Independent concept by CofeeUI. Not Pottery Gagliano's official website; nothing here can be booked.
Pottery school · Hollingdean, Brighton · since 2005
The art of centring.
Learn to throw on the wheel at a Brighton pottery school founded by Roberto and Marcella in 2005. Try a taster, take the 8-week wheel course, or come in and make at Open Studio.
- Learn
- Wheel tasters, 8-week wheel courses, masterclasses
- Make
- Open Studio Tue & Thu 10am–9pm, Sat from 10am (call to confirm close)
- Where
- 16–30 Hollingdean Road, Brighton BN2 4AA
- Closed
- Sunday. Mon, Wed & Fri are teaching days
01 Courses & studio
Four ways into clay.
From a first go to working on your own. Dates, fees and places are on the official pages; this concept only explains the differences.
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Plate A · First try
Wheel taster
A first go at the pottery wheel. Upcoming tasters were listed for 29 November 2026 and 10 January 2027 when we checked on 29 October 2026.
Taster dates on the official site (opens in a new tab) -
Plate B · Learn properly
8-week wheel course
20 hours: six weeks of throwing and turning with demonstrations, then two weeks of decorating and glazing. Suitable for complete beginners, with a certificate of completion. Materials and firing are extra (firing listed at £7/kg).
Course terms & times (opens in a new tab) -
Plate C · Go further
Masterclasses
Specialist sessions listed alongside the courses on the official site, which has what is currently running.
Masterclasses on the official site (opens in a new tab) -
Plate D · Make on your own
Open Studio
A self-service studio, not a taught class: no booking and no membership needed. Clay, 25+ glazes and slips, tools and technician support are included; £14 an hour pay-as-you-go, as listed.
Open Studio details (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which fits? Call the studio: 07789 997361
02 The 8-week wheel course
Eight weeks, one pot.
- W1Prepare & centreWedge the clay, then centre it on the spinning wheel until it runs true.
- W2OpenPress down through the middle and open out a floor.
- W3Pull a cylinderLift the walls in pulls. The same clay grows taller, so the walls grow thinner.
- W4ShapeSwell the belly and set the rim. Bowls, plates and decorative pieces start here.
- W5TurnFlip the leather-hard pot onto its rim and trim a foot ring from the base.
- W6Add a handlePull a handle and join it to the wall.
- W7DecorateThe two decorating and glazing weeks begin: slip bands on a slow-turning wheel.
- W8Glaze & fireDip in glaze, keep the foot bare, and the studio fires it. It shrinks as it fires.
Illustrative order. The tutor sets the real plan: six weeks of throwing and turning with demonstrations, then two weeks of decorating and glazing, ending with a certificate of completion.
03 Draw your first pot
Same clay, your shape.
Pick what you'd like to make and how you'd like to start. The drawing keeps the same amount of clay, so taller means narrower. You get a ready-made question for the studio; nothing is booked or sent from here.
Example: the question for a mug on the 8-week course. With JavaScript on, you can change the shape and the way in.
Your question for the studio
Hello Pottery Gagliano, I'm interested in the 8-week pottery wheel course and would like to learn to throw a mug. Which term and class time have space, and what is the course fee?
- Jan–Mar 2027 classes are listed at 10:00–12:30 (Mon, Wed, Fri) or 18:30–21:00 (Mon, Wed).
- Materials and firing are extra; firing is listed at £7/kg.
- The 8-week course ends with a certificate of completion.
The email button opens an unsent draft in your own email app. You decide whether to send it.
04 The school
Twenty-one years of Brighton clay.
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2005
Roberto and Marcella founded the studio in Brighton in 2005. It is now a pottery school.
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30+ yrs
Each founder has over thirty years of working with clay, according to the school's own site.
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4,000+
Students welcomed so far, by the school's own count. Courses for the Jan–Mar 2027 term are taught by Roberto Gagliano, with Tanya Gomez on Monday evenings.
See the real school and its work:
Official website (opens in a new tab) Instagram (opens in a new tab) Facebook (opens in a new tab) Artists Open Houses listing, May 2025 (opens in a new tab)Test tiles are illustrations: glaze dipped partway, raw clay left below the line.
05 Visit
Find the studio.
Address
Rodhus Studios
16–30 Hollingdean Road
Brighton BN2 4AA
Opening hours
- Monday
- Teaching
- Tuesday
- Open Studio 10am–9pm
- Wednesday
- Teaching
- Thursday
- Open Studio 10am–9pm
- Friday
- Teaching
- Saturday
- Open Studio 10am–4pm*
- Sunday
- Closed
*One official page lists Saturday until 6pm. Call to confirm before you travel. Hours from potterygagliano.co.uk, checked 29 October 2026.
Getting there
- Bus 50 to Hollingdean Road (Free Hold Terrace), about a 2-minute walk. Several routes, including the 50, stop at Sainsbury's Lewes Road, about 3 minutes away.
- Parking is free on the street but busy. Avoid the Sainsbury's (2-hour) and Aldi/B&Q (3-hour) car parks.
- Cycling: there's space to park your bike in the courtyard.
- First visit: allow a little extra time to find the studio. Step-free access isn't stated, so ask when you call.
06 Out of the kiln
Every pot starts as a lump.
Your mug, by way of the 8-week wheel course. Ask the studio which term has space.
Only the studio can confirm dates, places and fees.