Nelson Community Potters is a volunteer-run pottery club at 136 Rutherford Street, Nelson, in a historic villa the group has used since 1978. It was formed in 1976 to promote and maintain interest in pottery in the Nelson and Tasman area, and classes and workshops for the public have been held there regularly. The workshop has ten wheels for members and classes, three kilns that are fired often so work comes back regularly, two large bespoke workbenches, a large glaze table, and club glazes and tools. The workshop is heated in winter with a wood burning stove. The club is described as an affordable creative space for members and for anyone wanting to learn pottery and ceramics.
Volunteers give about 1,500 hours a year to keep the building running and open to the community, and there are regular working bees and social events. Members have shown work at the Suter and other galleries, and several have gone on to set up their own studios. The club has taken part in Nelson's Tuku 23 during Heritage Month, and in 2019 members made 500 ceramic poppies for the RSA. More than 600 people have been members over the years. A pottery club in a villa, heated by a wood burner and firing in its own kilns, is a place where the craft has room to grow. Our pick in Nelson for a pottery club with a long history.