The combo event is the studio's answer for large group team building activities: every guest gets time on the potter's wheel and at the hand-building table, at a teaching pottery studio in San Mateo on the Bay Area Peninsula. Each person makes two items on the wheel and one hand-built item, for three pieces in total.
The event runs approximately 2 hours and is priced at $130 per guest, with a two-guest minimum and seats for up to 50 guests. With advance notice, and by special event reservation only, the studio can accommodate a few more guests beyond that. A short demonstration is given first, so no experience is needed.
What's Included
- An event of approximately 2 hours at the studio
- A short demonstration before
The combo event is the studio's answer for large group team building activities: every guest gets time on the potter's wheel and at the hand-building table, at a teaching pottery studio in San Mateo on the Bay Area Peninsula. Each person makes two items on the wheel and one hand-built item, for three pieces in total.
The event runs approximately 2 hours and is priced at $130 per guest, with a two-guest minimum and seats for up to 50 guests. With advance notice, and by special event reservation only, the studio can accommodate a few more guests beyond that. A short demonstration is given first, so no experience is needed.
What's Included
- An event of approximately 2 hours at the studio
- A short demonstration before you begin
- Two items made on the wheel and one hand-built item for every guest
- Four glaze combos to choose from at the end of the event
- Glazing and firing of your pieces, with a 2 to 3 week turnaround
- Plenty of stress-free parking
What You Will Make
Guests take turns between the wheel and the table. On the wheel, each person throws two items, like a bowl, a cup or a vase. At the table, they hand-build a third piece such as a mug or a vase. At the end of the event the group chooses from 4 glaze colors, and the studio finishes the work for pick up after a two to three week turnaround.
Why It Works for Large Teams
Splitting time between two techniques keeps a big group moving and mixing. While some guests are at the wheels, others are building at the tables, and the switch halfway through puts people next to new faces. That rhythm makes it one of the more practical large group team building activities for adults, and the three finished pieces give everyone a real sense of accomplishment.
Mixing both techniques in one session is what sets this format apart, and planners comparing creative team building events or team building workshops for an entire department will find the format easy to plan: one booking, one price per guest, and an experience that suits beginners and anyone who has touched clay before. It is just as suitable for corporate team building activities as for a large celebration with friends or family.
About the Studio
The studio was founded in 2022 in the Mid-Peninsula as a community-focused teaching studio, where memberships, team building, classes and private lessons are offered in wheel throwing, hand-building and sculpture for adults and youths. Its owner is a self-taught potter, sculptor and instructor who joined a local clay studio in 2011 and went on to teach and manage it before opening this space, and his stated goal is a place where people feel they belong. The team includes wheel and sculpture instructors who teach all ages, and guests give the studio a 4.9-star rating across 39 reviews, with team building events among the most mentioned topics.
Getting There and Making a Day of It
Plenty of stress-free parking is available in front of the studio and along adjacent streets, with 2 accessible spaces to the immediate left of the front door. A bus stop sits right beside the shopping center, and a train station is about half a mile away on foot. Because the studio is so centrally located, groups can easily continue to dinner or drinks around the Hillsdale shopping area, the San Mateo Fairgrounds area or downtown San Mateo, or head for bay views at Coyote Point and Seal Point Park.
How Booking Works
- Use the studio's calendar to pick your day and time
- Prepay for the number of seats in your group
- Share the lead contact's name, phone and email so the studio can coordinate
- Arrive, watch the short demonstration and start making
- Choose your glazes at the end, then collect your pieces after the 2 to 3 week turnaround
Good to Know
- Beginner-friendly; a short demonstration is given before anyone starts
- Lock your vehicle and keep valuables out of sight; the studio is not responsible for participants' valuables
- Bikes may be locked in front of the studio as long as they do not block foot traffic
- Guests who want to keep going can join the studio's introductory classes, private lessons, youth and parent and kid classes, or a membership
Plan Your Combo Event
Pick your date on the studio's calendar and reserve your seats; for groups over 50, contact the studio in advance. At $130 per guest with three handmade pieces each, it is one of the most complete company team building events a ceramics studio can offer.
