Great clay however, customer service has always been problematic, borderline grouchy, but I will take that over AI any day. They have started to use an over zealous chat bot to answer their emails. I emailed them to say that I got confirmation for an order I already picked up and got a saccharine response from Zack three times. I asked it to stop and it continued to email me. I used the address it gave me to unsubscribe, it emailed me again. I thought I was in the clear but what do you know unsolicited email again. I detest AI and would gladly take the sour mood over this environment killing BS. read more

Sheffield pottery used to be great. But now they've made ordering and picking up very difficult. They refuse to make any changes to orders by telephone. The customer service reps are straight-jacketed by rules and procedures. Everything has to be done online and pick-ups can't be changed at all. It's like dealing with AI or automated service--it's not personable any longer. I miss dealing with human beings. I feel that they do not appreciate my business and I've ordered 10K+ in equipment and supplies. Will buy elsewhere whenever I can. read more

Well, I guess they get a couple of stars for having a good selection. They are usually very well-stocked with a good selection of glasses and different kinds of clay, and their prices are fair. They lose a bunch of stars because their retail space is closed to the public. They're only open weekdays during business hours anyway, so it was a bit of a shock to drive over an hour to the retail shop, only to see that they are closed for in person shopping. You can order online and they need 48 hours to get your order together, apparently. read more

Sheffield Pottery - Outdoor sign - Art Supplies Near Me - Sheffield, Massachusetts

I ordered a bunch of items from them after extensive research that this was the place that had most of the items I wanted all in one place, therefore saving shipping costs. However, they took it upon themselves to just cancel half my order without asking if I still wanted it and shipped it (very slowly too). What they sent me is useless on its own (a few very short kiln posts, they omitted all the taller ones and the ones I ordered greater numbers of). Had I know that half of my order wasn't going to be shipped, I would have canceled it and ordered elsewhere. Not going to order from them again. read more

In a recent purchase, Sheffield demonstrated and integrity uncommon in these days. I'm really impressed with what I've experienced!

I have gone to Sheffield Pottery for all of my pottery supplies for many years. They are always well stocked and knowledgeable on everything that they sell. They carry everything a ceramic artist or potter could need and have a large inventory. Sheffield Pottery is competitively priced and I find their mixed clay and glazes a great value and top notch quality. read more

If you need pottery tools or supplies look NO FURTHER! I had an online order and when I went to pick it up, Missy was so helpful and nice. The customer service here is top notch. Not to mention, this store has legit everything you'll need for a pottery class or project. Why buy from Amazon when you can support a local business?! Love this place. Thank god we have this store in the Berkshires. read more

Sheffield Pottery has been serving my needs for 30 years. I have built my studio and business on Sheffield Pottery materials and expertise. Their family started and owns this business. Customer service is great. Any concerns or problems are dealt with in a timely fashion; they always have answers to technical and material questions. I have referred countless artists to them. read more

Sheffield Pottery - Jackie Sedlock Pottery catenary arch wood kiln. Built in 2019 using Sheffield Pottery bricks and materials. - Art Supplies Near Me - Sheffield, Massachusetts

Be careful ordering online, because if there is something wrong with your item the return process will be long and dreadful. After weeks of back and forth of me having to email back asking about my return process at the end it felt like I was begging them for money. Only for them to get the item and not contact me for weeks or give me a refund. Again I had to contact them and I got a condescending response. Claiming nothing was wrong with the item when I have video evidence showing otherwise which I could've provided had I been able to be in contact with one person. read more

I'm really fed up. Ordered glazes online (:SO #187003). They finally arrived and apparently one or more bottles exploded. Huge mess, didn't even open the box all the way or remove any bottles. Started the return process, included pics and all the info. I returned the item. It's been almost a month, no word, no acknowledgement of receipt, no refund. I've emailed and left phone messages. Zero response. Seriously people, this is no way to do business. read more

If I could choose zero stars I would. Customer service is a joke. It's been over a month to receive my pyrometer in the mail because they decided to try out a new program of advantage shipping to me in Hawaii and it ended up getting lost. I call USPS, file a claim as a customer for a lost package, and they told me because I failed a claim for a lost package I had to pay not only for the one I bought and never received but to also pay for the new one they are sending out to me. That's how the conversation was opened up to me, now I'm paying for two, having received nothing. Come to find out because I used the term "CLAIM", that's what made me accountable for paying twice. Don't you think someone being in the claims department should know how to figure out if I filed for a claim as a customer or a claim as a shipper? I would think that's the first thing to determine!! OBVIOUSLY!!! As far as I'm concerned I will never receive my pyrometer or my money back. And they said if I get both in the mail then I have to return one of them or I'm getting charged for both. How about they tell USPS to only deliver one and send the other back so it doesn't fall on my shoulders to avoid getting charged twice. How about they go above and beyond as a company to service their paying customers. How about they figure out you can file a missing package claim as a customer. ITS STILL CALLED A CLAIM!!! Customer or not it's still considered a claim with a case number. Anyway I was hung up on and had a yelling match with the customer service department for me being held account for a USPS mistake and their choice of shipping method as a business. I will follow up on here to let you all know what happened in the end. Just beware if your item gets lost in the mail to never use the word CLAIM around them or they will charge you twice instead of doing their due diligence!! For having paid top dollar for a pyrometer I'm disgusted with the way I was condemned and treated as an upset customer. Absolutely zero grace or consideration from them. They need younger people in charge because they are a bunch of old entitled grumps with no idea how to handle upset customers. Stay tuned for a follow up everyone and beware of how they treat you. read more

Sheffield Pottery - Art Supplies Near Me - Sheffield, Massachusetts

their website claimed free shipping. we made a $700 order only to be told a few days later that we would need to pay an extra $850 for shipping. absolutely no empathy or apology in their email correspondence with us. will not be shopping here ever again. read more

Sheffield pottery is the best!! Amazing selection, plus customer service is always so helpful and knowledgeable! It's understandable to be upset over receiving a delayed order, but let's remember at the end of the day its not life or death and the folks working at Sheffield are working so hard doing everything they can to get every order out on time! I'll be a Sheffield pottery shopper for life. read more

Do not purchase online from these folks. You will be tempted because they appear to have a good selection on items that are hard to find and competitive prices, but they are not able to fulfill orders correctly or in a timely fashion. I purchased items in December. After waiting a week without hearing that they were processing the order, I emailed them. They did not respond for several days. I emailed them again, this time to cancel my order. Finally, they replied, and said they had been closed for inventory and said they would cancel my order. They mailed me a package anyway. The package that arrived was for another customer, despite having my name on it. So, roughly 2.5 weeks later, they have sent me exactly what I did NOT order. read more

I have only experienced excellent customer service from Sheffield. My glazes are always well packed and come in perfect condition. I have purchased several large items and they too came perfectly packed. I highly recommend this company. read more

Wonderful service and I love supporting a family business! I look forward to purchasing clay and equipment from them.

Stopped here during a ski weekend with a friend who is a ceramic artist and pottery lover. Originally, we thought this was a factory, but we were pleasantly surprised that not only does it carry a great deal of ceramic products hand made by New England artist, but also has an expensive selection of ceramic supplies in the lower shop! Everything from glazes, tools, and even Kilns and slab rollers are available for sale. Our friend was in absolute heaven. He usually purchases most of his tools online, or buys them direct from the studio that he goes to, which usually comes with a slight mark. According to him, the lower shop offers prices that are comprable to the best online deals, but here, you can touch and feel all the tools and see how they fit with your hands. A must visit for any ceramic artist or if you want to browse some locally made earthenware. read more

See all

I ordered from this company for the 1st time about 6 was ago. When my delivery confirmation came via email, I immediately reached out because the order was not delivered to my residential home ( tracking showed delivered to reception/front desk). Obviously this had been misdelivered. I tried reaching out to USPS myself on lost package, but the questions asked about package size, where it was shipped from etc, I didn't know. I heard back that they'd check on it, 4 days later, I messaged for an update. Got a call the next day saying someone would check Monday, heard nothing for a week. Reached out again stating I'd just like a refund. Susan agreed. Nothing. Ccrd did immediate refund. All of a sudden people started emailing asking for payment, that my order was delivered. Again, I told them to talk to each other and no, it hadn't been. 10 days later, another email saying usps denied the claim because it was delivered and did I have it. This has a horrible experience. Pure harrassment at this point. 6 weeks out, no product and no help finding the order. The only emails have been harrassing ones. read more

Great customer service by the team. Any time I had a question or an issue the team responded very promptly. In addition, Tim reached out about other items that I hadn't ordered but probably should have. This definitely saved my future aggravation. I'm really impressed with Sheffield Pottery and will be ordering from them more regularly. Warm regards, Neil read more

I will start by saying there is a great selection and beautiful pieces here. The staff today was completley unhelpful, condescending and rude. Didnt care to be bothered. There is almost zero pricing on materials. Apparently, having pricing on things "is not how this store operates" I came with the intent on purchasing the bulk of the startup materials for our studio. Guess I'll be going to Amherst instead. Super disappointed. I hope the owner reads this and understands what type of staff they have, and are able to do some training. As a CEO, I would want to know. read more

I ordered from Sheffield and made the minimum dollar order to get shipping. The MAIN item I wanted was Holly Green glaze. The order arrived with all the items EXCEPT for Holly Green - the ONE thing I really wanted. They had marked OS on the invoice. No notice in advance. No indication of this when I placed the order. I then emailed Sheffield service and got no response. I later got an email asking my opinion of my experience with Sheffield and when I clicked on the link I just got brought to their home page. They may be ok if you live in driving distance, but I will avoid ever ordering mail order from them again. read more

Sheffield Pottery is an oasis for potters, from professionals to barely-hobbyists like myself. They have items from local potters for sale, ranging from "Um, I could make this in my sleep" to "Holy Clay Gods, how did you make this?!" and everything in between. The prices, for the most part, are affordable and should be considered a steal for how much work is put into making the individuals pieces. While you may find inspiration in the pieces on display in the store, downstairs is where the fun lives. First of all, there's a cat. He's friendly and cute and wants to be pet. He may follow you around and mew if you're ignoring him. Second of all, they have just about every tool you've ever (or never) heard of. They're better quality than you'll find at the generic artsy box stores and better prices than you'll get at your local actual-art-supply store. I came across texture plates that I wanted to buy in bulk. My one complaint (and the reason this review is 4 stars instead of 5) is that they didn't have any molds in stock. I asked the lovely woman who was helping us where the molds were and she said "You know, we don't have any in stock. I'm not sure why, since a lot of people ask for them." and pointed us to a catalog. I was very disappointed. Without knowing the size or quality of the molds, I didn't want to spend my time ordering something and having it paid to be shipped to me. Even if they just had molds on display, that would make a world of difference to me. read more

My order was called in to a very helpful woman who took my order without incident. I Love Coyote 007 satin clear glaze and Sheffield is the only local source. Thank you. My order was received within 8 days as ordered. read more

I came across the reviews here looking for discussion of some Sheffield clays I haven't tried and was really surprised and saddened by the number of negative reviews of the staff and service there. I can only talk about their online shop as I order all of my clay supplies. My experience with them has been stellar - really much better than with most online ceramic suppliers. My deliveries have always been timely (even during the COVID postal problems) and accurate and I VERY much appreciate the free shipping - it's prohibitively expensive elsewhere for small quantities, a big deal for me. The online site describes products really well also, especially the clays. Excellent clays thus far, and as described. When I've called with questions the people with whom I've spoken have been lovely - warm, generous and knowledgeable. So I don't get it. Maybe the brick and mortar crew have some sort of irritable inside culture going on, maybe the supply shortage everywhere tangled up some people's orders, or maybe yelp just draws yelps. Anyway, I hope nobody's deflected from trying them - I think they're first rate. read more

If you want good customer service don't try to contact or call them. It doesn't exist.

I learned how to throw on the pottery wheel 3 years ago using Sheffield's T6B clay and have been using it ever since. I've since expanded to try several others and none have disappointed.! read more

Had a hell of a time placing an order for a part for my wheel. Misinformation all over the website lead to confusion. Staff took their time replying and refused to honour the information on their site. Finally got my item ordered. They shipped with the wrong courier after I ensured it was being shipped USPS. And despite having it in writing that I confirmed shipping with USPS, they refused to take any responsibility for the additional brokerage fees (over $50 CAD) I incurred. And the cherry on top? The order was never received. I had the courier put a trace on it and UPS could not find the package and show it as undelivered. All Sheffield needs to do is fill out a claim form as the shipper and they'll be given a refund that they could pass on to me. But Sheffield won't refund my order and won't reply to my emails. Honestly the WORST customer service I have ever received. I am out over $200 and had to reorder the part I need from elsewhere. They literally took my money and all I got was a headache. read more

This is a follow up to a review I posted in July when I bought a new L & L Kiln from Sheffield Pottery. In the meantime, I've had some questions about working the kiln. These people continue to be very helpful in answering my questions quickly and clearly. It's not just one person...I talked to about 3-different people throughout the process and every single one of them was nice and helpful - and got back to me very quickly with answers to any of my questions. These guys are my "Go-To" pottery supplies people forever. read more

So let's just say you aren't a teacher and can't get a lock on a good, solid supply of clay. And you don't want to pay craft store prices for something that you need an awful lot of for your project. What do you do? If you leave anywhere near Massachusetts, you go online to www.sheffield-pottery.com and order up yourself some clay. Need tools? They got 'em. Need some kind of obscure custom blend? No problem. And if you just happen to be a school teacher, you're in luck: there are discounts for you. The rest of us pay retail. Unless we buy in bulk. If you are planning to build a cob house, pour a clay tennis court, or use clay in any large-scale setting, Sheffield can accommodate. Delivery can take a while if you order something they don't have in stock. It took me more than a week to get what I ordered - my item was custom and I had them ship it when I could have saved time by picking it up. If you are not sure what kind of clay you should buy, it is a good idea to give them a call. They're always happy to help, even if they have to call you back (they're a small company and can't always get to every call as it comes in). read more

It would have been swell if the website mentioned that the shop is closed due to COVID, instead of posting that it's open 8:30-5:00, Mon-Fri. read more

We placed an order and received everything but the clay. We ordered 100.00 worth of clay and Sheffield says they shipped it, which they didn't. It is impossible to get through on their phone on Saturday, it's just voicemail. My mother was hung up on Friday. I hope others are very careful ordering things online with this company. Terrible service, and as of right now, they have literally stolen 100.00 from us. read more

Whomever reviewed Sheffield saying they have the best prices is giving false information. They actually have the highest glaze prices, $5 per pint higher than any other pottery supply and they have poor communication, they do not complete an order often saying it is on back order then never fulfilling the order and you can not send an email and they don't answer their phone. They are slow, overpriced, and unorganized. I keep telling my friends and family NOT to buy me a gift certificate from this organization. read more

This is undoubtedly the worst customer service that I have ever experienced. Unfortunately for me, I decided I liked one of their clay bodies and because I liked it so much I ordered it several times -- shipped at an extra expense. Every time -- and I am NOT exaggerating -- the shipment was up to a couple of months late, or I ordered supplies with the order of clay and they shipped the supplies (which I could have gotten locally but wanted the clay) and told me they were out of the clay, or in this case I called weeks ahead of time and was told there was plenty of clay in stock and then when I ordered it they told me it was out of stock. I called, I emailed, I talked with several different people, I was put on hold for over 30 mins and never got through -- it was a total nightmare! So now I must find another clay body that I love. I will never, never, never order so much as a fettling knife from them. Disgusting people. Disgusting customer service, if you can even call it customer service. I can't. And their prices are higher than other places for kilns, equipment, and glazes. Try something else. read more

Purchased an item online and requested cancellation before it shipped. No response. Item arrived without any formation regarding how to return it. Do purchase products online from them...they have no Customer Service. read more

I was sent a box of open glaze which then took months and many emails to get refunded. The worst customer service I've ever received from a pottery shop. The sales they have aren't worth the hassle of shopping with them. read more

We always try to stop here and browse the pottery store when we are in the area. They have some really nice American-made pottery by local artists. I love to browse around the store, and I usually come home with something unusual and beautiful.They also make specialty items like personalized mugs and plates for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. (just ask). read more

I purchased a $1700 slip mixer in mid December. The product was described as a combination mixer and pump. When the machine arrived, I learned from reading the first page in the owner's manual the machine is not intended to be used as a mixer, pump only. I contacted Sheffield's customer service via email and after 3 days, received no response. I called several times over the next few weeks, requesting an RMA so I could return the machine. Two weeks ago I was told the owner was needed to handle this, but I have still not been contacted. Because of their irresponsible product listing and unwillingness to claim responsibility for their mistake, I'm stuck with a $1700 purchase that only does 1/2 of what it is supposed to do. read more

A good place to order things if you live in MA however shipping prices are about the same as if I ordered from the other stores I like down in the south. Ive placed a few orders but always have had very slow shipping, very slow time to even say my ordered was shipped,and if you order something not in stock they don't tell you until you open your package and find out which to me is a hassle when I really need a tool and could've ordered it if they had told me sooner. read more