds: plates sized to the pass, bowls that stack in a dishwasher rack, cups that survive a Saturday brunch. Samples in four weeks, a full order in twelve.

Start a commission
  1. A long restaurant table set with pale blue stoneware plates

    Restaurant

    Marrow, Kelham Island

  2. A black glazed coffee mug on a wooden café table

    Café

    Lowfield Coffee, Heeley

  3. Sage-green cups and toast on a hotel breakfast tray

    Hotel

    Hallam House, Broomhill

Mud to table in six steps

Every Fettle piece goes through the same six steps and two firings. It takes about three weeks, and none of it can be hurried.

  1. Hands pressing a block of clay on a workbench

    Step 1

    Wedge

    Each block is kneaded on a canvas bench to push out trapped air, so nothing cracks or bursts in the kiln.

  2. Clay-covered hands raising a pot on the wheel

    Step 2

    Throw

    The clay is centred on the wheel, opened and pulled up into a cylinder, then shaped into a bowl, cup or plate.

  3. A potter trimming the foot of a terracotta piece on the wheel

    Step 3

    Trim

    Leather-hard pieces go back on the wheel upside down to cut a clean foot ring and lose extra weight.

  4. A pile of pale unglazed dishes after the first firing

    Step 4

    Bisque

    A first, slow firing to 1000°C turns dry clay into porous bisque that can soak up glaze.

  5. A potter brushing glaze onto a white mug

    Step 5

    Glaze

    Pieces are dipped by hand in one of our house glazes; each foot is waxed so it never sticks to the kiln shelf.

  6. Red flames filling the dark inside of a kiln

    Step 6

    Fire

    The glaze firing runs overnight to 1240°C. We open the kiln the next afternoon, never sooner.

Four glazes, mixed in the back room

We weigh and sieve every bucket ourselves. Each glaze is food safe, tested in the dishwasher and fired on our own clay body.

Classes for any pair of hands

Small groups of six, a wheel each, clay and firing included. Come alone or bring the friend who keeps saying they would love to try.

A teacher guiding a child's hands on a turning pot

Three pairs of hands

Fettle is three potters and a kiln. Whoever answers your email is also the one who will make your plates.

  • Ruth Ainsley painting a white vase at her bench

    Founder, thrower

    Ruth Ainsley

    Ten years making for other people's restaurants before opening Fettle. Throws every dinner plate we sell.

  • Dev Mistry shaping a clay piece in the studio

    Glazes and kilns

    Dev Mistry

    A chemist by training. Mixes our four glazes and loads every firing, and is still chasing the perfect red.

  • Hana Kowalska in an apron at a table full of pieces

    Classes

    Hana Kowalska

    Runs the evening classes and the open studio. Has taught more than two thousand people to centre clay.

Studio shelves full of members' unglazed work

Open studio membership

For anyone who has finished a course and cannot stop. Your own shelf, wheel time six days a week and a kiln that fires every Friday.

£95a month, no fixed term

  • Wheel time Tuesday to Sunday, booked online
  • A shelf of your own for work in progress
  • 12.5 kg of clay a month, more at cost
  • Bisque and glaze firings for anything that fits the shelf
  • All four house glazes, plus your own tests
Join the waiting list

From the shelf

One-off pieces and small batches left over from commissions. Reserve by email, collect from the studio or we post anywhere in the UK.

Questions

Do I need any experience for a class?

None at all. The taster evening and the six-week course both start from the very beginning, and the groups are small enough that everyone gets help on the wheel.

What should I wear?

Clothes you do not mind getting clay on, and short nails if you can. We lend aprons and towels; clay washes out of cotton easily.

When can I collect what I made?

Three to four weeks after your class, once the pieces have been trimmed, bisque fired, glazed and fired again. We email you when they are on the collection shelf.

Is your tableware dishwasher safe?

Yes. All four house glazes are food safe and tested in commercial dishwashers and microwaves. Unglazed outsides are best washed by hand.

How big does a commission have to be?

We start at about 40 pieces of one shape. Samples take four weeks and a full service ten to twelve, and we keep your glaze recipe on file for reorders.

Do you sell gift vouchers?

For any class or any amount. Email us and we will send a printable voucher the same day; it is valid for a year.

Come by the studio

Address

1 Example Street
Sheffield S1 0ZZ

Open

Tue–Fri 10:00–21:00
Sat–Sun 10:00–17:00

Write

hello@fettle.example

Call

0114 000 0000

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