I signed up for a 6 week class just to try the studio out and it was frankly shocking how disorganized, unhelpful, and clueless some of the staff were.
The studio itself has decent amenities; lots of wheels and a large selection of glazes, but because the staff are not able to operate the studio, I strongly do not recommend it.
To list some examples of what has personally affected me, there were many issues with the free house clay provided to all students and members, some days it was way too hard to work, other days too soft to throw with, some days the consistency was so off it would crack in the bisque, and some days they just didn't have any at all.
The firing schedule was also confusing and unreliable, some pieces would take a few days to bisque, others a few weeks. Additionally, pieces put to fire at the same time would be weeks apart in coming out of the kiln.
The worst thing that happened was my tools and pieces disappearing on multiple occasions. I left my tools on my class shelf and the next week they were simply gone. After asking the staff and having my instructor ask them as well, 30 minutes later they found that a different staff member had put them in the staff area after clearing the shelves, why they cleared the shelves no one knows.
My pieces went missing a couple weeks after that. I had left three bisques pieces, all clearly in progress, on my shelf where I had been storing pieces for the entire class. When I showed up to glaze them a few days later, they were gone. I asked the staff if they knew where my pieces were and they said that the pieces were cleared and had been discarded. I asked my instructor where to put my piece and she said it was fine on the shelf. I guess it wasn't. After explaining that miscommunication they just said it was my fault and refused to refund me the firing fees for the missing pieces.
Do not waste your time and money at DoClay. There are plenty of other studios in NYC with competent staff and standard policies. The bare minimum is for a studio to ensure your work and belongings are safe while you're away, DoClay is not capable of that. read more