UES Pottery Studio To Open In 116-Year-Old Former Bank

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A sprawling former bank building on First Avenue is getting a creative second life this spring, when a California-based pottery studio will open inside the 116-year-old space.

The Pottery Studio, a membership-based ceramics studio with 10 other locations across the country, is planning to open its newest outpost at 1429 First Ave. between East 74th Street and East 75th Street as early as this March, owner Marshall Blair told Patch.

The nearly 15,000-square-foot space — once home to a bank, and most recently to offices for Memorial Sloan Kettering — features soaring ceilings and oversized arched windows, making it one of the studio’s largest and most architecturally striking locations to date, Blair said.

"It's an old bank building with huge arched windows, and it's just a stunning space," Blair told Patch. "There's not a lot of places like this around, so the community should dig it, I hope."

Blair, a chef by trade, said he turned to ceramics out of necessity when he couldn't find plates he liked for his restaurant, Blair’s, which is now in its 24th year.

Blair began throwing pottery for his restaurants, then opened a small studio near his home. Demand grew rapidly, prompting a move to a much larger space — and eventually to a nationwide expansion. The Upper East Side studio will be the company’s 11th location, joining others in Southern California, San Francisco, Chicago, two in Brooklyn and one other in Manhattan.

Unlike many traditional pottery studios, which are often artist-run and relatively small, Blair said his studios are designed with scale, cleanliness and accessibility in mind.

"I don’t run it like an artist," Blair said. "We run it like a business. We’re there to facilitate potters."

That approach translates into large, light-filled spaces where members and students can spread out, Blair said — a sharp contrast to the "dark, dusty" studios he encountered early on.

The Upper East Side location will offer both monthly classes and memberships for experienced potters. Classes are designed as four-week sessions that guide students through the entire pottery process, from shaping clay to firing and glazing finished pieces, Blair said.

After announcing the Upper East Side location on Instagram, Blair said more than 1,500 people joined the waitlist within a month, far surpassing sign-ups at other New York locations.

Once open, the studio is expected to serve as both a creative hub and a community space, tapping into what Blair sees as a growing interest in hands-on hobbies.

"Pottery’s been around forever," he said. "It’s just having a resurgence."

The new studio will be located at 1429 First Ave.

Know of a business opening or closing in Manhattan? Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.