What’s Coming to MADE Studio & Shop - Q&A

You’ve been asking us what’s coming in our new space at 735 Wayne Ave, so here’s a quick Q&A to answer some of the most common questions. We are so excited YOU are excited!

Q: What new clay programming will you offer?

In the new studio, we’ll have Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 wheel and hand building courses so you can grow with us from beginner through intermediate and advanced skills.

Our expanded Handbuilding Classroom will give us the flexibility to offer a wider variety of workshops and accommodate more participants.

Q: Will you offer clay memberships?

YES, but not right away! Our team needs to grow into this new space and so do you all. We are carefully building a membership program that supports our studio culture and community.

What we do know:

• You’ll need to take a class at MADE before applying for membership.

• Understanding our studio flow and culture is very important to us.

• Our membership model will be unique, it may not be for everybody, and that’s okay.

In the meantime, our clay series courses will include a set number of practice sessions so you can get plenty of studio time. Practice and repetition build skill, and we want you to have space for both.

Q: What fiber classes will you offer?

Our sewing program will mimic our clay offerings, starting with a “Take it for a Spin!” style intro to sewing machines. You won’t leave ready to create your own wardrobe, but you will gain the foundational skills to approach future workshops with more confidence.

We’re actively developing project-based courses and building relationships with incredible fabric suppliers. Since in-person fabric shopping options are becoming harder to find, we’ll also offer fabric for all projects we host, carefully curated for quality and nearly impossible to find elsewhere.

Beyond sewing, we’ll offer yarn work experiences like knitting, crochet, and weaving, along with skill-building workshops. You can expect a sprinkling of classes in printing, natural dyeing, mending, and creative reuse projects as well.

Q: Will there be fiber memberships?

Unlike clay, fiber can be much more accessible to take home and build a regular practice. However, we believe making in community is just as important.

While we didn’t dedicate 5,000 sqft like we did for clay, we’re just as committed to building community around fiber. Whether you’re growing your skills through our classes or already creating with confidence, you’ll find regular “Open Sew” and “Open Yarn” sessions to create alongside others.

We’re dreaming up monthly challenges, material swaps, and other ways to stay inspired, so you can keep growing your practice with the support of a creative community.

Q: What will be in the retail shop?

Our shop will feature a curated selection of artisan goods, all handmade, that celebrate timeless craftsmanship (or womanship!). This includes our rebranded line, MADE Studio & Shop by Sarah Richard (previously Gem City Ceramics), plus work from instructors and regional craftspeople.

Q: What are seasonal workshops?

Yes! We’ll have seasonal craft workshops that follow the rhythms of the year, from floral design to holiday projects to skill-building intensives. Our goal is to be beginner-friendly while giving you the opportunity to lean into deeper creative exploration and skill development.

Q: What will your hours be?

We’re still ironing out the details, but our retail shop will be open five days a week, likely from 10–6 … maybe even 9–6 (we are sharing a wall with a bagel shop, after all).

Just like now, our studio will have plenty of activity even outside shop hours, we’ll continue to host evening classes, weekend workshops, and private events.

When memberships come online, members will have access to the space 7-days-a-week, so the studio can be there whenever your schedule allows.

Q: How much will your experiences cost?

Oh, pricing - the question that keeps us up at night (seriously)!

We value high-quality materials, skilled instruction, and fair pay for our team. We also work hard to keep our supply chains as local as possible and when that’s not an option, we source the best quality we can from trusted suppliers outside our region.

Balancing financial accessibility with sustainable business practices is no small feat (trust us, even years of graduate-level business courses haven’t given us the perfect answer). We’re also fighting against some massive forces and decades of exploitative big business.

At MADE, we value quality over quantity and hope to curate a space that shows what’s possible with intention, skill, and care. We know we won’t be accessible to everyone - and that’s hard to say out loud - but we do our best to offer a variety of class formats and price points so as many people as possible can join in.

Q: Why the HUGE move?

Because our world is loud, busy, and heavy. We all need places where we can breathe. Time simply doesn’t exist the same way when you’re creating with your hands. Our brains are tired. The news cycle never stops. The stress of simply existing in 2025 is real.

At MADE, we spread gratitude for what our hands are able to do, we just have to give ourselves the chance to do it. MADE is about more than making a mug or working with yarn, it’s about building a community that values craftsmanship, process, and human connection. This is where real connection with real humans happens, often with people you may have never crossed paths with otherwise.

This expansion is about creating a space where you can learn, grow, make mistakes, try again, and most importantly celebrate all of the successes with others.

Q: When are you all going to move?

Oh, the million-dollar question!

Here’s the thing, we are in the thick of it. Every day we’re either screwing some 2x4s together (see photos below), making design choices, building out new curriculum, watching supply prices soar, begging the city for signatures, or running to Lowe’s (again).

We’re building this space while running our current studio and holding down full-time jobs - because, you know, those pesky bills keep showing up. This isn’t an excuse, just an explanation, we thrive off the chaos!

Building a small business (against those big-biz forces we mentioned earlier) is truly not for the faint of heart, but we are determined to get it right. We can’t promise every detail will be perfect on day one, but we can promise this - when we know, you’ll know. And we hope you’ll come celebrate with us when the doors open.

More soon.

Stay Connected

Want to be the first to know when we open our doors and announce new classes? Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram @madedayton. You’ll be the first to know about new class registration, special event invites, and behind-the-scenes peeks at the new studio as it comes to life.

MADE is Making BIG Moves!

BIG NEWS, friends! 

I am beyond excited to finally share that MADE is growing BIG TIME! After months of puzzling together the dollars and the agreements, I couldn't think of a better time than my 28th birthday to announce this next chapter. 

We’ll soon be occupying over 8,000 sqft at 735 Wayne Ave! This new space will allow us to truly live out our potential and offer all the amazing things you've been asking for over the years (yes, clay memberships are coming!).

It was incredibly important to me to keep our new home just a short walk from downtown, and while we will deeply miss St. Anne's Hill, we’re excited to be less than a mile away and part of the Historic South Park neighborhood.

When I moved MADE to St. Anne’s Hill back in 2022, I was running the show solo. But now, thanks to all your support, we've built an incredible team, and we've welcomed thousands of you into our studio to create with clay.

I’ve poured my heart (and muscles!) into this journey, and I can't express how thankful I am for every person who's been part of it. Creating is where I feel most at home and inviting all of you into that journey has become my greatest joy.

We’re not just expanding our clay offerings, we will be adding new services like sewing, yarn work, and seasonal crafts. My team and I can’t wait to keep these traditional skills alive while creating something beautiful for you to be proud of.

We have the keys, and have been working to get walls up and power tools running. While we don't have an exact opening date just yet (as most construction timelines go), I promise we’ll keep you all regularly updated. In the meantime, we’ll continue to offer a FULL lineup of classes at our current studio and we appreciate the support in advance to fuel this project.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us so far. We can't wait to create with even more of you real soon!

-Sarah owner gal of MADE

Holiday Collection 2024

If you know me, even just a little, you know my love for Christmas runs deep. I’m that person who puts up the tree on November 1st and keeps Christmas jazz spinning on the record player for 2 months straight. For me, it’s a way to keep whimsy and magic alive in my adult life—why not stretch the joy a little longer?

As the season of giving begins, I hope you’ll join me in supporting small and handmade.

With gratitude,
Sarah, maker of Gem City Ceramics and owner of MADE a Ceramic Art Studio

Floral Wreath with Butter Flower Farm

This fall, we are lucky to have local dried flowers from Butter Flower Farm in the shop. We spent a beautiful fall day creating with Larissa, learning the art of wirework and floral design to craft custom wreaths!

Don't miss out on our next workshop in October, where we will create decorative brooms.

Gem City Ceramics Autumn Shop Update

Autumn is by far my favorite time of year. The weather is beginning to change, and evenings of open windows and checkered wool blankets have arrived. Life moves a bit slower, but I still feel an abundance of energy, perhaps just in a different, more soothing hue.

This shop update features months of work—some pieces I've been creating for years, while others pushed me to explore new methods in sculpture and surface decoration.

Thanks to my friends at Butter Flower Farm in Yellow Springs, OH, dried florals now adorn our shop and can be purchased by the bundle.

-Sarah, maker behind Gem City Ceramics and owner gal of MADE a ceramic art studio

Floral Imprint Plates at Cedar Ridge Trails

Our MADE clay crew packed up our clay supplies and headed to Cedar Ridge Trail for a match made in lavender field heaven.  

Our Favorite Resources for Beginners on the Pottery Wheel

The potter’s wheel, like many crafts, is a skill to be gained. We often like to say that no one is naturally good at throwing pottery; like a sport or instrument, it takes years of practice to master. Below, we break down the three most challenging steps of throwing pottery on the wheel and include a variety of resources to help you tackle them. We encourage all Wheel 101 students to watch these in between each class.

Coning

Coning is the first step of the throwing process, in which a chunk of clay is brought up in a vertical direction. While many potters may combine this step with the next step of centering, we like to separate it, as it really is a unique technique that may seem a bit odd your first time on the wheel.

The important thing to know about coning is that it helps you get your chunk of clay in the center of the wheel, which is especially crucial as you begin working with larger amounts of clay. Coning can be a great addition to the work you did in the wedging process. It helps align your clay and continues to make it as homogeneous as possible, making it easier to throw. In the resource below, Florian shares a great graphic to explain this a bit better.

Resource: "How to Cone Clay on the Potter’s Wheel" by Florian Gadsby

Centering

Centering is the process of getting your somewhat symmetrical pieces of clay into the center of the wheel. Sounds easy enough? Centering is commonly known as the hardest part of wheel throwing for beginners. Because each step of the pottery process builds on one another, mastering centering is foundational to a successful experience on the wheel.

We know this is one of the hardest steps to get used to on the wheel, so we have included two great resources below!

Resource: "5 Steps to CENTERING CLAY on the Wheel!...for Beginners" by Jon the Potter

Resource: "How to Center Clay - A Beginner's Guide" by Florian Gadsby

Pulling Walls

Once you have gotten your clay into the center of the wheel and managed to open and widen your clay, you are ready for the final step, pulling! In our studio, we like to refer to pulling as gliding. We do not want to grab and pull up, but instead carefully add pressure, ensuring there's plenty of water to be able to glide up our wall. While the following resource does not refer to this as gliding, they do a great job sharing where pressure is being applied and why. Shout out to Donte for wanting a name change from pulling to squeezing; we agree the word pulling just doesn’t give this step justice!

Resource: “Pulling for beginners (common mistakes)” by Earth Nation

Throwing as a “Leftie”

While many left-handed individuals end up throwing right-handed, we do want to share a great resource for our "lefties" out there, as all of our instructors, including our left-handed ones, throw as "righties."

Resource: "Throwing for Lefties" by Nado Ceramics

One of the greatest takeaways from all of the videos we have suggested is that there are multiple ways to throw on the potter’s wheel! If you are brand new to pottery, we recommend signing up for a class to get real-time feedback as you develop your skills at each stage of the throwing process. Once you have gotten your hands on clay, continue to watch videos, like the ones we shared above; you would be surprised how helpful it is to watch others in between your studio time to help refine a step that may have been tricky.

As always, practice makes improvement!