About The Potter's Studio

 

Photo of studio front

The Potter’s Studio was first conceived in 1971 by a group of twelve people.  With support from the local potters’ community and the Clay and Glass Association (now called Fusion), the studio was born.

Space was rented at 328 Dupont Street and the studio was up and running by April,1972.  Word spread and soon there were forty members and a waiting list of people wanting to join. In June, 1977, the sale of the building on Dupont Street necessitated the move to 2 Thorncliffe Park, Unit 16.

By 2002, we were able to accommodate fifty potters. This was the year we received a Trillium Grant to improve the accessibility of our physical space and to participate in workshops with not-for-profit community groups and other outreach activities.  In the fall of 2020, we moved a few doors down to the beautifully renovated space at Unit 19. This was the year we launched our online shop.

In 2022, we received notice that we had to move again to accommodate the Metrolinx Maintenance yards. We landed in our bigger and brighter studio at 1550 Birchmount Rd, Unit 116 in May, 2023.

Community Outreach

“Seize the Clay”, A Spark Partnership Project

Cultural Hotspot was conceived more than ten years ago by the City of Toronto to highlight the Arts outside of the downtown area. The Potter’s Studio applied for and received a grant through the Spark Partnership Project to develop programming that supports and enhances arts in the community.

The Potter’s Studio partnered with the North York Women’s Shelter in 2022. Using clay, participants were able to sculpt and hand-build items for their own use. In turn, this provided therapy for the participants.

As well, The Potter’s Studio partnered with The Neighbourhood Organization to work with the Violence Against Women Group. Volunteers from The Potter’s Studio organized a series of clay workshops where women can develop some hand-building skills using clay.

The Potter’s Studio wants to thank the City of Toronto for the opportunities to celebrate, promote and grow community arts in our neighbourhood.

 

Feed Scarborough

The Potter’s Studio is proud to support Feed Scarborough and its Scarborough Food Security Initiative. We accepted donations of canned goods at our Open House in October and donated a portion of our 2023 Fall sales.