Work at The Clay Hole
We are always looking for our next instructor.
Not because somebody is about to quit. Because people move, go back to school, have babies, take the other job, and life almost never gives us much warning. The studios that end up scrambling are the ones with nobody on the list.
We would rather already know you.
The honest version
This page is not one job posting. It is a list.
We keep two of them. One for evening classes, one for mornings. When a spot opens up, and it will, we start at the top of the list and start making calls. That is the whole system.
So we are not asking you to wait until you see something advertised. By the time we advertise, we are already in a hurry, and hiring in a hurry is how studios end up with somebody who can throw beautifully and cannot stand beginners.
If you teach pottery, or you have wanted to, get your name in front of us now. One email. That is the entire ask on this page.
Evenings
Our instructed classes run in the evenings, Monday through Thursday, and they are full of grown adults who came to make something after work.
Mornings
A separate list, and a separate hire. We run mornings now and we are opening up more of them. Different crowd, different energy, same job.
The room you would be working in
Before the job descriptions, the part that actually decides it
Plenty of people can teach pottery. The reason instructors either love it here or quietly burn out has almost nothing to do with clay.
You are never the only adult in the room
Four instructors work every instructed class. Wheel side and hand-building side, a lead on each, and support alongside them. Nobody gets left holding forty people on their own, and nobody has to fake knowing something.
Grown adults being grown adults
People bring drinks. The language is not filtered. The laughing gets loud and stays loud. It is a good room, and it is not a quiet one. If that is not your room, you would be miserable here, and we would honestly rather you find that out today.
Everybody is welcome, and we mean everybody
Beliefs, religion and politics stay at the door. Every background, every kind of person, same welcome. We say out loud in every class that this is an LGBTQ+ friendly studio, because saying it plainly is the only way anyone believes it.
There are cameras around
Around three million people follow this studio across platforms, and reels get filmed during class. You do not have to be the star of anything. You do have to be comfortable existing in the background of a video.
Members are the point, not the pottery
The building is ridiculous. It still is not the reason anybody stays. People keep coming back because somebody learned their name and noticed when they were stuck. That is the job, and the clay is how it gets done.
There is a dog
His name is Mud. He is a 35 pound miniature Australian Labradoodle and he is more popular than Dan. Everyone has made their peace with it.
One rule that is not negotiable
Zero tolerance for negativity aimed at the owner, at management, at each other or at our members. Disagree with us all day long, to our faces, and we will listen and might well change our minds. That is welcome and it has happened plenty of times.
Talk about people behind their backs and you are done. That one has no version where we bend.
Two taps
Which of the three should you be reading?
There is a paid lead role on each side of the studio, and a trade program that runs alongside both. Answer two questions and we will point you at yours.
1. Where are your hands happiest?
2. Have you taught pottery to other people before?
Paid position · Pink shirt
Wheel throwing instructor
You are the lead on the wheels. Twenty-nine of them, a room full of people at every possible skill level, and one of them is sitting down at a wheel for the first time in their life tonight.
Some of them have been throwing for a decade and want a real conversation about a foot ring. Most of them are somewhere in the middle and stuck on the same thing they were stuck on last week. Your night is spent moving between all of it.
What you are actually doing in there
- Teaching a total beginner to center clay for the very first time
- Getting the member who has been here a year to finally pull that wall thin
- Demos and one on one coaching all night. We do not lecture at the room
- Noticing the person in the corner who has not asked for help and was never going to
- Opening and closing the studio with the rest of the team on your nights
The bar, which is a real one
- You have taught wheel throwing in a studio. Not shown a friend. Taught
- You can center and throw 6 to 8 pounds consistently, and throw it well
- You can throw and reproduce any standard form. Bowl, mug, plate, vase, lidded jar
- You can work in whatever clay we hand you
- You can narrate what your hands are doing while your hands are doing it. That is a separate skill from throwing well, and in here it is the one that matters most
- When a beginner’s pot collapses, something useful comes out of your mouth in about two seconds
- You can keep a room full of wheels moving without getting stuck at one of them for twenty minutes
The physical side, honestly
On your feet the whole shift. Hands in cold water and clay for hours. Crouching down to wheel height over and over. Lifting 50 pounds now and then. Your clothes are going to live in the wash.
You are a potter, though. None of that is news to you.
Getting on the wheel list
Email Kyle, our general manager, if all three of these are true
- You have actually taught pottery. In a studio, to people who were not already your friends. Teaching is its own craft and we are hiring for that one.
- At least three years of real dedication to clay. Not three years of owning a wheel. Three years of going back to it.
- You would fit in here beautifully. Go back and read the room section, then be honest with yourself about it. We would rather you skip us than force it.
Missing one of the three? Do not close the tab. Read the trade instructor program further down, because it was built for exactly that.
Paid position · Pink shirt
Hand-building instructor
You are the lead on the other side of the studio, and it is the side that surprises people. Slabs, coils, pinch, texture, sculpture, and tables full of members making things a wheel could never make.
This is not the consolation prize side of a pottery studio. Half our members never touch a wheel and never plan to, and they are making some of the best work in the building. There are also more than 150 slab molds over there, all the way through XXL, and they are a huge part of what people come in for.
What you are actually doing in there
- Getting someone’s first slab piece to survive being assembled
- Teaching coil work to a person who thought coils meant kindergarten snakes, and watching that land
- Running the slab rollers and keeping that whole corner moving
- Talking someone through a sculpture that has gone sideways, without taking it out of their hands
- Noticing the person in the corner who has not asked for help and was never going to
- Opening and closing the studio with the rest of the team on your nights
The bar, which is a real one
- You have taught hand-building in a studio. Not shown a friend. Taught
- Slab rollers, and slab construction by hand when there is no roller free
- Coil building and pinch, taught properly, not as a warm up exercise
- Press molds and sprigs
- Sculpture and figurative work
- Surface texture and carving
- Underglaze technique, and enough glazing knowledge to keep somebody out of trouble
- You can narrate what your hands are doing while your hands are doing it. In here that is the skill that matters most
You do not need to throw
Really. Different side of the room, different skill set, equal standing. There is a wheel lead in every class and that person has the wheels covered.
If you happen to throw as well, say so. It is a nice bonus and it is not the bar.
Two things you would not be responsible for
Kiln loading and firing is not on you, and neither is glaze mixing or keeping the dipping buckets up. We have people for both.
Cleanup and closing, though, is a shared job and everybody carries it, instructors included.
Getting on the hand-building list
Email Kyle, our general manager, if all three of these are true
- You have actually taught hand-building. In a studio, to people who were not already your friends.
- At least three years of real dedication to clay. Three years of going back to it, not three years of meaning to.
- You would fit in here beautifully. The room section above is the honest description. Hold yourself up against it.
Missing one of the three? Keep reading. The trade instructor program below was built for exactly that.
Both roles
The part where most job pages stop talking
A shift here is hours long and you are on for all of it. Talking, encouraging, reading the room, catching the problem before the person gets frustrated with themselves. It is more social than almost any job you have had.
We have watched good instructors love this for three months and then quietly run out of gas. So we say the hard part up front now.
You have to actually like beginners
Not tolerate them. Like them. The instructors who run dry in here are the ones performing the enthusiasm instead of having it, and everybody in the room can feel the difference by week three.
You have to know how you refill
Some people need an hour of silence. Some need a drive. Some need a whole day with no humans in it. Know which one is yours and protect it, so what walks through our door is your best.
You have to tell us when it gets heavy. Before it gets heavy
We can shift things around. We can pull weight off you. We can talk. What we cannot do is any of that if you go quiet for two months and then hand us a resignation.
Nobody expects you to be delighted about everything all the time. We expect you to be honest with us, and to leave whatever else is going on outside the door for the length of a class.
That is the actual job.
Walk through it
What a shift actually looks like
Same class, two different jobs. Flip between them.
- Before the doorsOpen up and set the room
In early with the team. Wheels, water, bats, clay, the boring things that decide whether the first hour runs smooth or ragged. You are paid for this half hour. Nobody here works for free.
- First stretchFind the new people fast
Somebody in this room has never touched clay. Somebody else has been coming a year. You are figuring out in the first fifteen minutes who needs you first and who is fine for now.
- The middleRounds, demos, rescues
Constant movement. A demo at the table when three people need the same thing. One on one when one person needs something specific. And the quiet scan for the person who has stopped and is pretending they have not.
- Last stretchLanding everyone
Getting pieces off wheels and onto shelves in one piece, answering the last round of questions, and giving the room its heads up before the bell so nobody panics.
- After the bellClose it down together
Cleanup is a shared job and the whole team carries it, you included. Then the lights, then the door. The faster everyone pitches in, the faster everyone goes home.
- 15 to 20 minutes earlyArrive ready to roll
Not on the dot. Early enough to settle in, say hello to the team, find out what tonight looks like, and start the class with full energy instead of catching up to it.
- First stretchStart your rounds
Talk to members. Learn names. Offer help before it is asked for. The whole value of this role is that somebody is circulating while the lead is deep in a lesson.
- The middleStep in, do not wait
If somebody is standing around waiting for the lead instructor, that is your cue. Take it. You are also our second set of eyes: someone struggling, a safety thing, a vibe that needs lifting.
- Your own workYes, you get to make things too
When the room genuinely does not need you, you are welcome to be at a wheel or a table on your own piece. Radar stays on. That is the trade.
- After the bellStay until the checklist is done
If nobody needs you when the bell rings, start working the after-class studio checklist. Everybody carries it equally, and the quicker it gets done the quicker everyone is out the door.
Trade program · Purple shirt
Trade instructor
One shift a week, on either side of the studio, in exchange for a Purple Level Membership. No teaching background required. This is the door most of our instructors came through.
It is not a job and we will not pretend it is one. It is a trade, and it is a good one, and it only works because everybody involved actually wants to be there.
Why the program exists at all
Three reasons, and we will give you all three.
It keeps our operating costs down, which is a direct part of how this place stays affordable for the community. It means every member gets hands-on help instead of waiting in line for one person. And it gives you a place to sharpen your own teaching, your own artistry, and your own connection to the people around you.
Not just a trade. A commitment to growth, service and community, going in all three directions at once.
What is expected, every time you are on shift
- Arrive 15 to 20 minutes early, ready to roll. Time to settle in, catch up with the team, and start on time with full energy.
- Make intentional, constant rounds. Talk to members. Learn names. Offer help. Look for anyone stuck or unsure.
- Be proactive. If somebody is waiting on the main instructor, step in and support them.
- Pitch in on cleanup and stay until the full class checklist is done. Shared job, carried equally.
- Keep your radar on. Be our second set of eyes and ears, whether that is somebody struggling, a safety issue, or a vibe that needs lifting.
- Be a source of good energy. Positive, friendly and helpful, to members and to the rest of the team. Same zero tolerance policy on negativity that applies to all of our staff.
What you get
A full Purple Level Membership, which we sell for $200 a month.
- Six instructed classes a month
- A private shelf, 36 by 16 by 14 inches. No divider, no neighbor
- Every slab mold in the building, all the way through XXL
- Six of the seven dipping glaze buckets, once you are certified on them
- Clay at our cost, which is better than the member discount
- Studio access during off hours to work on your own things
- Bring a friend to a class free
- Our monthly bonus drawings
- First look when a paid instructor spot opens up
What the membership side of the trade adds up to
At our published Purple Level price. Everything in the list above sits on top of this number, and none of it is in here.
12 months in the trade
$2,400
The accountability part, said plainly
This only works when it is a win for the studio, a win for our members and a win for you, all three at once.
If somebody is frequently late, skipping their rounds, leaving cleanup to everybody else or not engaging with members, it is not a good fit, and we will offer the spot to someone else. We would rather tell you that now than be awkward about it later.
The practical details
Shifts available: Monday through Thursday evenings, plus Monday mornings.
Spots: one per side per class, wheel and hand-building.
Commitment: no set term. Stay as long as it is working for both of us.
Members: preferred, not required. If you are already here, you have a head start.
Getting on the trade list
Email Kyle, our general manager, if these are true
- No teaching experience necessary. Genuinely. Plenty of good instructors started here having never taught anybody anything.
- A year or more of real dedication to clay. Enough time in it that you can help somebody who is one step behind you.
- You would fit in here beautifully. Same room, same culture, same standard. Go read that section if you skipped it.
We keep this list running too, and spots open up more often than the paid ones do.
The email itself
What to send us
One email does all three roles. Pick which side you are applying for, tick things off as you gather them, and use the template if you would rather not write one from scratch.
Which are you applying for?
Use this exact subject line so it lands in the right pile:
WHEEL INSTRUCTOR - Your Name
Your checklist 0 of 10
Template, if a blank email is the thing stopping you
Copied. Paste it into a fresh email and fill in the blanks.
If you do not hear back
Give it a week, then text the studio at 385-241-5528 and say you sent one in. Email gets buried in every business on earth and we would rather hear from you twice than miss you entirely.
No mystery
What happens after you hit send
Kyle reads it
Our general manager sorts the paid applications from the trade applications and gets back to you. If we are not hiring that week, you go on the list, which is the entire reason this page exists.
Dan reads every shortlist and does the interviews
He is not a name at the top of an org chart around here. He is in the studio constantly, and he does the interviews himself for both paid sides.
A video call
A conversation, not a panel. We are trying to work out what you are like to be around for hours at a time, because that is what the job is.
You shadow a real class
No teaching. Just stand in the room and watch how it runs. Half the people who do this tell us it answered every question they had, in both directions.
You teach a class, and we pay you for it
Full rate for that class. You did the work. Nobody auditions here for free.
Then we talk
Both directions, honestly. If it is not right we will say so kindly and quickly, and we will not leave you wondering for three weeks.
Trade applications are simpler
Kyle will reach out and set up a time to talk it through with you. Steps four and five are for the paid roles.
About the pay, since we have not put numbers on this page
Our paid instructor roles pay well. We looked at what every other pottery job in Utah pays before we picked our numbers, and then we went past them. On top of the hourly there is an on-time bonus built to be paid rather than withheld, raise and team bonus programs at a year, monthly bonus drawings, and a free Purple Level Membership with everything in it.
We are opening up a lot more class times, so hours are going in one direction. Ask Kyle for the current numbers when you write in, or look us up on Indeed where whatever we happen to be advertising right now is posted in full.
Last thing
Apply before there is an opening. That is the whole trick.
We never know when somebody is going to move to Boise or go back to school or hand us happy news with a resignation attached. What we do know is that the next person we call is already on our list.
Put yourself on it. Worst case, you hear nothing for a while and then one day your phone rings.
Include the subject line so it lands in the right pile. If a week goes by with no reply, text the studio at 385-241-5528.