INTERVIEW WITH MARIO GONSALVES BY CHRIS TIESSEN; PHOTOS BY CHRIS TIESSEN
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT PLAY WITH CLAY?
Driven by my partner Nina’s background in and passion for pottery (and my own desire to elude long commutes) in 2009 Nina and I opened the first Play with Clay location in downtown Guelph. At its core, Play with Clay is an interactive pottery studio that offers ready-to-paint ceramics as well as the opportunity to work with fresh clay. We provide adult and kids’ pottery classes along with one-on- one pottery wheel instruction. Because the Guelph location has been such a success, we’ve opened other Play with Clay locations in downtown Cambridge and in Hamilton (on Locke Street).
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THINGS WE CAN DO AT PLAY WITH CLAY?
We provide various structured activities, including ‘Pottery Painting’, ‘Clay Hand-Building’, ‘Wheel Throwing’, alongside adult pottery classes and kids camps. Our instructors have extensive experience teaching a wide range of hand- building, wheel throwing, and glazing techniques to help ensure the success of everyone’s pottery project. We also organize a wide range of clay parties – including birthday celebrations, bachelorette parties, work events, family and friends gatherings, and more.
CAN JUST ANYONE DROP IN TO PLAY WITH CLAY?
You bet. Drop ins are welcome anytime, although we do suggest making a reservation for larger groups.
YOU ADDED A ‘CLAY BAR’ TO THE BUSINESS MODEL. TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT.
We introduced our ‘Clay Bar’ to the Guelph location in late 2019 – just before the pandemic. It features expansive floor-to-ceiling windows facing Cork Street, in the rear area of our Guelph space. Essentially, the ‘Clay Bar’ is what the name implies: a place to paint, or make, pottery in a bar-like setting that offers food, alcoholic (and non-alc) drinks, and more. It’s an awesome destination to bring a date, meet up with friends, or enjoy family time that (because it’s directed to all ages) everyone can enjoy. The ‘Clay Bar’ has been such a success that we’ve recently extended its hours from 10am til midnight.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE A TYPICAL PLAY WITH CLAY CUSTOMER?
Play with Clay patrons are folks of all ages – and include families, friends looking to gather, young children, and students of all ages. We get lots of university students at the ‘Clay Bar’. They love the comfortable bar-like environment where they can relax and take a break from their studies with a soothing pottery experience.
HOW LONG IS A TYPICAL SESSION AT PLAY WITH CLAY?
We always tell guests to prepare to stay for a minimum of two hours.
WHAT PLAY WITH CLAY ACTIVITY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR A FIRST-TIMER?
I’d probably encourage them to paint one of our ready- made ceramics, or to build a clay mug from scratch.
WHEN NINA AND YOU ARE NOT WORKING, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE HAUNTS IN DOWNTOWN GUELPH?
We’re huge fans of so many downtown Guelph businesses. We’re suckers for wings at The Wooly, pints at Brothers Brewing Co, late-night pasta at La Cucina, and Middle Eastern culinary gems at Retour. And we love digging for vintage at The Patch.
PLAY WITH CLAY
42 WYNDHAM ST N, GUELPH ON
playwithclayguelph.com
