Best Pottery Painting in Paris: We Tested Biscuit Atelier
There’s so much more to Paris than its most popular tourist attractions, and as Americans living in France, we love finding new things to see and do in the city of light. Two weeks ago, we signed up for a pottery painting session at Biscuit Atelier, a paint-your-own pottery studio located in Paris’ 11th arrondissement. What better place to flex our artistic muscles than in the heart of the city that has inspired creatives for centuries? Biscuit, French for bisque, refers to the unglazed pottery that customers get to personalize on site. From tiny eggcups, to funky mugs, to unique vases, people of all tastes and experience levels are sure to find the biscuit that speaks to them! Now that we’ve picked up our own finished ceramic pieces, we are excited to tell you all about our experience. If you’re looking for an entertaining, imaginative way to spend a few hours in Paris, keep reading!
Whilst perusing social media looking for leisure activities to do together, Jalen and I found Biscuit Atelier’s Instagram profile, and we were instantly intrigued. We reminisced about making clay creations in elementary school art class (universally recognized by 7-year-olds as the best art class unit of all) and lamented the lack of hands-on art in our adult lives. To remedy this, we headed to Biscuit Atelier’s website and reserved two spots in a two-hour-long pottery painting session for the following weekend.
We hopped on the RER (Paris’ regional rail system), made our way into Paris, and showed up to Biscuit Atelier’s “Paris 11” location right at 11:00 AM where an employee verified our reservation and invited us to sit down at a table for two. The rest of the attendees trickled in, bringing our group to around 15 people total. After a few words of welcome, we were set loose to pick out our preferred ceramics. A wide array of choices, organized by object and price, spanned the entire front half of the workshop. Jalen and I both settled on medium-sized cups without handles.
Armed with our newly-adopted pottery pieces, we sat back down and received a detailed glazing tutorial from the lead employee. First, he showed us the glazes, paintbrushes, palettes, sponges, pencils, straws, toothbrushes, and scrapers at our disposal. He cheerfully explained the effects of layering a single coat of glaze versus two or three, demonstrated a few decoration techniques, and reminded us to check the glazed tile samples before choosing our colors, as the muted pastels change drastically in the kiln.
Next, we had about an hour and a half to paint. We filled our palettes with our selected glazes, grabbed a few paintbrushes, used pencils to sketch out our base designs, and got to glazing! The lead employee made himself available to answer questions and help bring everyone’s visions to life. For my cup, I painted a teddy bear holding a strawberry with a light pink interior. Jalen decorated his cup with French flags and added a green interior with teal polka dots. I finished with a little time to spare, but Jalen was painting until the very last minute.
Once our time slot came to an end, we cleaned up our workspace and headed to the register. We paid 25 € each for the whole experience, including the helpful tutorials, array of materials, ceramic cups, and final firing in the kiln. An all-inclusive price of 25 € felt more than reasonable, and we left satisfied with the experience (and excited to come back to pick up our cups)! One week later, we swung by Biscuit Atelier to collect our newly-fired pottery. We showed an employee a picture of our cups, and she grabbed them from behind the counter and wrapped them up for us.
They turned out even better than we were expecting! Not only did we love the experience of spending a couple of hours painting at Biscuit Atelier, but we’re obsessed with the personalized cups that we get to keep forever. We may or may not be using them at every single meal! Whether you’re planning a romantic date, searching for a new spot to hang out with friends, interested in a family outing, or even want to spend some creative time by yourself, Biscuit Atelier is the place to be. You won’t regret hanging out in Paris and letting your inner artist shine!
Does painting your own pottery in Paris sound like your kind of fun? Whose cup do you like better? Let us know in a comment!
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