Halswell Pottery Group is a community of potters and ceramic artists based at the HPG Cottage, 9 Candys Road, Halswell, Christchurch. Potting since 1972 — long enough to be the subject of a short Frank Film NZ documentary on YouTube — the group works to promote pottery and ceramic arts to the wider public across Christchurch, Selwyn and Canterbury.
The group strives to provide a safe space for members to explore their creativity, share ideas, and mentor and support each other's development, while acting as a social hub for anyone with a passion for working in clay. A weekly rhythm of Monday Club Days, Club Evenings, handwork and wheel classes keeps the cottage busy, and members fire work in the club's wood kiln.
Visitors are welcome at the Gallery Shop every Saturday and Sunday, 11am-3pm, to browse hand-made ceramics by local artists and support potters of all skill levels. Through the year the group also stages its Annual Exhibition at the Malthouse Theatre, runs pop-up sales such as the Barrington Sale at Barrington Mall, hosts a Christmas Market, and runs workshops and pit firing days. The group is currently searching for a new home — updates are on The Move page of its website.
On a quiet stretch of Candys Road in Halswell, a cottage full of kilns, wheels and drying shelves is home to one of Christchurch's most enduring creative communities. The Halswell Pottery Group has been potting since 1972 — a history long enough that Frank Film NZ made a short documentary about it, titled Halswell Pottery Group: Potting since 1972, now on YouTube. Today the group remains what it set out to be: a vital part of a thriving community of potters and ceramic artists working together to promote pottery and ceramic arts to the wider public across Christchurch, Selwyn and Canterbury.
The group describes its purpose plainly: to provide a safe space for members to explore their creativity, share ideas, mentor and support each other's development, provide classes that promote pottery and ceramic art at all levels within the wider community, and act as a social hub for anyone with a passion for working in clay. In practice that means a full weekly rhythm of club sessions, classes, firings and working bees, all run from the HPG Cottage at 9 Candys Road.
Membership is the heart of HPG. Monday Club Day brings members together at the cottage in the late morning, and Club Evening does the same after dark — unstructured time to pot alongside others, swap advice and see what everyone is making. The club's wood kiln is a point of pride: members fire work in it and share the results, from the smoky flashes of a good firing to the occasional heartbreak. Practical days matter too. Working bees keep the cottage and its equipment in shape, and the club year closes warmly with an End of Year Social at the cottage.
Teaching is central to the group's mission, and the timetable covers every stage. New potters can start with the Wednesday evening beginners wheel class with Cynthia. Those ready to push on can join Katrina's Thursday evening class for advanced beginners and intermediate wheel work. Hand-builders are equally well served: Jane takes a Tuesday evening handwork class, Shona a Wednesday morning session, and Gwen a Wednesday evening group. Alongside the regular classes, the club hosts focused workshops — Handles 101 with Renate is a recent example, and guest potter Jenni Taris leads a workshop at the cottage. There are also firing events you rarely find elsewhere: a bisque firing to prepare work, followed by a pit firing day, an ancient and atmospheric way of finishing pots.
Twice a week the cottage turns into a small gallery. Every Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 3pm, the Gallery Shop opens with hand-made ceramics by local artists — pieces made by the same people you might meet at a club day. The group describes the shop simply as supporting potters of all skill levels, and buying from it is the most direct way to do that. Bigger moments punctuate the year: the HPG Annual Exhibition, staged at the Malthouse Theatre, gathers members' best work in one place; a pop-up Barrington Sale takes the pots to Barrington Mall; and a Christmas Market at the cottage rounds out the year ahead of the holidays.
The HPG Cottage sits at 9 Candys Road, Halswell, Christchurch. The gallery shop is open Saturday and Sunday, 11am-3pm; classes and club sessions run on their own weekday timetable, so it pays to check the Upcoming Events & News page before you call in. Anyone interested in joining can find details on the Membership page or email halswellpotters@gmail.com. One thing to know: the group is currently searching for a new home, with updates posted on The Move page of its website — but the spirit of the place is unchanged. For a preview, watch the Frank Film documentary on YouTube, then come and see the shelves for yourself on a weekend afternoon.