‘Our pottery cafe is full of adults’: Pottery studio owner heralds social media trends helping business to boom

Jasmine Pottery Studios was set up by former teacher Naomi Jasmine, 32, and her partner Pepe Candelas, 32, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire. Naomi wanted to share her passion for art, crafts and all things pottery.

Naomi had spent years carrying a suitcase full of clay and paints around Yorkshire delivering pottery workshops.

Following the success of her workshops, she managed to secure a small studio in Leeds before moving to a bigger unit in The Ridings Shopping Centre, Wakefield - naming the space ‘Jasmine’s Pottery Studios’.

When the studio first opened five years ago it was mainly parents and their children who came along and painted pottery.

However, the boom in TikTok and Instagram Reels full of pottery creations has led to adults now filling the studio hoping to emulate what they have seen online.

“We never thought we’d have a pottery cafe full of adults and no children,” said co-owner Pepe.

Messy play, throwing clay and painting pottery is often associated with children having fun but with the rise of social media trends, pottery is back in fashion as adults want to capture online that they too are taking part in the experience.

Pepe said: “We closed during lockdown so we started selling DIY pottery kits for homes.

“People were online watching pottery making videos and keen to learn.

“We opened back up when we could and we’ve been packed out ever since.”

Naomi said she loves delivering wheel throwing parties too.

“It's so rewarding seeing people transform a lump of clay into something beautiful”, she added.

Artist Naomi creates most of the pottery in the studio for people to paint, while Pepe designs the DIY pottery kits for people to do at home.

Pepe said that shows such as The Great Pottery Throwdown have also helped their business flourish.