Bubble Wrap and Biscuit Ware: Low-Cost Ways to Keep Potting Through a British Cold Snap

There’s a particular kind of optimism that comes with being a British potter in November: you open the shed door, see your breath, and tell yourself the clay will warm up once you get going. Sometimes it does. Often it doesn’t. Cold and damp are not just uncomfortable; they change how clay behaves, how glazes store and how long everything takes to dry. The good news is that you don’t need a fully insulated studio or a second mortgage to keep working through the colder months.

First, measure the misery

Before you buy anything, get a cheap thermometer and a hygrometer — the kind that costs less than a couple of coffees. Put them at bench height, not on the floor. You’re looking for patterns: does the space sit at 8°C all day, or does it swing? Is the damp coming from the walls, the floor or your own breath? A little data stops you spending money on the wrong fix. If your workspace regularly drops near freezing, that’s a different problem from a garage that hovers at 12°C but feels clammy.

Clay, glazes and the cold shoulder

Clay doesn’t love frost. Repeated freeze-thaw can affect plasticity and make reclaimed clay more temperamental, so keep bags off concrete floors and away from external walls. A pallet or a couple of bricks is enough to lift storage. Lidded buckets are your friend; they slow down drying and keep dust and damp out. If you work with reclaim, don’t let it sit as a soggy mystery in an open bucket for weeks — squeeze it to a workable consistency and cover it properly.

Glazes need a bit of thought too. A cold, damp shed can cause separation, condensation on lids and, in unheated spaces, actual freezing. Bring small quantities of glaze into the house if you can, and label everything. Don’t leave brushes standing in water; they’ll go stiff and sad. Tools benefit from a wipe-down and a light oil on metal parts before storage.

Ventilation is not the enemy

It’s tempting to seal every draught and crank up a heater. But pottery produces dust and fumes, and a sealed cold room can turn into a condensation trap. The trick is controlled ventilation: crack a window or vent for ten minutes after a throwing session, then close it. Use a cheap extractor fan or a window-mounted fan if you’re sanding or mixing dry materials. If you’re in a shared studio, ask how the ventilation works before you tape up the gaps.

Warm the potter, not the whole shed

Heating a leaky garage to 20°C is a losing battle. Instead, create a small warm zone: a screen or curtain around your wheel, a low-wattage heater aimed at your legs, a hot water bottle on the chair, fingerless gloves. A sit-on cushion with a hot water bottle underneath can keep you at the wheel far longer than a room heater. For hand comfort, keep a bowl of warm water nearby — not hot — to dip your fingers. Cold hands make for heavy pressure and wobbly cylinders.

If you’re in a conservatory, watch the greenhouse effect: it can be boiling at midday and freezing by 4pm. A max-min thermometer helps you see the swing. Move clay and glazes to the most stable corner, away from glass.

Low-cost fixes that actually work

Bubble wrap taped to single-glazed windows, old blankets over shelving, a curtain across the door, a draught excluder made from a rolled-up towel. None of it is glamorous, and all of it helps. A dehumidifier can be worth sharing between neighbours or studio mates; run it during the day, not while you’re working with dust. Damp traps in storage boxes are cheap and cheerful. Raise shelves off the floor, keep cardboard away from walls, and check for leaks before the first frost.

Know when to down tools

There’s a point where a space is simply too cold for reliable results. If glazes are freezing, clay is hard as a brick and your fingers ache after ten minutes, you’re not getting your best work. That’s the time to move small projects indoors, book a session at a local studio, or focus on planning, sketching and reclaiming. A shared studio with proper heating can be cheaper than running a heater in a shed all winter. And there’s no shame in making smaller work, or switching to hand-building on a kitchen table with a wipe-clean mat.

A realistic winter rhythm

Think of winter as a different season for your practice, not a pause. Throw less, trim more, glaze in short bursts, and use the cold months to test tiles and sort your tools. Keep a notebook of what works in your space — which corner stays driest, how long a covered bag of clay takes to soften, what the thermometer says on a frosty morning. By the time spring arrives, you’ll know your workspace better than any guide can tell you.

Potting through a British winter is less about heroic heating and more about small, sensible habits. Keep the clay off the floor, the lids on, the air moving and your hands warm. The clay will forgive a lot — but it won’t forgive a frozen shed and a forgotten bucket.