If you’ve thinking about renting a pottery wheel, you’re in for a creative and rewarding experience! Setting up the right environment in your home is key to enjoying the process and keeping the mess under control. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you setup your space.

1. Choose the Right Space

The first step is finding a suitable spot in your home to work comfortably. Look for:

• Good Lighting: Natural light is ideal, but any well-lit room works.
• Find a 1metre square area: You’ll need enough room to move around the wheel and an area to place your pieces once you remove them from the wheel. Minimum space is 1m square for the wheel and stool. The side ‘wings’ of the Whisper-T can be removed if your short on space. Your kitchen (once it closes for the day), laundry/mud room, a spare bathroom, spare room, garage, or a basement make great pop-up pottery studios!
• Easy-to-Clean Surface: Pottery can get a little messy! A room with tiled, wooden or concrete flooring is ideal. However, a carpet floor works fine – we suggest laying down a protective sheet, lino or plastic cover. We’ve got lino and large tiles you can borrow – just add it into your notes at time of booking.
• Ensure the surface is flat: The pottery wheel needs to be placed on a totally flat surface to ensure smooth operation. If you are working on soft carpet, or carpet with good underlay, it can make the pottery wheel feel a little bouncy. A large square tile or heavy piece of timber square placed between the carpet the wheel can work well. Be sure to protect the floor underneath.
• Easy access to outside, or a cleanup bucket close by: Getting up from the pottery wheel with clay all over your hands is the worst. As clay can’t go down the sink, organise easy access to the garden tap outside, or pre-fill a bucket with water and place near your workspace (I go for boiling water, and by the time I need it, its cooled down to the perfect temperature).
• Power: Each pottery wheel needs 5A to run. Most household circuits are on 10A, so plugging one pottery wheel directly into your home power plug is completely fine. If you are running a fan heater or extra lighting, you may want to run these from a different circuit as they can also draw a lot of power.
• Clay storage: Store your clay in a cool, dry place and make sure it’s tightly sealed to prevent drying. Sistema containers work well for storing and stacking your pieces before trimming.

2. Transporting the pottery wheel in your vehicle

If you opt to pickup the pottery wheel, you will need to have enough space in your carboot to fit the wheel. Majority of cars and SUVs work fine. If your not sure, just ask. We can also deliver the wheel to your home (Auckland wide) and help you setup. Just ask us for a quote.

• Checking available space in your carboot. Once the splashpan and side wings are removed from the pottery wheel, we are working with the following specs: 52cm wide, 55cm deep and approx. 60cm high (depends on final wheel height)
• Carrying the wheel: the wheel does weigh 45kgs and needs to be carried by 2 people. We will check this with you prior to pickup. We can provide someone at our end to assist you in the moving the wheel to your car. Its about a 2m distance. If you are unable to help lift, no worries, just let us know. We may just need to tweak the pickup time to ensure we can provide 2 people.
• Securing the wheel in your boot. We like to use 4 tie-down straps to secure the wheel in your carboot. If you have some at home, please bring these with you, otherwise we have some here you can use.

3. Set Up Your Wheel at home

Once you’ve chosen your space, picked up the wheel, it’s time to set up the wheel at home:

• Power access: Ensure the cord is secure and out of the way to prevent tripping and to avoid accidental water spills. All rentals come with a surge protector – please plug this in – just incase!
• Setup the height of the pottery wheel: Before picking up the pottery wheel we will always setup the height of the wheel to your chosen specification. If you would like to test out different heights (I find a lower height works well if I’m throwing larger pieces of clay), please let us know as we are happy to lend you the tools to adjust the height yourself.
• Setup the adjustable potter’s stool: Every rental comes with a Nidec Shimpo adjustable potter’s stool. These are great as they come with 8 height settings, so you can choose the height that suits. Each leg of the stool can be adjusted individually, so you can set the front legs at a lower setting if you wish – this can help to relieve a sore lower back. Your elbows should be slightly above the wheelhead when throwing.
• Attach the splashpan: all rentals will come with step-by-step instructions on how to attach the splashpan. We will also take you through the process at time of pickup/drop. If you’re not sure, just ask.

4. Plan for Cleanup

Clean-up is part of the pottery process, and can be done quickly if you have a few things organised beforehand

• Clean out the splashpan: Scoop out the clay, slip and slurry from the splashpan. Use your sponge to soak up any water in the splashpan – remember these splashpan aren’t watertight.
• Clean the wheelhead: Remove the bat and chamois and use a damp (not wet) sponge to clean the wheelhead. I like to sit at the wheel, and spin it slowly, holding the sponge on the wheelhead to clean it. Use a towel to wipe dry
• Remove the splashpan for cleaning. The large blue bucket we provide with each rental works well for cleaning the splashpan. Just use a cloth or soft brush. Use a towel to wipe dry.
• Clean your tools, bats, and wipe dry: If using bats, let these dry standing up. If they warp slightly, place under something heavy.
• Clay disposal: Have a designated container for collecting clay scraps. Don’t wash clay down the sink, as it can clog drains—simply let it dry and reuse or dispose of it properly.

5. Create a Relaxed Atmosphere

Finally, make your space enjoyable! Add music, plants, or anything that will help you stay focused and creative. A relaxed environment means you’ll get more out of the pottery experience, whether you’re working solo or with family or friends.