POTTERY COURSES
Q&A
HOW DO I ARRIVE AT YOUR PLACE FROM THE AIRPORT?
Fly into our only airport RIX in RIGA, 70km from the studio.
The BEST way to get to us from airpot is by booking BOLT taxi ride. Make sure not to take any random taxi, install the app BOLT and book the ride. It should cost you around 50-60eur for the 1hour ride (it’s about 70km).
By car: please simply enter LAIMA CERAMICS in google and follow through with your navigation app (Waze or google maps).
Food / catering info
We can cater this course/retreat (please check the offered program to see if it is included in the pricing or not). We can cater to pisceterican, vegetarian and vegan diet choices.
There is kitchen on site too make other meals in.
Kitchen features electric oven, induction cooker, kettle, hand blender, two fridges, and of course pots and pans and handmade tableware.
It is a basic setup, there are some spices, salt, oil.
Where I can do food shopping ?
We recommend the farmers market in Bauska for local seasonal vegetables, meat and fish. And Rimi shopping mall has everything else. There is also a small seasoning shop in Bauska.
The nearest shop next to Bauska Bus Station is the mini Rimi. If you arrive with a car, it will be more convenient for you to shop at hypermarket Rimi.
There are amazing restaurants and cafes in 5-20min driving distance.
Aveņi (in Bauska)
Tornis (in Bauska)
Rezidence (near Rundale palace)
Baltā Māja (near Rundale palace)
What to bring along?
There is bedding and basic kitchen equipment provided as well as basic selection of ceramic tools.
Bring your:
Slippers for the bedroom
slip-in shoes (like crocs or sandals) for the studio
2 sets of aprons (we don't allow working in dirty apron due to health and safety)
What amenities there are?
Electric kettle
Electric oven
Refrigerator
Crockery
Shower
Bed linen
Washing machine
wifi
How do you manage reclaim?
There are shared buckets for white/grey stoneware and 2 plaster bats for drying the reclaim.
Are there throwing bats for wheel?
No we don’t have/ don’t use a bat system for throwing. Throwing is directly on the wheel head. If you have/need bat system you might want to consider bringing them along. Wheel size is 30cm and 35cm.
How much cleaning will I do?
During your personal practice: You are always required to leave your working area (wheel, glaze room, the large table) in clean state every time it is used. There is hoover and mop around and use it often to minimize dust and health hazards ceramic dust poses.
As this is an active working studio, open to the public there is a requirement to keep all areas nice and clean at all times.
Will I be able to pack and fire kilns?
Yes! We will go through programming the kilns and different firing settings.
How about glazing? Will I get pre-mixed glazes?
There is a selection of several containers with our pre-mixed MAIN STUDIO GLAZES (transparent, white, beige, black and a few more) that is most reliable and kept in larger quantities where you can dip/submerse small-medium sized work.
We generally fire to 1250 C in oxidised atmosphere in electrical top-loader rhode kiln so most of our glazes are suitable for this range.
There are recipe EBOOKS available via my website with many of my favorite recipes for sale. Have a look at our gorgeous studio glazes for sale here!
How will I transport my pieces home?
After your course all pieces will be packed and shipped to your address.
We use different couriers depending on location so the price can be calculated at the end and invoiced after packing up.
How many people work for the studio?
There are 4 people at the core of this company
Laima - the potter, doing all the design, wheel-throwing, most glazing and firing, part of marketing (IG) and photography
Oksana - an assistant, customer service, packaging
Vēsma -Laima’s mother, doing all the book-keeping and finances
Krišjānis - doing photography, graphic design
What kind of electricity plug there is in Latvia?
Latvia is a standard European plug.
WHAT ARE THE TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES?
The studio is located 20km from the town of Bauska and only 70km from the capital Riga. There is convenient and cheap public transport everywhere. The studio is located “middle of nowhere” so there is a sort of bubble feeling here where you need to make a certain effort to get out of the farm and start exploring the surroundings.
We do recommend to reserve some time to explore this beautiful, natural country.
Our top 3 favourites:
Kolka- where the open Baltic sea meets the bay
Kuldīga- the most beautiful, charming old town
Gauja National Park
Have a look here for more details.
Are there any dangerous animals in Latvia?
There are ticks (that carry encephalitis and lyme disease). Please always check your body (March-October) after coming in from the garden to notice any ticks while they are still crawling.
If lucky you may see some deer, fox, badger, moose, mice and lots of birds in the countryside.
When purchasing this course via the website, you will be asked to agree on our Terms and Conditions. Please get acquainted with them here:
Terms & ConditionS
Congratulations for making until the end to this extensive page.
If you have more questions please reach out to us via email.
Warmest wishes,
Laima & co