9 of the best pottery kits for adults for all budgets

There is nothing like the feel of clay beneath your fingers, and it's not just us here on Gathered who think so. Interest in pottery is booming here in the UK, ever since The Great Pottery Throwdown hit our screens. The slow and soothing act of sculpting clay with your hands is enjoying a surge in interest, and both local courses and pottery starter kits have enjoyed a surge in popularity, while 2.39 viewers watched last year's Pottery Throwdown on TV.

We talked to celebrity potter and designer Keith Brymer Jones about the alchemy of turning clay turn into beautiful and practical items for your home in our podcast last year, and have been building up a collection of resources here on Gathered to get you started. You might want to begin with our beginner's guide to pottery , or why not try one of our easy projects that use entry-level types of clay if you're not quite ready to throw some shapes on a pottery wheel? Check out our guide to How to use Air Dry Clay and introduction to polymer clay).

One of the best things to have come out of this trend is a whole new range of pottery kits for adults have sprung up – available online, they offer you the chance to get everything you need to develop your clay-wrangling skills at home, without needing a kiln of your own to fire and glaze your pots using traditional methods.

Instead, most of the kits in this round up come with Air Dry Clay, which you can get some pretty amazing results with. Check out our How to make air dry clay vases or How to make ring holder tutorials. Possibly the most famous of this group of kits – Sculpd pottery kits – have been all over our instagram feeds of late, and we don't take much persuading to have a go.

In this round up we've include 8 of our favourite pottery starter kits at a range of price points. Just in case you're lucky enough to have a lavish budget to invest in your new hobby and the room to store your own mini kiln and wheel, we've ended with one bonus wet clay kit which includes the tech you need to fire and glaze pots at home too.

Have you tried any pottery kits at home? Leave a comment on this post and tell us what you liked about them, and which brands you'd recommend.

Main image: © aitekune

Best pottery kits to try at home

1. Best for budget: Pott'd Home Air-Dry Clay Pottery kit (Amazon, 24)
2. Best for variety of options: Noah Home Air-Dry DIY Pottery for Beginners (Noah, £35)
3. Best for beginners: Sculpd pottery kit bundle (Sculpd, £59)
4. Best for instructions: London Wildflower Pottery Kits (Etsy, £45)
5. Best for craft nights with friends: Faye Wellon Ceramics Pottery Date Night Box (Etsy, £26)
6. Best for packaging: Pottery Tribe Kit (The Crafting Cartel, £39)
7. Best for families: Tip Top Pottery Kit (Amazon, £35.44)
8. Best for clay quality: Jasmine Pottery Studio vases pottery kit (Etsy, from £36)
9. Best for premium budget: Complete Starter Kit: Throw & Fire (premium) Pot Clays Ltd (£3228)

1. Pott'd Home Air Dry Clay Pottery kit

• Buy it now (Amazon, £34)
• Amount of clay included: Enough for two people, 6-8 mini projects or 2-3 large ones
• Type of clay: Air Dry Clay
• Kit includes: 2 packs of air-dry clay, quick-start instructions, acrylic pastel paints, 2 paint brushes, 1 pot of white paint, 1 pot of sealant, 5 wooden sculpting tools plus a smoothing brush.
• Best for: budget

At an entry level price point, this is a comprehensive pottery starter kit including all the clay you need to make a few starter projects, plus a guide to teach you the basics of sculpting clay to make pots, bowls, vases, coasters, decorations or even mini sculptures. It comes with all the tools you need and once you've finished, your creation will dry naturally in the air.

2. Noah's Box Home Air-Dry DIY Pottery Kit for Beginners

• Buy it now (Noah, £35)
• Amount of clay included: 2 packs, or enough for 2 people
• Type of clay: Air Dry Clay – choose between white or terracota
• Kit includes: clay, 8 pottery tools, 3 paint brushes, white acrylic paint, clear varnish, 6 paints (you pick the colour), and a guide to pottery for beginners.
• Best for: variety of options to customise your kit contents

As with the other pottery starter kits in this article, Noah pottery kits come with everything you need to explore making your own pottery, whether you're crafting solo or with friends. As well as the amply stocked kit at an affordable price, you can choose the type of clay (terracota or white) and colour palette of the paints included to suit your style.

3. Sculpd pottery kit bundle

• Buy it now (Starter kit: £39)
• Amount of clay included: 2kg
• Type of clay: British Air-Dry Clay
• Kit includes: Clay, step-by-step guide, Tools and a tool bag to keep them in, acrylic paint, 2 ultra fine bristle paintbrushes and a sponge for soothing.
• Best for: Beginners

The most established brand currently on the market, Sculpd pottery kits are a joy to unbox as much as they are to play with. They come with everything you need to sculpt, carve and decorate a batch of mini projects, from little pots to trinket dishes, vases and candle holders. We've included the starter kit in this round up, but they also do an Ultimate Pottery Bundle (£99) if you really want to take your pottery to the next level.

4. London Wildflower Pottery Kits – DIY pottery kit (large)

• Buy it now (Etsy, £45 for a large kit)
• Amount of clay included: 2kg
• Type of clay: Air dry clay
• Kit includes: Clay, rolling pin, wooden board, potters pin tool, ribbon tool, wire cutter tool, scraper tool, smoother tool, rib tool, paint brush, sponge, water container, sandpaper, 22-page instruction booklet
• Best for: Instructions

With hundreds of 5 star reviews from fellow crafters on Etsy, these London Wildflower kits are topping our wish list this year. They come with a soft, non-toxic air dry clay which is similar in texture to kiln-baked clay and is ultra satisfying to work with. It comes with tools including a wire cutter to help you sculpt your very own pots, vases, jewellery or sculptures.

5. Faye Wellon Ceramics Pottery Date Night Box

• Buy it now (Etsy, £40 for a kit for two)
• Amount of clay included: 700g for one or expanded clay for 2
• Type of clay: Air dry clay
• Kit includes: Clay board, clay, tealight, 2 wire pieces, 4 project instructions, 1 small jar and a paintbrush
• Best for: Date nights

Faye Wellon Ceramics is a ceramicist and primary school teacher who has developed these air-dry clay starter kits for both children and adults. We like the idea of the date night kit – it's a pottery lesson delivered to your door. Use it to craft with friends and family with a set of beginner projects to choose from and no kiln needed as the clay dries naturally within 1 or 2 days.

6. Pottery Tribe kits – Potter Paint & Posy Kit

• Buy it now (The Crafting Cartel, £68)
• Amount of clay included: 1.6kg – enough for 1-2 people to make up to 10 small-medium pots, dishes or bowls
• Type of clay: Air dry clay (stone grey, terracotta or both)
• Kit includes: Clay, ribbon tool, rolling pin, cutoff needle, loop tool, potter's rib, wood modelling tool, aluminium scraper, sponge and wire clay cutter, 6 paints, 2 paint brushers and a posy of dried flowers.
• Best for: packaging

Designed and created in Edinburgh, these beautiful pottery starter kits come in a kraft gift box with top tips and a toolkit guide. You can choose your favourite colour of clay from three options. They'd make a lovely gift and are the only kit in this round-up to include a little posy of blooms to display in your first handmade vase. If the flowers aren't for you there are other versions of this kit – you can also order just a starter pottery kit or a potter and paint kit.

7. Small World Creative – Tip Top Pottery kit

• Buy it now (Amazon, £35.44)
• Amount of clay included: 2 1lbs
• Kit includes: Pottery wheel, paint pots, paintbrush, 2 sculpting tools and clay
• Best for: families

This fun starter kit will be a hit with children and teenagers or fun to play with for grown ups too. It comes with a battery-operated pottery wheel with adjustable speed control.

8. Craft your own plant pot at home

• Buy it now (Etsy, from £36)
• Amount of clay included: 2 bags (approx 900g per bag)
• Type of clay: Air dry clay
• Kit includes: Clay, 2 wooden tools, 1 loop tool, 1 tub of clay glue (slip), 1 tub of sealer, 1 paint brush
• Best for: Clay quality

These plant pot pottery kits are enjoying rave reviews on Etsy. They come with enough clay for two people to make a plant pot head that will air dry with no need for a kiln. The clay inside is soft to work with which makes it perfect for modelling. You can add an optional pack of paint pack in the colours of your choice if you want to paint your finished creations.

Looking to get started with wet clay?

If you're lucky enough to have a big budget, you've already caught the pottery bug and want to get started with throwing and firing your own wet clay pottery, Pot Clays offer a range of complete kits including a small kiln and wheel to use at home.

9. Complete Starter Kit: Throw & Fire (premium)

• Buy it now: Pot Clays Ltd (£3228)
• Amount of clay included: 4 bags (200kg total)
• Type of clay: White St Thomas clay
• Kit includes: Potter's wheel, plug & go top-loading kiln, clay, mud sponge, tools, cutting wire, selection of throwing and turning tools
• Best for: Those with a big budget who want to work with wet clay

This one's a bit out of our price range but if you have been saving up and don't have space for a bespoke pottery studio to fit a full size kiln, this plug and go home kiln is worth considering. If you can handle the high price point this would suit someone who's ready to get more serious with their home pottery and try throwing on a wheel and glazing in a kiln.

How we selected the kits for this round-up

Our craft expert writer Zoe Williams is the Editor of Gathered.how and has been making things for 30 years. She's a craft industry expert with a nose for finding a quality craft kit – after all, she's tried enough of them. She recently got to visit her dream pottery studio, The Leach Pottery in St Ives (she's been admiring Bernard Leach pots and Cornish ceramics ever since she was a teenager). She's slowly building her personal collection of Cornishware pottery. She selected the kits in this round up based on the following 5 factors:

• What the kits include – quality and variety of supplies
• Online reviews – from other makers who have purchased the kits
• Buying options – to give you the choice of where you shop we've researched and included kits from smaller, independent sellers so you can support small businesses, as well as trusted bigger websites such as Amazon and Etsy.
• Range of prices – we want to include kits for all budgets, so you'll find a range of starter Air Dry clay kits – starting at £25 per kit – up to ultimate luxury starter sets for established ceramics lovers who have been saving up.