Wheel throwing is the studio's most popular event and one of the most creative team building activities a group can book on the Bay Area Peninsula. At this teaching pottery studio in San Mateo, every guest sits at a potter's wheel, makes two items such as a bowl, a cup or a vase, and chooses the glaze colors for the finished pieces.
The event runs approximately 2 hours and is priced at $90 per guest, with a two-guest minimum and room for up to 23 guests on the wheels. No experience is needed: a short demonstration is given first, and the instructors help everyone through each step, which makes it a reliable pick among team building activities for small groups as well as for a full corporate team.
What's Included
Wheel throwing is the studio's most popular event and one of the most creative team building activities a group can book on the Bay Area Peninsula. At this teaching pottery studio in San Mateo, every guest sits at a potter's wheel, makes two items such as a bowl, a cup or a vase, and chooses the glaze colors for the finished pieces.
The event runs approximately 2 hours and is priced at $90 per guest, with a two-guest minimum and room for up to 23 guests on the wheels. No experience is needed: a short demonstration is given first, and the instructors help everyone through each step, which makes it a reliable pick among team building activities for small groups as well as for a full corporate team.
What's Included
- An event of approximately 2 hours at the studio
- A short demonstration before you begin
- Two items made on the wheel by 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
Typically two items are made on the wheel, like a bowl, a cup or a vase. After the demonstration, guests center their clay, open it up and shape their pieces with an instructor close by. At the end of the event the group chooses from 4 glaze colors, and the studio finishes the work so it is ready about two to three weeks later.
Why It Works for Teams
Few hands on team building activities put everyone on such an even footing. The wheel humbles experts and beginners alike, colleagues cheer each other on, and the room fills with conversation that has nothing to do with work. Guests who have come for a team session describe it as well organized, with patient instructors and two bowls to show for about two hours of effort.
It is a natural fit for corporate team building activities because the format is simple to plan and every guest leaves with something real. For groups that enjoy team building art projects with a practical result, a set of handmade cups or bowls makes a lasting reminder of the day. If more than 23 guests are coming, ask about adding a hand-building group or booking the combo event, which seats larger teams.
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 Wheel Event
Pick your date on the studio's calendar and reserve your seats. At $90 per guest with the demonstration, clay, two wheel-thrown items and glazes included, it is one of the most fun team building activities for adults on the Peninsula.
