Pottery Tool & Supply Swap

Saturday, August 1st @ 10am - 4pm

Share your surplus pottery supplies and discover new-to-you materials.

See below for accepted and non-accepted items.

Early drop-off is encouraged at MADE Studio & Shop or Cornell Studio Supply during operating hours. We'll record your name at drop-off, and your shopper punch pass will be available for pickup on the day of the event.

1 item donated = 1 item swapped. To keep things simple, swaps are based on quantity rather than value, and we'll do our best to bundle items when it makes sense.

Donations without swapping are also welcome.

Day-of donations must be received by noon.

Accepted:

• Tools (ribs, trimming tools, etc)

• Small equipment and accessories (extruders, sprayers, sieves, etc)

• Bats or bat systems

• Handbuilding molds

• Texture tools, stamps, and rollers

• Banding wheels

• Commercial glazes (at least ⅔ full)

• Mason stains

• Underglaze Transfers

• Kiln accessories (posts, stilts, etc)

Not Accepted:

• Large equipment

• Kilns or electrical components

• Pottery wheels

• Slip-cast molds

• Lead-based glazes

• Clay (wet, dry, or reclaimed)

• Homemade glazes or slip

• Unlabeled glazes, chemicals, or

• Bisque ware or finished pottery

All materials must be clearly labeled by manufacturer and in usable condition.

MADE Studio & Shop is not responsible for the quality, safety, or use of any items.

Tools pictured are for marketing purposes and not a part of the tool swap.

To be brave.

To be brave.

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Today I turn 29. I feel so old and so very young, but I think that’s just what growing up feels like. The older we get, the more we realize, hey, this is it! We don’t get to a point where we magically know what we are doing. We get time, and we make choices on how to spend it. 

Someone recently told me that I was brave.

I am proud of who I am, the skills I have grown, the things I have created, but this really struck me: the idea of bravery. We use this word constantly with kids; just this weekend, my sister and I were celebrating my two-year-older niece for being brave (she fed and pet a chicken… it was adorable). When did we stop calling ourselves brave, celebrating even the smallest of wins with a kind acknowledgment that you did something that was not easy, but that you likely grew stronger and wiser in the process? As a 29-year-old recent master's grad who expanded her business while juggling work and maintaining relationships, I have a lot to learn, but I'm proud of how brave I have been. 

I think bravery has shown up in more places than I realized. I am often asked what inspired me to start MADE. And as long as the person asking the question has more than 2 minutes to spare, I respond the same, “Well, it's easiest if we start from the beginning.

And here, I will take a moment to acknowledge that there are many words ahead of you. I know I have found it harder and harder to concentrate on things not fed to me in short video form. If you do choose to continue, I appreciate your time, oh, how precious it is. I hope you get to know me beyond the girl who talks to a camera and posts about why you should take a pottery class on Instagram, but instead as a fellow human simply trying to show up in this world the best way I can. 

I was the “art kid” growing up. I found refuge in the art classroom during lunch, not to escape bullies or socializing, but rather to escape calculus and English class. For most of my time in high school, I had the balanced goal of double-majoring in fashion design and business. As a first-generation college student, I accepted this practical pursuit. I was a straight-A student, and it all came easily to me, particularly math and sciences. And you know what comes from that, especially as a young female in the push for women in STEM. 

Like many high school seniors, I was excited to spend my last year taking the classes I had always wanted to take. But the summer before my senior year, without much reasoning beyond the “projected salary earnings of [insert job here]” tool I found on Google, I decided to pivot… rather 180.  I figured if I made a lot of money, I could buy all the clothes I ever wanted! Nevertheless, I persisted, pursued, and achieved a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. It goes without saying that I am proud to be a woman in STEM, but I never found joy in it. I filled my time by diving into every opportunity outside the classroom I could, nearly all of which were tied to environmental sustainability and, more importantly, to getting to know the Dayton Community. 

The art classroom refuge evolved over the years. An engineering curriculum is rather regimented. You are handed a roadmap of what classes to take when, and there is little to no opportunity to diverge from that pathway. I had made a loose promise to myself that before I graduated from college, I would take a pottery class. It was a class I had dropped in high school to prepare for engineering school. To make an already long story a little shorter… during my last semester at UD, I was able to move classes around and enroll in a semester-long pottery wheel course. I was hooked.

With little to no clue what a job would be like for an engineer who didn’t want to be an engineer, I actively chose to stay in the Dayton area, genuinely curious and passionate about contributing to the growth and potential I found so prevalent among individuals involved in community spaces. Stopping my pottery craft was simply not an option, and I was able to enroll in a clay membership program at a local community studio. 

I wasn't trying to start a business. I was trying to find ways to keep creating. The simplified timeline is as follows:

In 2020, I opened MADE with 2 other lovely ladies at Front Street Art Gallery, offering a few classes here and there. In 2021, we parted ways as co-owners due to exciting changes in each of our lives. I kept the name MADE filed for my own LLC and invested in my first kiln and 3 wheels. I started teaching handbuilding classes here and there at local businesses, packing up my car with all the supplies and carefully transporting creations back to the studio. After a scorching-hot day in the middle of the summer and a 110-degree studio due to the albeit-beautiful, poorly insulated windows and lack of AC, I decided it was time to make a move.

In November of 2023, I opened the doors at 1619 E 5th Street with a whole lot of passion and not much of a plan. For better or worse, I have the “I can figure it out” personality trait. Saying yes to each next step that presents itself. Over three years, I grew our team from a one-woman show to 7 amazing clay crew staff members. Quickly outgrowing our studio, it was apparent that people are craving spaces to create, and I would argue even more so, spaces to create with others. 

So here we are. I was handed the keys to 735 Wayne Ave in May of 2025. Last year on my birthday, we announced that we were expanding from our 1,400 sq ft to a roughly 9,000 sq ft studio. 

I have always been employed outside of MADE. For the past 4 years, I have worked in the University of Dayton’s Sustainability Institute. Additionally, as the photos above show, I have been pursuing my Master of Business Administration. I have taken classes on every subject in the business realm, from evaluating financial statements to running digital marketing campaigns. While often in the context of corporate management, each class offered me the space to reflect on how these principles, practiced in companies with hundreds to thousands of employees, can apply to my much larger, but still small, business. My takeaway? It matters even more to be nearly impeccable at these processes than it does in a large corporation. Just because we are small doesn't mean we are exempt from the fundamental components of a business. Integration of technology, inventory tracking, finances, marketing, pricing strategies- it’s all there. 

I have been in my hustle era to say the least. We all come from different circumstances, and while I have more things to be grateful for than pages to write on, affording this dream meant giving it everything I have. I personally built nearly every piece of furniture in the studio now, thanks to over 400 2x4s and a very tired drill. I developed skills as a  mediocre general contractor, managing subcontractors and interpreting architects’ drawing schedules when something looked off. And possibly most importantly, I learned to ask for help when I needed it. If you have been following along, you have seen an immense amount of joy and progress. There was so much joy, but by far, 28 was the hardest year yet. Blood (fortunately, minimal), sweat, and my fair share of tears were shed. There were moments I got close to one of my least favorite words in the English language- regret. (What a useless emotion!) This journey is beautiful and inspiring, but incredibly difficult. 

In an economic system and, consequently, culture that struggles to value community-centered principles, it is rare that dollar signs alone will ever justify the labor put in. I pursued my MBA to be equipped to handle this landscape. In other words, I take the business side of owning a business pretty seriously- if you don't like the business side of business, I highly recommend you not monetize your hobbies, it’s not worth it, period.

Do I wish everyone could access the joy of pottery for free? Yes. Do I wish we could all afford to purchase only handmade goods made by our community members? YES. Do I wish making your own clothes was cheaper than buying new ones? YES! And maybe someday we can get there, but it will require us to shift and seriously re-evaluate the things that matter deeply to us. 

Ask yourself, why do you reach for the handmade mug over your perfectly matching set from Target? Why do you enjoy the moments you can slow down a bit more and stop at the local cafe, rather than running through the Starbucks drive-through line? Why do you enjoy gifting handmade, even if only something small, over a handful of bargain goods? 

If you don’t know, I'll tell you—human connection. You enjoy subconsciously honoring the hands that touched the mug you drink from, the quick life updates from the barista who remembers and genuinely cares to know how you are, the stories you tell, maybe not even about the item itself, but the way in which it reminded you of them. 

Shopping small is more than a tagline and effort made once a year before the holidays; it's a radical act of valuing connection over convenience and cost savings. I am not asking that you support MADE because you “should” support small. I hope you choose MADE because you value what happens when people gather around a shared table, learn a new skill, and create something with their own hands. THAT sense of connection is what we’ve poured everything into building.

I’m not sure what I expected to accomplish in my twenties, but I’m sure glad it’s this. I am proud to have physically built our new studio. I am proud to have completed my MBA. I am proud to have put together such an incredible team of people who “get it”. But more than anything, I am proud to have been brave enough to stop treating creating as the art classroom refuge and start treating it as the path itself.

Fiber Swap with Gem City Reuse

We’re excited to host our first Fiber Swap at MADE in collaboration with Gem City Reuse.

Join us for an evening of swapping and secondhand fiber supplies. Browse donated materials and fill a bag with yarn, fabric, and other fiber tools for $5 per bag.

If you have extra supplies sitting in a drawer or a project that never quite happened, this is a great chance to pass them along and discover something new.

Event Details

Fiber Swap with Gem City Reuse
Wednesday, April 22 (Earth Day!)
5–8 pm

Location:
MADE Studio & Shop
735 Wayne Ave
Dayton, Ohio

Stop in anytime during the evening to browse the swap and fill a bag.

What You Can Donate

We are collecting clean, usable fiber supplies, including:

• Yarn
• Fabric
• Sewing notions
• Knitting needles
• Crochet hooks

What We Cannot Accept

To keep the swap manageable, we are not accepting:

• Sewing machines
• Other machinery
• Non-fiber arts and craft supplies

Donation Drop-Off Locations

You can bring items the night of the event or drop them off ahead of time at either location:

MADE Studio & Shop
735 Wayne Ave
Dayton, Ohio

*If you are ready to drop off now, please drop off at 1619 E 5th St. We will be moving in the coming weeks.

Reduce & Reuse Refillery
133 E 4th St
Dayton, Ohio

Stay Connected

Follow @gemcityreuse on Instagram to learn more about their work in the community.

Questions about the swap?
Contact gemcityreuse@gmail.com

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!