aoon pottery
2, 8 Alley, Lane Pathum Khongkha, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Book ahead. Nguan's pottery carries the kind of detail that only comes from working with your hands for years, and the workshop sessions let you touch that process yourself. The studio doubles as a café, but the real draw is the chance to sit at a wheel and shape Thai clay under someone who treats pottery as a craft, not a trend.
You walk into a narrow shopfront in Samphanthawong where shelves hold handmade ceramic bowls, plates, and cups in warm, neutral glazes. This is both a working pottery studio and a space where Nguan, the founder, runs hands-on workshops. The same clay that shapes here ends up on tables at COMO Metropolitan Bangkok's Michelin-starred nahm restaurant.
Every piece takes at least 12 days from clay to finished glaze. The two-stage firing process starts at 800 degrees Celsius for 12 hours, then climbs to 1,250 degrees for another 14 to 18 hours. Nguan uses Thai clay sourced from local villages near Bangkok and non-toxic glazes without heavy metals. Nothing here comes from a mold.
Pottery workshops run by appointment. Call a day ahead. The studio opens 11AM to 6PM daily, and sessions cover wheel-throwing and glazing under Nguan, who left a career at Honda to work with clay full-time. Cash only.
The workshop occupies one floor of a narrow building in the Samphanthawong alley, a ten-minute drive from COMO Metropolitan Bangkok, and the ground level functions as both a café and a display space for finished pieces. Every cup and bowl used in the café is ceramic, shaped and glazed in the studio. The collaboration with COMO's Michelin-starred nahm restaurant began when the hotel's executive chef visited looking for bespoke crockery, drawn by the shared philosophy of combining natural, locally-sourced materials. Nguan's pottery is functional first. The pieces are designed to be used, to pour and stack and hold heat, and the workshops teach that same practical approach to ceramics. You shape something you can take home and cook with.
The studio also offers delivery and in-store pickup for finished pieces, and Nguan works on custom commissions. If you are here for a workshop, wear clothes you don't mind dusting with clay. The LGBTQ-friendly space welcomes all levels, first-timer to practiced potter.