Taoz Ceramics Studio

Taoz Ceramics Studio sits on level three of Orchard Gateway, directly above Somerset station, and has been teaching pottery there since 2013.

It is the least intimidating way into ceramics in this part of town, because you do not have to touch the wheel at all. The cheapest way in is pottery painting: choose a ready-made piece and decorate it with underglaze over about an hour, from $20 depending on what you pick. If you would rather throw, a thirty-five minute trial on the wheel gets you one bowl, cup or vase, and firing and glazing are included in the price rather than charged per piece afterwards, which is not the case everywhere. There is a bundle that splits an hour between the wheel and painting a mini cup, and longer courses for anyone who wants to keep going. An instructor stays with you throughout; first-timers are most of who walks through the door, and the studio is built around that rather than merely putting up with it. Sessions are taught in Chinese as well as English. Your piece goes off to the kiln once you leave, so plan on collecting it a couple of months later rather than carrying it home.

It takes SG Culture Pass credits, which is worth knowing if you have the $100 sitting unspent — a fair share of the people in the room are spending exactly that. Weekend afternoons are the busiest stretch, though the studio moves people through promptly rather than leaving them standing about, and it takes team bookings and birthday parties as well as booked sessions. If you have never touched clay before, this is the room to do it in: nobody here expects you to have.

There are discounts available on Klook, which you can find through the pink button on this page.