Member Newsletter

04/15/2025

SPRING 2025

April 4, 2025 

Dear Clay Space Community,

We hope your 2025 year at Clay Space is going well so far. By now, you’ve probably gotten used to the fact that we are always evolving, so we’d like to bring you up to date and provide some studio reminders. 

Welcome to all our newest members. Many are familiar faces who have come through our classes and are already at home in Clay Space. As always, let’s make everyone feel welcome and support them as they get used to the flow in the members’ area. If you’ve not joined and introduced yourself on our Slack Channel, please do so. It’s the most efficient way to learn what’s happening in real time and where ongoing announcements and community engagement are made.

MEMBERSHIP UPDATES

  • MEMBER SURVEY
  • We’re launching a new Member Survey and ask everyone to take some time to fill it out so we can learn from you. Please do this by April 30, as we intend to review your feedback and use it to guide our next steps. Don’t delay, this will be easy to forget.
  • MANDATORY SPRING CLEANING:
    • In the interest of keeping us all safe in a dust free environment, we ask all members to clean their own spaces and shelves regularly.
    • Now that spring is here, we will plan a deep cleaning community day during April and will post the date on Slack.
    • Everyone will have until May 1st to clean your personal shelves and spaces. Please visit us in the office to sign off on your cleaning job. If you cannot make it in by then or simply don’t do it, our staff will do it and charge your account $10 per each shelf and/or table. We will not be responsible for damaged work if we are tasked with cleaning your shelf. 

EVENT UPDATES

  • BCAT (BROOKLYN CERAMIC ARTS TOUR) – May 29-June 1

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

  • DONATE! MUG SALE FUNDRAISER at the closing party, June 1

Please consider making a donation of mugs or make some mugs just for the BCAT sale. We’ll cover the cost of firings if you submit them specifically for the sale. We have some lovely Standard 214 Scott’s Red clay for you to use for this project if you are willing to make lots of beautiful mugs for this fundraiser! Contact Janine at info@clayspacebk.com if you want to use this clay and/or plan to submit mugs for firing. 

  • THE GREAT BROOKLYN THROW DOWN, year 3! June 1. Fill out the linked form and let’s make a great Clay Space team!
  • GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIOS – May 31-June 1
    • This 2 day event will take place on the same weekend as BCAT this year. If you’re interested in showing/selling work with us, please fill out this form by April 15 so we can plan accordingly. We’ll collect a small fee from everyone to help organize and support our media plans. You should also register with GOS, which will give you an awesome individual listing that remains on the website indefinitely. This fee is what provides GOS the resources to organize the weekend, so please do this by April 18.
      Those who fill out the form will receive the planning information and link to reserve your spot.
  • MADE IN GREENPOINT POP UP – May 2
    • A number of members will be participating in a small, Calyer St. local evening event during Made in NYC week. We’ll be showing and selling on May 2nd from 4-8pm.
  • SHOP SMALL GREENPOINT – May 3 + 10
    • We’re excited to join the SSG Crawl during the week of May 3 – May 11. Our events will be on Saturday, May 3 and 10 from 11-1pm, with a hands-on making table out front or inside the student handbuilding room. We hope you’ll help spread the word!

STUDIO MANAGER UPDATES

Hey everyone, Mike here with a few updates and reminders. Before we get into it, if you need anything, feel free to reach out.  I am out of the studio on Fridays, so if you email me then, I can usually answer your question at some point over the weekend. Thanks for your patience on this. 

And then, here are two of the most common questions. Please use the forms. It helps us on the back end so that we can keep track of things and have accountability. All of these links can be found in the member’s portal!

  • If you are bringing in any outside material (glaze, clay, etc), reach out to me via THIS form.
  • If  you are a desk member and you would like to rent your own kiln, please use THIS form (don’t send me an email). 
  • For any other specific help or questions about kilns, glazing or help with a project, you can book a consultation with anyone on staff HERE

            On to the rest of it:

  • HELLO’S AND GOODBYE’S ON THE TECH TEAM
    • Please welcome Liam Kelly and Holland Meyer to the Tech Team! You will be seeing Liam on Saturday and eventually Holland too. Liam works in production and has had experience teching and helping run a studio. Liam works over in the Annex, but you’ll see them from time to time in the main space, and will see them now on Saturdays! Holland has never teched before but their work has grown exponentially since they started with us as a student a few years ago. Holland’s set up is behind Hannah and Maureen’s space, under the windows. Glad to have them both joining the crew. 
    • And for the goodbye, we sadly are saying so long (for now) to our beloved friend and colleague, Signe. She has found some opportunities outside of Clay Space and closer to home that are offering some more room to grow and gain different experience. She has been an anchor to the tech team and to the studio, having been a part of the community for the last 15 years. We wish her happy winds and hope that the future only brings good things. We’ll miss ya at the studio!
  • NEW WEDGING TABLE: Mike, Ian and a few of the other techs are gonna be working on getting the member area a new wedging table. There will be an announcement when we are gonna start work on this, possibly in the next week or two. Please keep an eye out for that. That will mean the wedging table will be temporarily out of use until it sets up. We’ll let you know how we’re going to address that soon.
  • HOUSEKEEPING
    • Cleaning: This is a general note, but let’s try to be better about cleaning up after ourselves in the member’s communal areas (wheel area, hand building table and wedging tables).  We’ve seen a few people leave clay behind, not clean the wedging tables after use, miss cleaning parts of the wheels or around them, wipe down the hand building table, leave trimmings on the floor, or leave tools out overnight. Please remember to check your work space before you pack up for the day/evening. 
    • The Kitchen: We are heading into the warm months, so this is just a reminder to keep the kitchen clean. Use the yellow sponge to thoroughly wipe down the counter, table, and microwave after each use. We don’t want any new critters running around. Also, remove your dirty apron and wash your hands in the clay sinks before using the kitchen sink. Let’s keep clay well away from the kitchen sink (and bathrooms).
    • Reclaim Station: Mike and the team are still looking at the buckets by the reclaim area and how to use them. For now, they are kind of open use, so if you want to grab any free clay, dig in there. In the meantime, we’ll be making more reclaim bats and tossing some of the old ones. Side note: please stay on top of your reclaim and don’t leave it too long. Longer than 2 weeks might get your reclaim tossed out and it’ll help keep the plaster from getting moldy and keep some available for others to use. We’ll be checking dates from time to time, so please put your name and date on your bats.
    • Utility Sink: The sink in the members area has been left a little messy in the last few months. Please remember to thoroughly rinse out any sponges you use and clean and return any tools or supplies used before you pack up to go home. 
    • MY EXCEPTION TO THE RULE and How To Use It: If you haven’t noticed, there are some slips that can be found hanging from the shelves where you leave your greenware and glazed work to be fired. They are printed on a sort of orange-ish color paper. On it, you can find some blank spaces to fill out. At the bottom are directions for how to use them. Please, if you are going to use one, email Mike at studiomanager@clayspacebk.com so that he is aware of your deadline or special needs. They are not to be used for anything other than flagging work for Mike and the tech team to be aware of. 
  • PULLING YOUR OWN CLAY: We work on the honor system around here and it seems to be working well. The only note we have is that if you pull the last bag from a box, please break down the box and bring it to the loading dock. 
  • FIRING SCHEDULE
    • Those of you doing spring/summer shows can help us help you by letting us know your needs well in advance of your show deadlines. Please pace yourself and realize how much work we fire in order to satisfy everyone’s needs. 
    • Private kiln loads should be scheduled while things are slower overall (like from now through mid-June). Once mid-June  hits, we’ll have a very difficult time guaranteeing you a private kiln load. Short of saying no private loads, we’ll say instead, no guarantees. As we look to eliminate the end-of-semester rush, private kiln bookings need to be strategically scheduled.

NEWS ABOUT CLASSES

  • THINKING ABOUT TAKING A CLASS? Maybe you want to improve your skills or try a different way of working in clay. We still have space in a few of our spring classes and you can apply your 10% members’ discount using the code spr25memberyay at checkout. You will thoroughly enjoy our wonderful instructors and learn so much! See what’s waiting for you here.
    • UPCOMING WORKSHOPS: Members receive a 10% discount on workshops too. 
  • This coming summer, we will be hosting a series of mini-courses and workshops! Stay tuned for more information. Topics that may be covered include:
      • Nerikomi
      • Mold making
      • All about mugs
      • Creative teapots

Thanks for staying up to date with us!

Don’t forget to fill out the Members Survey  😉

Clay Space Team