Pears on Pottery

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Growing up in the ’90s meant that I have memories of a plethora of pottery painting parties (try saying that ten times fast). Back when I was attending these parties, pink bow in hair, slightly scuffed Mary Jane’s carefully strapped around my feet, I would pick out the cutest animal-faced, dusty white plaster creation I could find, and immediately lather it in as many pastel colours as the store had in stock. Things have changed a little since I was six, but thankfully, my daughter still has the opportunity to experience this flashback of a painting session, albeit with a little more sophistication.

My six-year-old daughter and I arrived at our pre-booked time of 9.30 am at a delightful hole-in-the-wall studio, that felt immediately chilled out and inviting. Pears on Pottery is situated in the leafy suburbs of Mount Hawthorn, conveniently (for both the studio owner and its visitors) right next to a cafe. I can only handle one cup of the caffeinated goods before I get the shakes, and seeing as though I wanted to participate in some artistic delights, we didn’t grab any food or drinks on the way in, but I can attest to the coffee smelling divine as we walked past.

When my daughter and I arrived, Jane, the studio owner, had already set up all the 09.30 bookings, and there was one other daughter/father combo already choosing their painting pieces. Jane was friendly and directed us to our table. Immediately my daughter started perusing her painting options, of which there were many. Prices ranged from small, decorative pieces that cost around $20 up to larger terrarium pots that were up around the $55 mark. I chose a skull mug while my daughter chose a sugar skull box and lid (yes, I’m aware of the potentially morbid child I’ve created - and I’m actually quite proud of it).

There’s a decent amount of space inside the studio and the website states it’s pram friendly. However, my pram goblin is now 18 months old, and my anxiety would peak bringing him inside a beautiful - highly breakable - space like that, but I definitely would have felt comfortable having him sleep in his pram when he was still in the slug-like baby phase, while my daughter and I had a painting session. Each to their own. There is a breakage fee, but thankfully during our session, I didn’t need to find out more about that one.

Upon sitting down, Jane gave us detailed instructions on how to prep our pieces, as well as where to find extra paints, other techniques we could use, and where the sinks and extra brushes were located. We got started immediately. After panicking around the one-hour mark because I was in no way close to finishing, Jane let me know that bookings are actually for two hours, not the one hour I had initially thought. Phew. My daughter painted for about an hour and a half, putting her paintbrush down about five times, before realising she wanted to add a few more orange dots around the eyeballs.

While we painted, the studio filled up with a few more bookings of adults and children. There were a lot of different pottery options, with teenagers next to me painting some mugs, while some of the younger kids chose little unicorn figures. The whole time, the atmosphere in the studio was relaxed and enjoyable, with music playing in the background as people discussed if perhaps that last green line they painted went too far?

At the end of our painting session (and to be honest, my daughter finished a good fifteen minutes before I did - but I just needed to add a few extra dots around my eyeballs), we dusted ourselves off, washed up a little and took our pieces to the front to pay and line up for a big ole firing. In addition to the cost of the pieces, there is also a $7 studio fee which covers paints and firing your pieces in the kiln. There’s about a three-week wait for items to be fired and ready for collection, but we are both keenly waiting to see how our pieces turned out after what was a lovely, relaxing, and highly enjoyable trip to Pears on Pottery.

Contact Pears on Pottery for opening times. We went during school holidays when they have extra painting sessions available during the day, but they also have late-night adult-only painting sessions, which I could imagine being extra wonderful with a sneaky glass of vino.

Find out more on the Pears on Pottery Website: link here
Address: 73 Coogee St, Mount Hawthorn WA 6016

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