Pottery Gift Guide: Top 10 Best Gifts for Potters in 2025
Shopping for someone who can’t get enough of clay? This 2025 pottery gift guide has you covered!
I’ve organized the list by price category, not in order of awesomeness, but if you want to know what my number 1 pick is for 2025, skip ahead to #4 + the bonus list!
Want even more recommendations? Check out the 2024 Pottery Gift Guide!
Gifts for Potters between $15-$50:
Basic Kemper Tool Kit ($19.06)
1) Basic Kemper Potter’s Tool Kit:
So your friend/spouse/sibling/neighbor/kid/etc. has started taking pottery, and they are ready for their own tool kit. YES!
A great place to start is the Basic Kemper Tool Kit ($19.06), which includes the basic needs for wheel-throwing and hand-building pottery.
If you want to add to their basic tool kit and have a bigger budget to work with, you can also consider the MudTools Essential 10 Piece Starter Tool Kit ($109 on Blick.com and $129 on Amazon).
2) Handle Extruders & Handle Forms
Handles are a lot to handle sometimes. If the potter in your life has complained about them, and has mentioned that pulling handles is not their cup of tea, these tools might help ease the process:
Diamond Core Concave Handheld Clay Extruder ($48): There are other designs like this one and this one, but the concave one is my personal pick. Looking for a more budget option? Kemper makes a simple one ($6.76, middle tool in image) and there are these Therwen brand ones on Amazon ($18.49).
Handle Forms to shape handles just right: Check out this 12 piece set from Amazon for $8.99. The long rectangle form and the large classic-curve shaped form are my go-tos.
Want some more handle making inspiration? Check out this blog post about how to make handles — I go into a whole bunch of options there.
Mudtools Do All Trim Tool ($42.98)
Of all the trimming tools I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot), the Mudtools Do All Trim Tool ($42.98) seems to be the one I keep coming back to this year, so I had to give it a shout out.
It takes a little bit of getting used to, and I write about that here, but it really is worthwhile!
Gifts for Potters between $50-$100:
Hey Soola Bag ($59-$65)
4) Soola Bag:
I’m not kidding when I say that my entire pottery class has a Soola bag. We love them so much we tried making a tower of them (see photo).
When I moved to France, I stuffed my Soola with all the tools I could fit in there, and that’s what I brought with me. This bag can fit a lot and it is quite sturdy.
It also comes in a lot of different colors. Like this one in earth tones ($65) or this one in fun funky colors ($59) or this one in deep red ($65).
Want to take your gift to the next level?
Fill the Soola bag with some or all of the following (*BONUS GIFT LIST!):
a Diamond Core Tools 3-Piece Fine Point Set 1 (FP1, FP3, FP5) for carving
a couple hake brushes for glazing
a bulb syringe precision applicator for slip trailing
a set of textured rolling pins
a set of letter stamps
a set of Mayco fundamentals 2oz underglazes
a Hydroflask water bottle to stay hydrated (it first in the side pocket!)
a punny baseball cap for potters (they’ll get the joke!)
snacks and chocolates!
For even more ideas, check out this list I put together for my pottery students.
5) Diamond Core Carving Tools:
I am certain I will recommend these tools every year.
If this blog post on carving resonates, and the clay lover in your life also loves to carve, THIS is the ultimate gift for them.
I have a whole post comparing carving and loop tools HERE if you want to explore all the options, but if I had to narrow it down, this is the set to get: Diamond Core Tools 3-Piece Fine Point Set 1 (FP1, FP3, FP5) ($99).
The FP1 is excellent for fine details. The FP3 and FP5 are great for carving out backgrounds for sgraffito and for carving thicker bands.
Gifts for Potters between $100-$250:
Giffin Grip® Mini ($186.57)
Honestly, the Giffin Grip Mini ($186.57) saves so much time at the trimming stage that it made it into my top picks again this year.
It’s a low profile attachment that goes onto most standard pottery wheels, and it holds and centers pieces in place to make trimming the base of a pot (a step many potters take to finish their vessels) a lot less stressful.
If the potter in your life finds trimming most challenging, they will hug you for this.
Small Ceramic’s Mini Pottery Wheel ($211.41)
7) Tiny Pottery Wheel:
I also recommended this last year, and it’s back on the list for 2025!
I recently moved to a small apartment in France, and I no longer have access to my large oh so wonderful pottery wheel.
I like to throw miniatures, so this miniature pottery wheel from Small Ceramics (that you can even bring with you on the plane!) is quite perfect.
If you have a bigger budget, and you are looking for something that can handle more than just up to 1lb of clay yet is also compact and small-space friendly: check out the Speedball Artista Potter’s Wheel ($621.40 on Blick.com and $629 on Amazon). It’s a table-top pottery wheel that is easy to transport and tuck away if needed.
Gifts for Potters over $250:
Bailey Minimight ($525)
8) Small Slab Roller:
Slab-building is a favorite among many of my hand-building students. While rolling out slabs with a rolling pin is a tried and true method, and then there is always the technique of making slabs by throwing the clay at the table, both of these methods can be a bit physical.
For an easier slab rolling experience, I recommend something like the Nidec Shimpo SRM-1624 Mini Slab Roller ($674.95) or the Bailey Minimight II ($525).
Have space for something larger? Check out the Brent ($3325)!
Shimp VL-Whisper Potter’s Wheel ($1814.29)
9) Pottery Wheel:
If your ceramics aficionado is ready to practice 24/7 and they have the space for it, consider a pottery wheel.
For beginners and more experienced potters, you can’t go wrong with the Nidec Shimpo VL-Whisper Potter's Wheel ($1814.29 on Blick.com). It’s sturdy, powerful, and just great!
Looking for something that takes up a little less space? Check out the Speedball Artista Potter’s Wheel ($621.40 on Blick.com and $629 on Amazon).
You will find a lot of low budget wheels online. Be cautious. Lower budget wheels just don’t compete in terms of mechanical construction, usability, and longevity. That said, the Vevor wheels on Amazon are decent starter wheels ($108). A potter I met in France has one for her entire business, and she’s been using it for a couple years. I tried it out, and while it can’t handle more than a couple pounds, it did the job!
Skutt KMT-818 ($2686)
10) Cash for an Electric Kiln:
Alright. You are ready to go BIG.
The potter in your life is ready to fire their own pots at home.
Move over car with a bow. It’s kiln season.
Where to begin? I have a whole post on picking the perfect kiln here.
Since this is quite an involved personal choice and shipping can take a while, you may want to consider a nice envelope full of cash for this one and definitely little bit of discussion ahead of time.
There are many considerations to keep in mind before taking the leap to buying a kiln. To help you get organized, you can find a FREE guide to purchasing an Electric Kiln here.
For potters based in the USA, I recommend Skutt kilns. Skutt support and technicians are really top notch. If you are looking for a started kiln from Skutt, I recommend the KMT-818 and the KMT-818 furniture kit ($345.45).
May your gift-giving be joyful!
All of the products above are genuine recommendations. A few of the links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and a Blick Art Materials Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your purchases help me with creating my own art, and I am super grateful! Image credits: images are either my own or pulled from the supplier websites.
