Razzle Dazzle Pots
We have been very fortunate to take delivery of a deliciously fragrant selection of hand made soap by Laura. Great combinations of fragrance mean there is something for everyone from Vanilla and Egg to Zesty Juniper Berry with Orange.
Laura is a local artisan who has turned her hand to soap making in response to the seemingly never ending stream of single use plastics that are currently clogging up the oceans and waterways of the world. She is passionate about sourcing environmentally kind and natural products that seem to be in short supply in the mass produced products available on the high street. Each ingredient has been selected for its properties and its environmental integrity, none of our soaps contain Palm Oil and all the soap are packaged in fully biodegradable packaging.
With the current climate of hand washing more often to reduce the spread of Covid 19, why not support a local artisan, a local business and enjoy an ethically produced product at the same time? Learn to love your skin and come along in to the studio and pick yours up soon.
Remember if you are interested in coming to the studio to paint pottery you need to book in advance. If you decide to come on the same day - you will need to phone to book your table, since the lockdown and the reorganisation of the studio and upstairs we have plenty of space so please don't be put off calling. We need your support and custom to stay in business!
Did you go on a bear hunt during the Covid 19 lockdown? We had all the bear necessities with a great window display with over twenty different bears of all different sizes sitting in the window for all to spot. In this post we are showcasing just a few of the one that are in our £10 range of collectible bears.
There are lots of bears to collect - start off with the numbers - perfect for celebrating a birthday or for a young one showcasing their paint talent at a specific age. There are a few professional guys too - a police bear, a fire fighter, a nurse, baker and bowler.
The calendar bears have a cute guy for any occasion, from halloween, graduation, first day at school to Christmas and summer holidays.
If you look closely - which maybe easier in the studio - there are a few of the characters from the 12 Days of Christmas. Sadly we don't currently have the full selection, only a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens and 5 Gold rings however as we make them in the studio we do sometime make them with a metal loop so they can be hung from a Christmas Tree (it's never to early to mention Christmas!)
At the last count there are over 31 different collectible bears to paint. We will do our best to have them all in stock most of the time!
Of course we have plenty of larger bears too, look out for them in a future post or the next time that you are in the studio!
Are you a little artistically challenged or perhaps get stuck for ideas when faced with a blank piece of pottery? You are not alone, it is a common occurrence and we here at Razzle Dazzle have come up with a solution for you in the form of our Colour Me range.
We have taken inspiration from the colouring craze that has been around now for a few years. If you take a little look at the picture you will see a selection of items that have black outlined images on them. We have drawn pictures with the black writer and then the pots have been fired in the kiln so that the lines won't rub off when you come to colour them in.
And that is it in a nutshell! Simple really.
You can also create these outlines yourself and if you take a look at our videos you will see some short tutorials on using the carbon paper and the writers.
Do you have a little one that will never be that size again? Now is the time to get some special keepsake items made before they grow too much! If you don't then perhaps you know someone who does and could let them know about the clay imprint service that we offer here at Razzle Dazzle Pots.
Our pottery painting studio is the perfect location to capture those tiny hand & foot clay imprints for those timeless keepsakes that will be treasured for years to come! We have been doing this now since 2010 so we are getting quite good at capturing your little ones hand and foot prints.
Forget those ‘do it yourself’ kits come along and get us to do it for you properly.
One imprint is £25.00, Two Imprints £35 and for two hands and two feet (only available for very small babies) - £40. All prices are for a single slab of clay.
The process does involve us holding your child’s hand or foot firmly and excerpting pressure to impress the hand or foot into the soft clay. Some children will find this restricting or uncomfortable and may cry. If you are in anyway nervous about the process please indicate to the staff member before we start so that we can discuss things with you and it maybe that you will need to wait until your child is a little older. However saying all of the that we have successfully done babies as young as five days old.
We will normally make one more than you require, this is an ‘insurance’ piece. Clay is a natural product and as such is not always predictable. There is a chance that the clay may crack at any time during the whole process, either drying out, first firing or second firing.
We do the extra one in the hope that one will not crack! Nine times out of ten both are fine and you will have the option to purchase the extra one at a reduced price. If all of them crack then we will of course get you back into repeat the process.
During the appointment we will discuss with you the colour you want the imprints to be and what you would like written on it. The clay is then left to dry. Once fully dried out we fire it, then colour and write on it, it is then fired for a second time to make it all shiny and bright!
As we want to prevent cracking as much as possible we allow the clay to dry slowly and as a result it can take three or four weeks (sometimes longer if its cold) for you to get your finished product
Absolutely not! Any age can have their imprint done. Perhaps you could have a family keepsake made with mum, dad and the children. Prices for this option are bespoke so you will need to discuss the options with you. We can also do imprints of older loved one, that perhaps might not be with us for much longer. We have close links with Hayward House and have made many special pieces of loved ones.
If you are interested in having this done then please give us a call or go online to book your session now.
At one time if we talked about keeping customers & staff safe we would immediately think about security measures and risk assessments for potential hazards. In this new world order of Covid 19, however, it means washing your hands and new buzz words like social distancing and one metre plus.
Things here at Razzle Dazzle Pots have changed a little bit and we feel that we are good to go, we have tried to keep the same friendly atmosphere and experience you all know and love but with just a few added cleaning procedures and the moving of furniture.
1. As of the 24th July 2020 the Government has issued a directive that everyone should be wearing a face covering to help protect others and restrict the possible spread of the pesky virus we all have come to love and hate!! well more hate than love.. So wear your mask when you arrive, and once you are sat down you can take it off. Please restrict movement around the studio. We will stop this practice as soon as we are advised we can!
2. Every table now has hand sanitiser on it, so has the counter. Please use this or your own frequently when in the studio. Also follow the guidance on hand washing.
3. New usable spaces upstairs mean that customers can socially distance whilst enjoying the pottery painting experience.
4. On the tables is a reminder about our procedures - so stay seated as much as possible, avoid touching things unnecessarily and only one person approach the counter when coming to pay.
5. We have gone computerised - woo hoo! No more hunting around for your receipt when you come to collect. It will be in your email, or failing that we have your transaction on our computer. It is all password protected (twice!) and it is just for our use - it will not be shared with anyone else. If we get a report of someone being confirmed as Covid 19 positive then we are obliged to share the relevant peoples contact details with the NHS Track and Trace, but only for that day. If you do not want this to happen please let us know and we will make a note on your record.
6. Booking - to help again with limiting contact between customers please book your session with us - there are buttons on the website and Facebook to take you to the right page. You can also call us and book over the phone - 0115 905 6029. You can still come in on the off chance but we would prefer if you call ahead.
7. After you have gone we will sanitise the table and all the stuff you have used. We have to be honest it is starting to smell a bit of anti-bacterial spray in here!
Whilst the studio has been closed we have been doing a bit of decorating and getting the place ready for you to come in and paint. Parts of downstairs, the actual stairs and the upstairs studios have had a make over and are looking gorgeous. We are feeling like we have been on an episode of Changing Rooms! Right from the beginning of lockdown we had an idea that once it was all over the way we do things are going to have to change. To start with downstairs we have moved one table out, this means there is more room to move around and also that you can be seated a little further apart. To compensate we will be using upstairs a lot more.
With this is in mind we have made better use of the upstairs rooms. We now have three rooms upstairs that will be available for painters.
The party room which many of you will already be familiar with has had a coat or two of varnish on the floor and a little bit of paint here and there. The tables are laid out for painters and can easily be moved around for when we can have groups in again.
The room across from the party room - Studio 2, was at one time used for doing clay work but since the wheels died it became a bit of a store room / overflow studio. This has been cleared of all storage and had a makeover. We think it is looking lovely. In there is a big table for eight and a regular table that seats four.
Our new room, which once was office to Jane's husband, Paul, is now our Studio 1 - Paul has moved office and we have given it a whole new look. Here you will find a small table for two and a large table for seven. It also has a sofa!
Once we are able to socialise with different people the two smaller rooms will be available to book for small parties.
Following on from the latest Government guidelines (23rd July 2020) on the wearing of facemarks we thought it prudent to let you know what is expected here at Razzle Dazzle Pots. First off we should say that if you want to wear a face mask all the time you are in the studio you can, no one will judge you!
1. If you are coming into the studio even if it is just to collect something or drop something off you need to have your mask on.
2. If you are coming into the studio to paint - whilst you are sitting at a table, not moving around and will be sat painting or drinking something tasty from our menu then you do not need to wear your mask.
3. When leaving the table or when approaching the counter - we ask that it is only one person at a time and that they wear their mask.
4. Under 11's do not need to wear a face mask.
5. If you want to sit separate from other people you can - just let us know when booking and you can have a table upstairs away from people coming in and out of the studio.
Thank you for your understanding and hopefully this won't last long.
Please use our new booking system to reserve your table, it is there to help us stagger arrival times and try to maintain some semblance of social distancing 1+.
Before the lockdown we here at Razzle Dazzle Pots started to offer take away pottery painting kits but unfortunately Covid 19 put the kibosh on our plans and we only managed to operate like that for a weekend! We are thankful, however, that recent guidelines from the Government have indicated that our kind of business can now operate on a take away basis.
The plan is for us to offer take away pottery painting kits in Nottingham from the 1st June 2020. Take a look at the Take Away Kit page to find out about the process for ordering and also all of the videos that we have made of the various stock we have available. You will be able to make an order request from the website which we will call you back to confirm and payment will be taken over the phone. Or you can just call us with the order.
For the short term, until we can open the studio for actual sit down customers, we will be changing our opening hours. The new hours will be Monday to Friday 10am - 3pm for telephone orders to be taken, processed and for kits to be collected. After 3.30pm we will then make deliveries for those who are unable to get to the studio. Delivery will be free for a three mile radius and then charged at £1 per mile there after. We will of course be flexible for those who can't collect before 3pm.
All of the stock videos are being updated and we may even have the Halloween and Christmas stock out and available to order too!
Since the announcement on Monday 23rd March all non essential businesses have been instructed to close by the government. This includes us, so until further notice our doors are closed.
All pottery is waiting for you and will be kept for one year! So please don't worry.
If you were lucky enough to get a paint at home kit from us, please keep an eye out on our social media and here for news on when we will be open for you to drop your items off. Please keep the painted items safe until then. If you have any unused glaze please also save this for us - we will need it when we open again!
Thanks for your understanding and support and see you all very soon.
The next Me-Time Evening will be Announced once normal service has resumed.