claybycoleby

Who we are

Hello, I’m Helen, the maker behind claybycoleby.

I come from a long line of potters, clay is in my genes, my mum taught me to hand build as a child and I found pottery again in 2023, after taking a few taster classes at a local studio. I never thought I was any good at art as I could never draw perfectly, but I always loved to be creative.

In 2025 I turned the outbuildings at the back of my house into a tiny studio, bought a wheel and and a kiln and started making ceramics looking out onto my little garden. The intention was just to have a hobby and give myself the space to create, something just for me, to keep me busy and give me a little bit of purpose, as full time I am a parent carer to my autistic son. As I started making friends and family started to ask to buy my pots and so began claybycoleby.

I create fun colourful ceramics to be admired and loved in small batches. I make both functional homeware alongside pretty decorative interiors great for gifting. I love colour and experimenting with glazes, layering and blending them as I go. My ceramics are a mixture of wheel thrown and hand built using stoneware clay, which I hand paint using pre mixed commercial glazes and fire to high stoneware temperatures of 1225 – 1250 in my kiln called Pablo. While my pieces are dishwasher safe, I think its always best to handwash the handmade.

I love seeing peoples faces light up as they walk past my stall when they see all the colour and I am always so humbled when people decide to buy my little pots! I never tire of opening the kiln to see my latest batch of creations!