Putney Pottery Painting: £5.95 Fee and Walk-Ins Welcome

Pitter Potter at 234 Upper Richmond Road, London SW15 6TG, is a paint-your-own-pottery studio in Putney where walk-ins are welcome, the studio fee is £5.95 per painter and mugs and cups start from £12.95. The studio is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, with weekend booking highly recommended. Pieces are ready to collect in two weeks, and one fee covers as many pieces as you can paint in a sitting.

Pitter Potter's first studio opened in Putney in 2017, and its own description calls it a cosy, colourful space just off Putney High Street that has become a favourite with local residents. The address is 234 Upper Richmond Road, SW15 6TG. The company has since added a second studio on Wimbledon Hill Road, which opened in March 2026.

The studio is a short walk from the High Street shops, and the company says the Putney room is where it all started. The company registers as Pitter Potter Limited, and its Putney opening in 2017 predates the Wimbledon studio by nine years.

The studio is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Pitter Potter's home page lists Monday as closed except during school holidays, so Monday visits are possible in school holiday weeks. The half-term week beginning 26 October is one of those weeks, and it is worth ringing before a Monday trip.

Walk-ins are welcome, but the studio says weekend booking is highly recommended. Sessions typically last 1 to 2 hours depending on the size of your piece and the age of the painter, so a table for a toddler and a parent is quicker than a table for two adults decorating dinner plates. Book through the website or ring the studio when you want a specific weekend slot.

The studio fee is £5.95 per painter per session. It covers the materials you use during the session plus the glazing and firing of your pottery, and it is charged once per session however many pieces you paint. After that you pay for each piece. The studio holds more than 200 different shapes, so the price list is a selection of the usual choices.

On that price list an egg cup is £8.95, a teacup and saucer is £27.95 and a teapot is £42.95. Mugs and cups start from £12.95, bowls from £17.95, plates from £18.95 and trinket boxes from £18.95. Tiles start from £8.95, flowerpots from £22.95, vases from £39.95 and pet bowls from £19.95. Party animals, which come in over 30 types, are £16.95, and money banks, over 20 types, are £22.95.

For a pair of friends, a mug from £12.95 plus the £5.95 fee is the cheapest sensible way to spend an afternoon here. If you cannot trust your own handwriting, the studio's writing service starts from £10 per item. Christmas baubles are £18.95. Because pieces are priced individually, a family of four can set a budget at the shelf before anyone picks up a brush.

Add the fee to the price list and the real cost per person is easy to see. One painter with a mug from £12.95 pays from £18.90 in total, and one painter with an egg cup at £8.95 pays £14.90. A pair who each choose a mug from £12.95 pay from £37.80 between them, and a parent and child decorating a party animal at £16.95 each pay £45.80 including two fees.

The fee is charged once per painter per session, so a keen painter who does a mug and a spoon rest at £19.95 pays the fee only once. That makes a second small piece much cheaper than a second visit. Staff can also add lettering through the writing service from £10 per item if you want a name or date on the piece without risking your own handwriting.

Pitter Potter breaks the visit into three steps. First you choose a piece from the shelves. Then you paint with the studio's premium colours, with staff on hand if you need inspiration. Finally you leave the piece with the studio, which glazes and kiln-fires it so it is ready to collect in two weeks. All materials are included, and the session is open to all ages.

The studio also runs baby prints, where tiny hand and foot impressions are captured in clay keepsakes, and Sip and Paint evenings for adults who would like a glass in hand. Parties and events cover birthdays, hen parties, baby showers and corporate groups. If your group is large, ring the studio before you book online so the table plan works for everyone.

Your painted piece is ready in around two weeks. If you cannot collect it in person, the studio can deliver within the UK, typically for around £10 per parcel depending on size, weight and destination.

Keep expectations realistic. Underglaze colours look softer on the shelf than they do after firing, and slight variation is part of a hand-painted piece. A mug that starts a little pale will usually be glossier and clearer when it comes back. If you want a gift for a particular date, book your session at least three weeks earlier.

Pitter Potter suits families with young children, groups of friends who want a relaxed afternoon, and anyone who wants a low-key introduction to painting ceramics. The prices are modest, there is no pressure to produce something perfect, and you can paint a small egg cup or a larger plate. Baby and toddler prints also give grandparents a keepsake that is easy to wrap.

It is not the place if you want to learn to throw pots on a wheel, because the studio is a painting studio. For wheel work you would need a different London studio.

After painting, walk down to the High Street and on toward the river, where Putney Bridge and the towpath give you an easy riverside stroll. If you are visiting on a weekday, you could pair the studio with a trip down to Wimbledon Hill Road, where the second Pitter Potter studio opened in March 2026, though that is a separate booking.

Since your piece needs two weeks to come back, you will return to Upper Richmond Road, and many regulars make that second trip a coffee outing. Pick up the finished mug, hand-wash it gently, and enjoy the first cup. The reward for a Putney afternoon is a piece you will use every day.