Membership Policy

Hi there ! Here is a non exhaustive and pretty boring but essential list of things you need to know before joining us for some clay fun. 🙂

Summary

  1. The membership
  2. Requirements
  3. Access to the studio 
  4. Subscription to a membership
  5. The space
  6. The materials, tools & equipment
  7. Personal belongings
  8. Firings
  9. Data & confidentiality

The membership

  • Access to the studio everyday of the week during the studio opening hours 
  • Access to firings at a reduced price 
  • Use of the space and equipment (7 wheels, an extruder, 6 handbuilding tables, 2 wedging table in three rooms)
  • Clay fees are 1.50€/kg of bisque fired clay (weighed by the studio firing coordinator after the bisque firing)
  • Access to some of our studio glazes, raw materials and tools
  • several shelves dedicated for your work (wet work & bisque work) 
  • One box for your belongings and ready pieces
  • A cellar where you can store your material, etc.
  • Number of members limited to guarantee the access to the equipment & tranquility in the space
  • Firings done by us
  • 20% off every workshops offered at the studio for L members

Requirements:

  • Membership subscriptions are for a minimum period of 3 months 
  • You are responsible for your own liability insurance and must have one when using the studio space
  • Previous experience with clay (with the wheel or handbuilding or both)
  • You will receive a guided tour of the space on the first day of your membership period with explanations of the studio system before you are allowed to use the space and its equipment

Access to the studio

  • Access to the studio everyday of the year during the studio opening hours
  • The front rooms of the studio can be used by the members when both wheels are used at the back or for glazing and when the front room is free (No classes, no use by the studio owner). The rest of the studio space (Back room, kitchen, bathroom, cellar) can be used as much as needed.
  • Violaine Toth Ceramic reserves the right to limit access to some or all of the studio space for workshops, repairs, studio management periods, events and other temporary sessions as needed by the owner
  • Violaine Toth Ceramic is not responsible for organizing the members schedule and access to the wheels (this should be done via the members whatsapp group)

Subscription to a membership

  • Membership subscriptions are for a minimum period of 3 months 
  • The membership remains effective from the day of its purchase for a period of one month. After this period, the membership will be renewed automatically every month. If you wish to end your membership, you need to let us know by email 3 weeks in advance otherwise the upcoming month will be due
  • If the member violates any of the terms of the agreement, the membership period will terminate immediately without a refund of the started month
  • Memberships are not refundable 
  • The total membership fees per month is:
    – S membership : 100€/month (1 x 3 hours/week)
    – L membership : 200€/month (15 hours/week)
  •  and does not include extra costs (firing costs, clay costs (1.50€/kg of bisque fired clay)) 
  • After signing the membership agreement, you will be added to the whatsapp group « studio members », make sure you read all information regarding the studio’s daily life from time to time to be aware of anything happening there, as well as questions, schedule changes, use of the space etc.
  • Memberships can’t be shared
  • Once a year, L members may suspend their membership one month during the full calendar year without paying membership (for traveling, personal reasons, etc.). The pause request must be sent by email minimum one month before the pause date. For example, if the request is to pause from 1st of December, the member must send their request by email by 1st of November at the latest. The Studio reserves the right to reject requests for pausing a membership and offer another month instead. This rule does not apply for membership shorter than six months.
  • Membership fees may be increased at the Company’s discretion. Members shall be given at least 1 month notice of any increase in Membership fees. This allows Members to cancel with the necessary notice time if they do not agree to pay the increased fee.
  • Every invoice from the studio to the member (firing, material, and all costs incurred) must be paid as soon as possible and maximum one month after reception or additional fees will occur.

The space

  • You shall use the studio in a careful and respectful way. Extra costs will occur in case of damages resulting from improper use of the space, its tools, furnitures or equipment
  • Check the studio schedule before using the front room to see if it is free from classes or owner’s use
  • When using the front room, place the “Closed” banner on the entrance door and do not open to any visitors or people passing by or leave the metal curtain down in front of the front door.
  • Only use the front room when there is no space available in the back room
  • Make sure you respect the personal space and time of other people working in the studio as well as others pieces (no touching of greenware pieces)
  • After working in the studio, clean the station where you have been working (mop the floor and sponge all surfaces), mark all your pieces with your name or logo, place them on your shelve and don’t leave anything in the shared space(belongings, clay pieces, etc.)
  • Do not eat or drink in the studio areas except in the kitchen with clean hands (glaze & clay are toxic)
  • Smoking, consuming drugs or alcohol is not allowed in the studio
  • Discrimination, abuse of any person, racism, homophobia, antisemitism or stigmatization towards any minorities or ethnicities will result in the immediate cancellation of the membership without notice or refund.
  • The member shall use their own studio shoes when arriving in the studio and leave their outdoor shoes in the entrance of the studio
  • The member will use the entrance of the building to get inside the studio
  • Visitors, pets and children are not allowed in the studio space
  • Respect the studio schedule (Studio open to members everyday from 7h to 22h)
  • Nobody is allowed to sleepover in the studio space. Do not use the space during the night (10pm to 7am) and avoid loud noises or disturbances in late hours
  • Make sure you air the kiln room when you arrive in the morning (only open the upper windows of the kiln room, never the lower ones by using the appropriate stepladder) Use a gaz mask to enter the room if the kiln room door is closed before you air it.
  • Nothing should be placed on top of the kilns
  • You are responsible for locking the doors, closing the windows and turning off the heating when you are the last one leaving the studio in the evening. If there is a firing on, make sure you check that the kiln room door is also closed, and that there are no lights left on in any room
  • The membership shall not be used for industrial / mass production or big series production in order to give equal access to the facilities and firings to every member
  • Use of the wheel is on a first-come basis
  • Only throw away organic material (food, etc.) in the organic trash in the kitchen to avoid any parasites

The materials, tools & equipment

  • The use of some studio glazes is included in the membership price
  • Any external glaze must be approved by the studio owner in the first hand
  • Clay must be purchased at the studio (1.50€/kg of bisqued fired clay) . Members are allowed to purchase their own clay (only clay which can handle a temperature of 1220°C) Any clay which cannot be fired at this temperature is forbidden at the studio and the member will be charged compensation costs for using inappropriate clay bodies.
  • You will be required to use the equipment and tools carefully as well as cleaning them all with a wet sponge after usage. All used surfaces and equipment must be cleaned and dishes, tools returned to their place before leaving the studio in order to minimize the risks to members caused by breathing clay and glaze dusts
  • Cleaning of the surfaces and tools should be done with the use of water in buckets available in the front room. If you need to move around the studio or go to the bathroom, make sure you clean your hands in one of the buckets first
  • You are responsible for your own recycling
  • After using the space, place any leftover clay (too wet or too dry) in the corresponding clay container. Once placed in the collective container, the clay can be used by every member. Do not mix several colors together in a bucket (except in the one labeled « mixed clay ») Before switching to another color of clay, make sure that the previous one is cleaned up
  • The recycling of the collective clay and cleaning of the collective water should be made by the members      
  • Place your bag of clay on your shelf and write your name on it. 
  • Do not cut anything directly on the plaster table, use a wooden board
  • No mold making using plaster in the studio space
  • Do not sand your piece inside the studio (if you need to, wear a mask and go outside)
  • Do not broom the floor. If you need to clean the floor, use a wet mop
  • Towels should go in the laundry basket when dirty. Do not shake them if dry in order not to spread silica dust in the air
  • When using the glazes, make sure to use a clean wooden stick for each color in order not to mix the different glazes together. After using the glazing buckets clean them carefully and place them back on the shelf
  • Clay must not be disposed of in sinks and drains. All members must use disposal buckets provided
  • If a tool, material or anything should be purchased or replaced, write it down on the chalkboard

Personal belongings

  • You are responsible for your own belongings in the studio and should take them with you when leaving. Place the items of low value in your member box situated in the kitchen or on your shelf in the backroom. The use of individual materials, as well as the use of combinations of clay, should be clearly labeled, maintained in your individual shelf space in the front room in a box, and kept separately from the shared studio materials. Do not leave personal items in the shared space (only on your shelf)
  • The use of external clay is not allowed before approval. If allowed, place it in a closed labeled box and recycle it yourself.

  • After the cancellation of a membership and before the end of the membership period, all the personal items of the member in all areas of the studio should be removed.

Firings

  • The firings are made by us (do not use the kilns on your own (includes loading, unloading, opening the kilns, setting up the controlers, starting/stopping a firing unless the studio owner allowed you to)
  • Members can fire individual pieces or a full kiln (price per kilo)
  • Firing fees here
  • Members have to book a kiln in advance to proceed to firing unless it is a low amount of individual pieces
  • After glazing your pieces, place them on the kiln room shelves labeled as “ready to fire”
  • Before the end of your membership, collect all your pieces (ready, bisqued)
  • The studio is not responsible and will not refund any damages happening to pieces during the firing ( cracks, bubbles, glaze melting down, changes of shape and color, etc. )
  • In case of kiln damages (shelves, resistances, etc. ) you will be required to compensate the studio for incurred reparation costs
  • Violaine Toth Ceramic reserves the right to change the price of kiln firing, studio clay and any other materials offered by the studio for sale at its discretion with no minimum notice period
  • To give all members equal access to the studio space and firing, production will be limited to medium series or unique pieces (no mass production). Violaine Toth Ceramic reserves the right to reject requests for more frequent firings and use of the studio for production purposes. Exceptions can be discussed with the studio owner.

Data & confidentiality

  • Violaine Toth’s processes and design are protected by Intellectual property and the member is not authorized to copy/disclose any pieces or processes during and after the membership period
  • Any marketing, educational or other materials of this nature whatsoever produced by the member in connection with Violaine Toth Ceramic shall at all times remain the property of Violaine Toth Ceramic and will be subject to Violaine Toth Ceramic’s copyright
  • The pieces produced by the member at Violaine Toth Ceramic remains the property of the member
  • When posting images on social media, make sure nobody is on the picture and if so, ask for their consent. If you post images of the space or Violaine Toth’s work, make sure you tag @violainetoth.ceramic
  • Your work might be photographed and tagged on our social media. If you disagree, please let us know

If you disagree with something in this list, please do not send us your application.
(If you agree with everything, let’s go!)

That’s it, thanks for reading 🙂