Alpha Fired Arts

I would give this place no stars but i am giving one...The communication with employees to customers is very rude and disrespectful. I will be driving the 3 hours to Santa Cruz to take my items to the ceramic supplies knowing I will be notified correctly about when my ceramic items are ready.

Came here recently with my 3 year old in tow and they were extremely patient with us as we did our mini paint project for Father's Day gifts about a week and a half go. Was extremely pleased we got to pick up the week of Father's Day weekend. I hadn't made the expectation because I understand sometimes depending on how busy their schedule is with their oven - you might not be able to pick up for a couple weeks. The turn-around was very quick for us this time and I appreciated that!! I don't know if I would necessarily recommend to younger children like my son. But I think I would go back with my oldest son or even by myself as a little art outlet. You have to be patient with the process as you need to build up the layers of color for more vibrancy. It involves letting the colors dry between layers for optimal results. The colors start out muted but with glazing and firing in the kiln - they turn into vibrant beautiful pieces of work!

This review is about the intro to wheel throwing pottery classes offered here not the store itself: The class is usually once a week for 5 or 6 weeks. Realistically you may not be able to have fully glazed and fired pieces in those 5-6 weeks if you only go to the class time, especially if you're a beginner since there's a learning curve. You really have to put in a lot of time outside of the class to get there which unfortunately I don't have with my work and person schedules and wish I knew beforehand. Definitely would have changed me signing up especially since I don't live in the area. The class price includes access to the space for that amount of time, so I would have had to either put in a lot more hours outside the class to finish my pieces or pay another couple hundred of dollar to have access to the space after the class cycle ends. Personally that extra cost was not worth it to me considering everything else and again wish I knew it beforehand.The class style is an instructor shows a demo and then you get right to the wheel which is great for folks who like to throw themselves fully into the experience. I personally like having a little more support/shape something together to learn the process together than try to memorize and re-create but again that's just my personal preference. The instructor was super nice and willing to spend some time with you individually to help with the techniques. It is a communal space which I painfully learned after leaving a large amount (1/3 of a block) of clay to dry overnight to wedge only to find it taken. Someone even told me there's a few folks there that have a tendency to take whatever clay they can find lying around and that's just how it is. That sucked since it is expensive to do the class and buy the clay. Lesson learned, definitely be careful of what you keep in the space. I wish there was more signage around for the newbies. I also learned that wheel thrown pottery is not an easy feat and this class did show me how much work, effort, and time goes into hand crafted pieces so my appreciation of the art has definitely increased!

One-stop shop for all your ceramics needs, and classes, await you at Alpha Fired Arts!A stalwart in the ceramics world for decades, I had heard of Alpha when my teacher in high school made supply orders. I really enjoyed that class and have continued to make tableware for myself and gifts for others every several years since, including while in Los Angeles. Everything is easy and low stress here, and fast!The studio space is nice and big compared to many out there, with good wheels and reasonable building space. They have all the stuff, from extruders to slab rollers and do have capacity for some bigger pieces. You can buy a ton of glazes and several clay options.I really enjoyed my class. The teacher was friendly, patient and skilled. You get the bonus of using the studio when open while you take classes, so you can make quite a large volume of pieces if you have the time. Firing (twice) is included with the classes.If you like ceramics, or someone in your life does, head over to Alpha Fired Arts for all the goodies.

Great place for a date or activity where you can paint premade ceramics, it can be a little pricey but everything is provided for you, including the firing. Also a great place to take lessons and either learn hand building or pottery.

My kids and used to come here when they were smaller. I was happy when they said they wanted to go again. The staff is always very friendly and helpful, and the art studio where we paint the pieces is super clean and organized. We are eagerly awaiting for our pieces to be ready!

Really friendly staff, was given clear instructions and shown where everything was to paint. Tables were almost full when we got there so we lucked out!We painted for about two hours and never felt rushed. Was helped numerous times if needed and always felt welcomed.Can't wait to see how our two pieces we painted will turn out!

Lady at the front desk with glasses is super rude and un inviting. Super non-accommodating and isn't there to help you. Please be nice to customers that pay so much!

My friend and I went to Alpha Fired Arts for a fun Saturday afternoon activity of painting pottery together. Unfortunately it was weird vibes from start to finish. First, they were almost completely out of their selection of bisque ceramics despite advertising having the "largest selection" so we were stuck picking random pieces we didn't really want. Second, I generally got unfriendly vibes from the staff but I can't articulate how and why. Third, their point of sale was down so they said they couldn't call us when our pieces were ready and instead we'd have to call to check ourselves, which just doesn't make sense because they had a paper with our phone numbers? Third, they messed up my piece! I put a little face on the dish I painted and they smudged the paint of the mouth. I know it was them who messed it up and not me because I took a photo of my piece right before I left. I am super disappointed because I was so excited about how good it turned out (I'm not very artistic).Their saving grace is the spinning wheel you can put your piece on while painting. I've never seen that at any of the other pottery painting studio I've been to and it is a game changer.Overall, I might try a different pottery painting place where that is their main business (I got the vibe that the pottery painting was a tertiary concern for Alpha behind their supplies and classes). However it's nice to have this type of creative indoor activity available in this neighborhood.

Everything I needed, all my questions answered by the lovely staff about how to go about working with an old kiln. So happy I came here!