Great fun and fantastic for gifts (Dish Ceramics Studio)

Member Name: pingucb

Product:	Dish Ceramics Studio
Date:	15/10/08 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, easier than it looks, good value for money, very friendly staff

Disadvantages: Addictive, only in Reigate (as far as I know)

Tucked away at the top end of Reigate High Street is a little gem of a shop called Dish. I first discovered Dish when I moved into Reigate 5 years ago and went for a wander to familiarise myself with the town. I've since moved slightly further afield, but I still go back to Dish regularly as it's so much fun.

Dish is a relatively small shop space, but it has enough to keep you occupied for longer than any other shop in Reigate. Before you even enter the shop, the attractive window draws you in - it's full of handpainted products and if you're inside the shop for a while you'll see that people frequently stop to have a look. Once inside, the shop is laid out with 4 or 5 tables, each with 4-6 chairs around it. Each table is topped with a set of coloured paint tubes, a jar of brushes and a jar of water. To the left are shelves containing all the unpainted ceramic products to choose from. Interspersed amongst these are painted examples of the same items, which help to provide inspiration. Beyond this is the counter and a door to the toilets. To the right is a small serving area for drinks and snacks and a selection of books to help further with the inspiration. Beyond this is one further painting table, which I believe is either used by the staff to create items for sale, or can also be used for classes.

The first decision to make when you enter the shop is what to create. Believe me when I say, this and the next step are the part that takes the longest. The choice of ceramic items is phenomenal, the Dish website claims there are over 100 possibilities available. I've personally painted everything from plates, to money boxes, cups to Christmas decorations. Each item has it's own price, ranging from £4 for a tile up to £75 for the largest plates. In addition to this, you pay a studio fee (currently £4.50), which covers the cost of paints, glazing and firing, although this fee is the same however many items you paint in one session. On my last visit to Dish I painted a traditional style piggy bank as a gift for a child, which cost £18 which I thought was very reasonable. Other money boxes I could have chosen included a seated pig, robot, cow and car.

The next step is to decide on and paint your design. When you sit down to paint, you're provided with a handpainted tile to use as a palette, with dips in it to put your paints in, as well as a sponge for certain paint effects. You also have a handpainted plate, which has three marks of each paint colour available, one with one coat, one with two and one with three, along with the number of that paint. Each of the paint tubes is similarly numbered, so you can easily see how each paint will look once fired and choose the colours you want for your design. I already knew that I wanted a white base with brightly coloured flowers and the child's name. Despite this, this is still the most daunting part of the whole process. I consider myself reasonably creative, but I'm certainly not an artist and taking that first step to mark a pure white item can be quite a challenge! In the case of this piggy bank, I sought inspiration from a selection of flower books and stencils, plus a folder full of alphabets from the right hand side of the shop. In the end I hand drew the flowers in pencil, as the pencil marks disappear in the firing process. Using the paints on the table, I filled in each flower with a different colour. For the edges and the writing, Dish provides a selection of numbered small squeezy tubes of each paint colour, which can be applied directly onto your item to create fine lines. I got inspiration from the items on display, to do the edge of each flower with dots rather than a continuous line, the benefit being that I could see the effect was impressive before trying it on my precious item. During the whole process, if you need help or additional inspiration at any time, the staff are happy to assist and will even do small amounts of drawing onto items at no additional charge (as long as you don't expect them to do the whole thing!)

The whole choosing and painting process is likely to take an absolute minimum of an hour, but more likely will take longer than this, so it's worth ensuring you allow plenty of time. I've never felt rushed when I've been painting, even when every table's been full, the staff are happy for you to take as long as you need. Opening hours are from 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, although the latest you can start painting is at 5pm and they may close earlier than 6pm if noone's in the shop by 5pm. Dish also opens late on a Wednesday, but this time is often used for special evenings (like Diva nights) or for classes, so has to be booked - it is also possible to book at any time, to ensure a table's available when you want one, but I live close enough that I've always just turned up and I've never had a problem.

Once your item is finished, it's simply a case of taking it to the counter and paying for it. Your item is then taken away for firing and you're given a brightly coloured receipt that you need for collection (although I have seen people collect items without this on production of ID). With my last item, I painted it on the Friday afternoon and it was ready for collection on Monday - firing takes two days, and is done by the staff very frequently, but you'll be told the earliest that you can collect the item when you pay for it. On my last visit I was given a Dish loyalty card - I'm not sure if this is a new thing, or if I've just not noticed it before, but it's a great potential money saver. The card is stamped each time you visit, and on the fifth visit the studio cost is free (saving you (4.50 as things stand at the moment). When you collect your item, you get to see it for a moment, before it's packaged up with tissue paper by the staff and put in a clear plastic bag.

Of course you can decide not to create an item at all. It's possible to buy any of the prepainted items around the shop or to have items personally made for you. One of our most unique wedding gifts was a plate signed by my husband's work colleagues - the Dish staff then painted over each inscription and decorated the plate. They can create all sorts of personalised items or bespoke requests either from scratch or with as much input to it as you wish to give. I've never done this myself, as for me the whole fun of Dish is doing your own painting and creating a gift for someone that you've decorated yourself. It's like a grown up version of the Blue Peter makes that I used to create as gifts for my parents when I was a child! Another popular option is to have your child's feet or hands printed onto a plate or tile (or whatever you fancy) and Dish have also recently introduced a 3D plaster impression version of this.

Dish has good facilities, considering it's small size. There are toilets which I've never used personally but friends say are adequate. I'm not sure about baby changing, luckily it's never been an issue the two times I've been since having my daughter, but I have seen people disappearing towards the toilets with babies so I guess there's something! They also have a good selection of teas, coffee, soft drinks and snacks which can be bought, but they're also happy for you to bring your own. And of course, every hot drink is presented in a hand painted mug. There's plenty of space to move around and it's never been a problem taking my daughter in her buggy. Older children are very welcome at Dish to paint their own items and they can even have birthday parties there, which is definitely something we'll consider when our daughter's older. This review has only touched on the possibilities available, as Dish also offer a variety of classes including claymaking and painting, offer a variety of parties and have special events both within the shop and out and about - full details of these are on their website.

POSITIVES
Great fun
Create very personal gifts
Huge range of options
Very friendly and enthusiastic staff

NEGATIVES
Easy to spend far too much money!
Addictive

Summary: Get creative in Reigate