Birthdays at a ceramics studio

It's a private event: the studio closes for your group for the whole birthday and isn't shared with any class or anyone else. That's what sets it apart from a workshop, where you buy a single place on a Saturday and share a table with strangers.

During the birthday everyone hand-builds, and at adults' birthdays you can use the wheel too. Each person makes a piece and decorates it with the studio's colours. We keep the pieces to dry them, fire them at over a thousand degrees and glaze them, which is the part you can't do at home, and we'll let you know when they're ready to collect.

There's a break halfway through for the cake and whatever you've brought. You provide the food and drink, and that's absolutely fine: the space to enjoy it is included.

Everything else is in the price: a studio teacher the whole time, the clay, tools, moulds, stamps, colours, aprons, a workspace for everyone, and the firing and glazing of every piece. All you need to bring is a willingness to get messy.

The date is arranged with you. It's usually at the weekend, and weekday mornings are possible if the studio has a free slot. Since that slot is no longer available for classes, it's held with a 30% deposit and the rest is paid on the day of the birthday.

And it doesn't have to be a birthday. The format is the same for a hen or stag do, a team lunch or an afternoon with friends: what defines it is that the studio is yours and everyone leaves with their own piece.