Pots 2 Paint
BEST FOR
Ages 0+
ENTRY
from £4
SETTING
Indoors
WHERE
Basingstoke
What it’s like
Pick a mug, plate or ornament and paint it in a quiet studio session, with everything fired and ready a week later.
You turn up, pay a £4 studio fee per painter, and choose from over 100 ceramic shapes to paint, mugs, plates, bowls and small ornaments among them. There's help on hand for baby prints and fingerprint keepsakes if you want one of those memory pieces rather than a straight paint job, and soft clay to roll out and take imprints from too. A session runs 1.5 hours, which is plenty of time for a fiddly design without anyone getting bored halfway through.
The catch is the opening hours: Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 3pm only, so this isn't a spontaneous rainy-Sunday plan. Booking's required for most visits, and if you're a group of more than four or want to come same day, you have to phone rather than fill in the online form, which feels a bit old-fashioned but is easy enough once you know it.
Prices for the ceramics themselves start around £8 for small hanging ornaments and £10.50 for mugs, plates, bowls and other shapes, on top of that £4 studio fee. Nothing goes home with you on the day, since everything gets fired first and comes back wrapped and named within a week, so it's more of a "collect the memory later" outing than instant gratification.
Birthday parties are £16 a head, for eight to twelve children, and the birthday child gets a keepsake plate covered in their guests' fingerprints, which is a nice touch worth building the whole party around. There's a £25 non-refundable deposit to secure the date though.
Facilities
Need to know
- Best for
- Works from babies doing fingerprint pieces up to older kids painting mugs
- Parties
- Birthday parties £16 per person, min 8, max 12
- Groups over four people can't book online, you need to call the studio directly
- The birthday child gets a keepsake plate made from guests' fingerprints
- Free wifi in the studio if you want to search for design inspiration
- Take-away kits add a £2 studio fee for equipment and firing
Plan your visit
How much does it cost?
£4 studio fee per painter, then the ceramic shape itself from £8 for small ornaments up to £35 for bigger pieces. Mugs, plates and bowls start at £10.50.
Do we need to book?
Yes for most visits, through their enquiry form. Same-day visits and groups over four people need a phone call instead.
How long does a session take?
About 1.5 hours, which gives enough time to finish a design properly without rushing.
When do you get the finished piece?
Everything's fired after your visit and comes back wrapped and named within a week, so nothing goes home with you on the day.
What are the opening hours?
Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 3pm. That's the only window, so plan around it.
How much are birthday parties?
£16 per person, with a minimum of eight and maximum of twelve guests. There's a £25 non-refundable deposit to book the date.
Is it suitable for a baby or toddler?
There's no minimum age listed, and baby prints and fingerprint memory pieces are one of the activities on offer, so it works well for the very young too.
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