Membership Levels Explained

Four colors. No wrong answers.

Green, Yellow, Purple, Black. Every membership at The Clay Hole is one of those four colors, and your color decides what your hands get to touch: the tools, the glazes, the slab molds, the size of your shelf. I’m Dan, and I built it this way because not everybody needs the same access.

Green Yellow Purple Black
Join The Clay Hole Find my level in 60 seconds

The whole system in about two minutes, straight from me. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.

The 30-second version

Four levels. One studio.

Higher levels unlock more stuff, not better treatment. Tap a level to see the studio from that level.

Every price is monthly, with no contracts. Clay and glaze firing are separate at every level, and identical at every level: glaze firing runs $0.05 per cubic inch with a $4.80 minimum, and bisque firing is free. The color never changes that part.

How it works in the building

It all runs on colored stickers.

Walk the studio and you’ll see them everywhere. On the tools, above the glazes, around the slab molds: little colored stickers. The rule is one sentence long. Your color unlocks your color, plus every color below it. Never a color above it.

And if you ever spot an orange sticker, that one is not a membership level. It marks my own stash, and no level opens it. Not even Black. Anyone can order their own to use, though. A gold sticker means a raku glaze, which never goes into a normal glaze firing.

Pick a level. Watch what unlocks.

Green stickers Yellow stickers Purple stickers Black stickers Orange: owner only

Faded means locked at that level.

The equipment is never gated. All 29 wheels, the slab rollers, the worktables, the kilns: open to every level, Green included. Stickers cover the consumables and the toys, not the studio.

Billing mechanics (the 25th, join days, pausing, your first class) live on Membership, Explained.

Shelves inside The Clay Hole stacked with slab molds and tools, each section marked with the colored stickers that show which membership level can use them
The mold room. Every section wears a sticker.

The deep dive

Meet the four levels.

Same studio at every level. A different toolbox, glaze wall and shelf.

Purple Level · $200/mo · 6 classes

Almost everybody ends up on Purple sooner or later. It’s the level I built the studio around: the tools get serious, most of the glaze wall opens, and your shelf stops sharing. If you’re going to be here every week, this is usually the answer.

What unlocks

  • 6 instructed classes a month, the cheapest per class of any level ($33.33)
  • Thousands of tools, including the bladed tools
  • 550+ glazes, about 85% of the wall
  • Every slab mold through XXL
  • A giant private shelf, 36×16×14″, no divider, all yours (3.5× Green’s space)
  • $4 off every bag of clay, and 6 of the 7 dipping buckets included
  • First pick when workshops and events land on the calendar

The limits

  • About 15% of the wall still sits above you
  • The seventh dipping bucket (Dan’s Secret Sauce) is a Black Level glaze, so it is $6 a small or medium piece and $11 a large one
  • It’s $55 a month more than Green. Worth it when you’ll use it. Not before.
Join at Purple · $200/mo Not sure? Take the 60-second quiz

Side by side

All of it, in one table.

Tap a column header to light a level up.

What you get Green Yellow Purple Black
Monthly price $145 $170 $200 $275
Instructed classes 4 a month 5 a month 6 a month 8 a month
Cost per class $36.25 $34.00 $33.33 (lowest) $34.38
Tools Bring your own (stamps and texture rollers provided) Hundreds of tools Thousands, incl. the bladed tools All of them, incl. the wall extruder and Diamond Core
Glazes Green stickers, about 5% + Yellow, about 15% 550+, about 85% All 650+, 100%
Slab molds Small Small + medium Everything through XXL Everything, incl. the giants
Your shelf 24×12×8″, divided 24×12×12″, divided 36×16×14″, private 48×16×16″, private
Clay discount None $2 a bag $4 a bag $6 a bag
Dipping buckets Per piece: $10 S/M, $15 L Per piece: $6 S/M, $11 L 6 of 7 included All 7 included
Guest pass $35, then $50 $35, then $50 $35, then $50 $35, then $50
Pause price $25 a month $30 a month $35 a month $50 a month
Spots Open Open Open 20, total

Guest passes are $35 for a guest’s first visit and $50 for every visit after, the same at every Level, and refunded if your guest joins that day. Pausing: up to 3 months a calendar year (2 for Black), arranged by 4 PM on the 24th.

Shelf space

Your shelf, drawn to scale.

Purple holds 3.5 times the room of Green, and Black holds 5.3 times.

Green 24×12×8″ · 2,304 cu in · the baseline divided
Yellow 24×12×12″ · 3,456 cu in · 1.5× Green divided
Purple 36×16×14″ · 8,064 cu in · 3.5× Green private
Black 48×16×16″ · 12,288 cu in · 5.3× Green private

About that word divided: Green and Yellow shelves are one shelf with a clean dividing line down the middle and your name on your half. Your half is genuinely yours. Purple and Black are all yours, no line, no neighbor.

Already know you’ll fill whichever one you pick? There’s a whole post on that: Out of shelf space, four real fixes.

The money math

Why the prices are what they are.

No mystery, no made-up prestige. Some glazes cost several times what others cost. Some tools cost a lot more, or wear out a lot quicker. The more expensive the stuff at your fingertips, the more the level costs. That’s my whole pricing model.

Per class, it’s nearly a tie

Green $36.25. Yellow $34.00. Purple $33.33. Black $34.38. Purple is the cheapest seat in the house per class. You are never really paying for the classes when you upgrade. You’re paying for what surrounds them.

The Purple jump is the big one

Dollar for dollar of shelf space: Green to Yellow buys 46 cubic inches per extra dollar. Yellow to Purple buys 154. Purple to Black buys 56. If shelf room is what you’re chasing, Purple is the steal of the four.

Your clay habit, discounted

How many bags of clay do you go through a month? 2

  • Green saves $0. Full price.
  • Yellow saves $4/mo ($48 a year)
  • Purple saves $8/mo ($96 a year)
  • Black saves $12/mo ($144 a year)

Clay starts around $28 a 25 lb bag, studio clay only. Discounts apply to every single bag.

The 60-second quiz

Find your level.

Four questions. A recommendation at the end, even when the right fit is the cheap one.

Question 1 of 4

Do you own your own basic pottery tools?

Changing your mind

Pick wrong? Fix it.

There is no wrong level here. There’s only what you want at your fingertips right now, and “right now” moves. So the levels move with you.

Upgrade

Any moment, mid-month. Pick the new level on the membership page and it’s live. No waiting, no phone call.

Downgrade

Starts the beginning of the next month. Text us and we’ll set it up. Capped at twice a year, so pick with a little intention.

Pause

$25, $30, $35 or $50 a month by level, up to 3 months a calendar year (2 for Black). Arrange it by 4 PM on the 24th. Your shelf and your streak survive.

Cancel

By 11:59 PM Mountain on the 24th at me.theclayhole.com and you won’t be charged for the next month. No refunds, ever, so the 24th is the date that matters.

The details

Four things that shape the choice.

Green is about 5% of the glaze wall. It’s the whole studio and all the equipment, on your own tools, with starter glazes. A great door. A small glaze shelf.

Green and Yellow shelves are divided. One shelf, a clean line down the middle, your name on your half. It’s yours, and it has a neighbor.

Black is capped at 20, total. Not a marketing number. When all 20 are taken, they’re taken. Ask an instructor where things stand.

No refunds. Ever. On any membership, at any level, for any reason. Cancel by the 24th and you simply aren’t charged again. That’s the deal.

Keep going

The rest of the story.

Membership, ExplainedBilling, the 25th, join days, pausing, and your first class. The mechanics behind the colors. The Virtual TourWalk all 10,000 square feet from your couch. See the glaze wall you just read about. Class Times & HolidaysInstructed classes Monday to Thursday evenings plus Monday mornings. Open studio Friday nights and weekend mornings. New Member DealsThe current codes and discounts, before you join rather than after. The FAQsEvery rule, price, and policy in one place, kept current. Out of Shelf Space?Why every shelf fills up and four real fixes, including the math on upgrading.

Questions

Level questions, answered.

Can I change my level after I join?

Yes. Upgrades happen any moment, mid-month, right on the membership page. Downgrades start the beginning of the next month: text us and we’ll set it up. Downgrades are capped at twice a year.

Which level do most members choose?

Purple, sooner or later. It’s the first level with a fully private shelf, about 85% of the glaze wall, thousands of tools, and the lowest cost per class at $33.33. Plenty of members start at Green or Yellow and migrate.

Do Green Level Members really bring their own tools?

The basics, yes: sponges, needle tools, ribs, a potter’s knife. The studio still provides stamps, texture rollers, and every piece of equipment: wheels, slab rollers, worktables, kilns. Equipment is never gated at any level.

What do the colored stickers around the studio mean?

Every tool, glaze, and slab mold carries a colored sticker. Your membership color opens your color plus every color below it, never a color above it. Orange stickers mark my own things at every level, and anyone can order their own to use. Gold stickers mean raku glaze.

Is my shelf really mine?

Yes. Green and Yellow get their own named half of a divided shelf (24×12×8″ and 24×12×12″). Purple and Black get fully private shelves (36×16×14″ and 48×16×16″), no divider, no neighbor.

Are the wheels or kilns limited by level?

No. All 29 wheels, the slab rollers, the worktables, and the kilns are open to every level, Green included. Levels change which tools, glazes, and slab molds you can use, never the equipment.

Why is Black Level limited to 20 members?

I cap Black at 20 memberships so the rarest glazes and the most expensive tools stay genuinely available to the people paying for them. If all 20 are taken, ask an instructor where the list stands.

How much does a guest pass cost?

The same at every Level: $35 for a guest’s first visit and $50 for every visit after that. Guests can come back as often as they like, always with you, and they use your Level of tools and glazes up to Purple. The day’s pass is refunded if your guest joins that day.

The part where you decide

Pick a color. Come get muddy.

Whichever color you choose, you walk through the same door into the same 10,000 square feet. The same instructors, the same kilns, the same people cheering when your first mug survives the fire. The color just decides what’s at your fingertips when you sit down. Start where it fits. Move when it doesn’t.

Join The Clay Hole Still torn? Take the quiz

Still have a question a page can’t answer? Text us at 385-241-5528. A human answers.

Purple Level$200/mo Join