Join our association
The Wellington Potters' Association welcomes potters who have sufficient experience to work independently. You don't have to be an expert just competent to use the equipment safely without supervision. We offer regular courses to help you improve your skills.
If you are an absolute beginner but keen to learn, then check out our beginner courses through the Wellington High School Community Education Centre.
Prospective members must attend an induction session at the clubrooms before becoming an official member.
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Yes, you need to have a basic level of experience, and need to be at least 16 years old.
The WPA expects applicants to have the basic technical skills to undertake, without assistance and safely, the type of work they want to produce. It is expected that new members will need some help with locating things, but they should not depend on other members for unreasonable help with using equipment and technique. Applicants without prior experience are recommended to attend one or more of the beginner courses run by other organisations (see following section).
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Beginners classes with WPA tutors are offered through Wellington High School Community Education Centre, which are open to WPA members as well as non-members.
The following organisations offer courses that are available to the public. The Wellington Potters’ Association has no association with these organisations and does not in any way endorse them.
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Start the process by creating an account in HelloClub (our membership platform) using the button below. Register for a free "Prospective Membership" and be sure to renew when you receive the reminder emails--this will keep you on the list.
Once you are at the top of the list, you will be invited to an induction session. You will need to attend the induction where our tutors will share our history, culture, and expectations of members, as well as demonstrate our processes and procedures.
It may take a couple of months to work your way to the top of the list. We will send you an invitation to ticket sales for an induction session as soon as one becomes available ($100 per induction for Full members, free for Associate members). If you cannot make the first date offered, don't worry! You'll retain your spot on the list until you are able to attend a session.
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Our waitlist is currently 7 - 9 months long.
Be sure to renew your "Prospective Membership" (see "What does the application process entail?" above) when you get notifications. This effectively keeps people actively on the waitlist while allowing others who have lost interest to "fall" off.
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You can join WPA as an Associate or a Full member:
Associate members usually have their own studios and kilns as they DO NOT have access to our rooms, kilns or glazes. This membership does however allow you to submit your work to our Ceramicus exhibition, participate in any anagama firings, and use our library. You are also eligible to join our WPA courses and workshops if places are unfilled by club members. The fee is $80 per year.
Full membership gives you 24/7 access to our rooms and equipment including club glazes, kiln firings and special events, in addition to the Associate member privileges. This is our most popular membership type and costs $240 per year.
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Full membership (our most popular membership type) costs $240 per year. Associate memberships cost $80 per year. See above for details on each membership type.
If our fees are prohibitive, please refer to our Assisted Membership Policy to check if you qualify for a reduced rate and find out what the process is to apply.
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Memberships are for a full year only, from October 1 - September 30. When you join you will pay a pro-rated amount for the remainder of your first membership year, but the next year will be the full amount. We do not do partial-year memberships.
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WPA is run by volunteers. As such, we expect all members to contribute towards its running. Full members are expected to help out at regular cleaning or maintenance bees but a range of other volunteer activities need to be completed, both formal and informal.
The simplest way you can help out is by always cleaning or tidying something extra when you are using the rooms – cleaning left over dirty batts, wiping down the lunch table, oven or microwave, tidying the front desk, or hanging out or bringing in any washing.
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Sadly, no. Only members of the Wellington Potters' Association are allowed to fire their own work in the WPA kilns.
However, there are members of WPA who own their own kilns and may hire out kiln space. Cost, space, and firing schedules are entirely up to the owner of the kiln. Click here to see the list.
Alternatively, you can pose your question on New Zealand Pottery Studio - Technical’s Facebook page or use kilnshare to locate a kiln for hire near you.
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Unfortunately, we do not host private events for outside organisations.
The following organisations offer courses that are available to the public and may be able to host your and your event. Note that the Wellington Potters’ Association has no association with these organisations and does not in any way endorse them.