I came in to buy one item. What I accidentally purchased was an immersive performance art piece exploring the concept of waiting. When I arrived, there was one person ahead of me and two employees behind the counter. Foolishly, I assumed this meant I would be helped sometime before the death of the universe. Instead, I was treated to a masterclass in non-transactional retail. Over the next 15+ minutes, I watched employees engage in several fascinating activities, including: * Petting dogs * Discussing classes * Conversing with customers about topics unrelated to purchasing items * Walking away * Standing around * Almost helping customers At one point I made the mistake of expressing that I was in a hurry and would like to purchase my single item. This was apparently a shocking and unreasonable request in a store that sells things. My favorite moment was when a customer who had occupied a register for roughly the length of a feature film turned around and made "deep breath" gestures at me as if I hadn't already done the daily Calm three times in my head. Thank you, sir. I had incorrectly assumed the purpose of a checkout line was pay for something. I now understand it was a mindfulness retreat. By the end of my visit, one customer had been processed, several dogs had received excellent service, and I had achieved a higher state of unconsciousness. If you're looking for clay, I can help you! Go to Blick's since their clay is a quarter of the price and it won't make you wait in line while it dries. If you're looking for an opportunity to contemplate the passage of time while observing casual conversations unfold at glacial speed, this establishment is second to none. read more

Everything is super organized and tidy, the staff are amazing and they even have a precious cat that wonders the warehouse.

Amazing ceramics to paint and for huge selection of paints helpful staff they offer c

I took 12 dessert plates to get refired after I did some touch-ups. The check in process was fine and the employee was friendly. When my plates were "ready" I got a call telling me that two of the plates had slipped during firing and one of the plates had a little piece chipped out of it. There was no offer to fix this, no offer of solutions. The person I spoke with took no responsibility for this, saying this is just something that happens. I went back to Georgie's with my little bottle of paint and my paint brush, bought glue from them (I was really surprised that they wouldn't provide the dab of glue that I needed, but insisted I purchase a bottle of glue) and sat my car and touched up the six plates that needed touching up, not just two. I took the plates I touched up back in the store and when I came back to pick them up they looked worse than they did when I brought them in. The paint was mottled and smeared and a couple of the plates have smudges on them that weren't before. Of course, no one took responsibility for this. If I had signed something that told me that nothing was guaranteed, that I need to accept what I get, then I would have different feelings about this. But it is unusual for a business to ruin something and take no responsibility for it. read more

I recently took a workshop at Georgie's and had a rude confrontation with a mousy girl with a ring in her nose. In her mousy gruff voice she wanted to know where I parked. As a paying student and purchasing $220 of merchandise she asked again where I parked. A nice "good morning", "how's your day", etc. would have been nice. While I understand most of your business comes from commercial paint operations the representation by your retail people often make or break smaller stores in higher retail profit transactions. I've already moved my purchases for Amaco glazes to Clay-King earlier this year and will continue to purchase other supplies from CK than Georgi's going forward. read more

Everything you need and more for your ceramics, plus helpful and friendly staff, and good prices. Also, the only brick and mortar supplier around. read more

I love this place, they have everything and most of the staff is so knowledgeable and kind. Which brings me to the four stars... I was browsing a display and a staff member came and stood directly in front of me, I couldn't see anything, so after a minute or two of awkwardly staring at her back, I moved to the side to try and see around her and said hi and she just kept standing like 6 inches directly in front of me and was talking super loud to me. She then was running around the store like yelling about what she was looking for. Honestly, I thought there was no way she was not on drugs. I'll go back, but she made the experience weird. read more

Recently I had a pleasant hand building class at Georgie's taught by Stephanie. Unfortunately during open studio I was holding my wallet in one hand while measuring stilt sizes for my ceramic bowl with the other hand. A teacher at Georgie's named Wil LaBelle was watching me and accused me of trying to shoplift the small pieces! I explained I was going to pay for them as soon as I put my bowl down. I paid, bought glazes, then returned to Wil to show him my receipt. I received no apology. Just silence. The rest of the Georgie's employees had treated me with respect. I told the manager what happened and she assured me I was due an apology from Wil and asked if she could offer me store credit. I said no, all I wanted was an apology from Wil for accusing me of shoplifting. 2 weeks later I received a card written in Linda, the owner's hand. It is a non-apology including: "sorry you were made to feel bad about yourself while here at open studio. That was not the intention." What, then, is the intention when accusing someone of shoplifting? To make them feel comfortable? Upon receipt of this non-apology I called Linda. I thanked her for her card and for writing it as I didn't realize Wil was illiterate and incapable of writing his own apology. I told her I was waiting for Wil to apologize to me for accusing me of shoplifting. Nothing more. Linda responded that she wouldn't talk to me about it anymore and then hung up the phone! Classy to the bitter end! read more

Good selection, but one of their "experts" is the most condescending lady I've ever talked with in my life. I had a basic question about firing, and she criticized me, loudly asking me why I am even making this item in the first place. Literally asked me why I am doing it, and "is it because I am stuck at home with nowhere to go". Those were the actual words. I said I'm not sure why that matters. She laughed at me. I wish I were exaggerating. I know her name so I will just hang up if they try to put me on the phone with her again. read more

The staff at Georgie's has been so helpful, professional and kind to me when I call with questions. Before all the virus crazy, they were always very pleasant when I went to someone with questions. A couple of them have, without hesitation, gone the extra mile to assist with a positive attitude. I appreciate Georgie's and the staff. Strong work!! read more

Came here to buy some clay for a hand building class I'm taking. Friendly helpful staff. Lots of different types of clay and glazes. Every tool you'd ever need to make pottery. They even sale large ovens for home pottery making. Plus, they have classes in the backroom read more

The staff is mostly really helpful. There's a guy there that's really kind and helpful. On the other hand, there's a woman there that is so horrible (another review mentions her) she's so rude. I just came to pickup clay during curbside and she acted like I was the biggest inconvenience of her life to get my simple order in... little does she know, I had to take time off my job to come pickup bc their store isn't open weekends. She's the reason I won't be back. read more

Georgie's is great and have great team of staff who do a great job being patient with my long-winded questions. Thanks everyone!

They are the only game in town and they know know it. Their prices are 20 to 30 percent higher than anywhere else I have ever shopped for pottery supplies and I have purchased from all over the country. They scan craigslist 2 or 3 times per day looking for pottery supplies (this is per the guy from Georgie's who calls you about your CL ad). Georgies then resells the kilns and wheels they purchase for 2 to 4 times what they paid for it. They want to force all potters in the Portland area to buy from them. If you take a wheel throwing class at the store, you are not allowed to use their tables to do any handbuilding unless you ALSO pay for the handbuilding class. So if you are having a bad day on the wheel, which we all do, you can't hand build a piece to re-focus. You can't even hand build a foot for a wheel thrown piece! That being said, the staff is very helpful and nice. They all know their stuff and are willing and able to answer your questions. They want everyone to be knowledgeable and safe when it comes to firing a kiln and having a home studio. They also offer a 20% student discount on certain items if you remember to tell them that you are a student. Do I love Georgie's? No. But, I will shop there since I have nowhere else to go locally. I will continue to buy as much as I can online, and only go to them when I'm in a pinch. read more

Georgies has the best selection of clay and glazes in Portland as well as a wide variety of brushes and crafting supplies. They manufacture a wide variety of clays as well as having clay available from other clay companies. Recently, their clay production has been uneven and not all clay has been available for weeks at a time. They are also often out of glazes from other companies, so that can make finishing a project difficult. You can get discounts there at certain times of the year for books, glazes and kilns. Though it is often cheaper to get a kiln elsewhere even though Skutt a local Portland manufacturer is right here is Portland. Ceramics is a broad field and unfortunately, some of the staff try to be helpful, but give incorrect information about the products. When I went there, they gave me a clay for throwing, telling me it was a good clay for hand building... Everything cracked as it was very plastic with little grog. They have many kinds of clay and I did find clays I like, but you might get good information or incorrect information there, so do your research which is always a good idea anyway. If you have time it is cheaper to get clay delivered from the Clay Art Center in Tacoma as their delivery fees are less than Georgies and their customer service is very good, but you need to plan ahead. read more

Georgie's has so much clay! It's a clay-lovers' paradise. It's very carefully arranged in ascending cone numbers and well labeled for amateurs and pros alike. Georgie's specialized mixes are definitely cheaper than the "name brands," which is nice...if you're not really particular with your clay bodies, these mixes will get the job done. The staff are really nice and helpful and know their clays. Say "wheelthrowing" and they'll drag you over to their like ten or so mixes just for the wheel. Georgie's also does low and mid-fire bisques. I'm sorry folks, but I just can't remember if they do high-fire bisques. They charge by the piece, 1/4 shelf, and full shelf, which is perfect for those who like to make a ton of stuff and then lug it on over on a rainy day. I believe Georgie's is a Skutt dealer, since Skutt is based in Portland. They also have a very helpful quarterly newsletter. You should definitely subscribe if you want to keep up on all the deals going on here. read more

Georgie's has a large selection of art supplies. I'm not a ceramics artist and I actually went in there for some kiln paper for my glass kiln. They had a small selection of soft glass and I got what I needed. They also have a decent selection of brushes and other art supplies. Even if you're not into ceramics, check that place out if you're into browsing art supplies. read more

Georgie's is my go to!! I get all my ceramic supplies from here, they have a great selection & it's all very easy to navigate. I took a class to learn how to fire my electric kiln here & I can now confidently operate and run my own studio. These folks are the best!! read more

Georgies is the Go-to place for clay in Portland. It is well kept, and well stocked. I have had the occasion where some tool that I wanted was out (shrinkage ruler) but that is a pretty rare instance. If you're a beginner to clay I can't think of a better place to go get supplies. Even for us advanced and professional types, they are a great supply store. The staff is knowledgeable and very helpful. The only complaint I have is that their prices on raw materials can be ridiculous. Cobalt, which has become an expensive material, was $68 per lb at Georgies while it was $36 per lb from the Clay Art Center. So if you're planning on making your own glazes, shop around first. read more

Georgie's couldn't be better. Really. I have worked with Georgie's as our source for clay for two of the schools I've taught at for over 11 years. Both schools have been preschools. We love that even the tiniest item (seriously, the smallest piece of clay, prized by a three year old) is fired in the kiln, and saved by Andrew the master of the kiln! He has been so amazing to take care of the fragile items that the kids create. He calls us the second items are finished and that has more than once saved my skin when we're in a crunch for making presents for families for winter holidays. We use the "Gray Play Clay" sold at Georgie's for all of our projects. This clay is soft enough for two year olds to work with, building fine muscles in their little hands so that someday holding a pen is easier. It also builds confidence as children grow in using this medium and find that they can create the item that they envision in their head out of clay. We love how the "Gray Play Clay" fires to a bright white, and beside all of that, it's just fun to say, "Gray Play Clay!" The staff at the front desk is always so knowledgeable. Once I brought in a ceramic item that my mother-in-law got as a present that needed to be fixed. Instead of coming up with a convoluted way to "fix" the item, they told me that a Sharpie would do the same trick as any of their special tools. This meant that I could help fix the item and get it back on display for someone I love. It hangs proudly on the wall, and no one is the wiser that it had to be repaired. read more

With zero ceramics experience, signed up with a friend to take their Beginning Wheel class which cost $219. There is no online enrollment by the way. When we arrived, it turned out that over half the people in the class had prior experience and were just refreshing their skills, not actually learning for the first time like I was. One was advanced to the point that he was guiding me much of the first couple of classes! The teacher was very nice but never passed out a syllabus so we'd know what we'd be working on each week, and didn't go over the basic terminology while instructing. I noticed that there were a lot of assumptions about what we should do and know, and we were only shown the cup, bowl and plate, not "flower vases, batter bowls, and lidded jars" as the description pointed out. There were also no introductions to get to know everyone else in the class. I was surprised that there was little emphasis on glazing and decorating - it was a short demo, discouraging handpainting, and the instructor made it clear this was not the part of ceramics that he particularly enjoyed. The thing is, there should be more of a focus as you can make the prettiest bowl on the wheel but if your painting technique sucks, all that time is lost. I was also very frustrated when the guy who put our stuff in the kiln told me there's no guarantee as to when our stuff would go in, so I had to wait two weeks for mine to be done, which is valuable time when you only have 8 classes! After that I lost confidence in creating anything more because I didn't want to spend all that time making something only to possibly never have it processed in time for me to glaze it and have it fired before the end of the 8 weeks. I was also turned off by the energy level in the class - there was very little interaction and few students seemed to have much of a sense of humor (except for my friend, and the teacher). Taking classes to learn something new for the first time is something I love to do, and unfortunately this experience soured me on wanting to learn more about ceramics. Community classroom organizers have to realize that making class fun and appropriate for the level they described is so important - I've never worked with clay in my life and was very nervous coming in, and didn't leave feeling all that inspired, just that I'd rather go to Mimosa Studios and paint mugs rather than try building the mug myself :( read more

I was hesitant to say the least after reading these yelp reviews. However I did still make the journey to their store. I do not look like an artist or even remotely artsy and I was prepared for the staff to shun me. I meandered through the store for a while and thought the prices were reasonable. I gathered the supplies I needed and 25lbs of their clay and headed for the register where I was shocked... I was helped by the most friendly person I've ever met. He even gave me the info of another studio that would fire my work at cone 10. I'll be returning to pick up some glazes in the future. I'd recommend giving the place a chance if you live in the area and or don't want to order clay online. read more

I can't rate Georgie's as a ceramics person, but their staff is very helpful and they have a small selection of mosaic supplies. My son bought sheets of beeswax and candle wicks here. There's a small play area for little kids. read more

My cat died and I wanted to carve a little plaque for him. Called Georgie's and the woman who answered was very sympathetic and suggested that workers at Georgie's would be able to help me with specific questions as to how to go about this. When I got to the store and started asking questions they were met with what I can best describe as polite indifference. I couldn't find the right kind of stone for my plaque and when I asked if anyone could suggest another source one employee suggested I try "googling it." Excellent advice and next time I'll just skip the whole "going to Georgie's" part as I might as well have just stayed home. read more

Great store! Combine all the clay stores into one and you have Georgie's. Lots of tools and fun stuff for anyone interested in any form of ceramics. Clay is pricey but they can be with not much competition. read more

Really friendly, knowledgable staff. They were patient and encouraging and made me + my projects feel welcomed. I would definitely recommend Georgie's over most PDX ceramics studios. read more