Andretta Pottery

Andretta Pottery is tucked away in the V.P.O. Andretta area, right near the Shobha Singh Art Gallery. It’s a quiet part of the Palampur tehsil, and you can really hear the birds and the wind in the trees most of the time. We spend most of our days with our hands covered in wet clay. The wheels are usually spinning from early morning, and the studio gets that earthy smell that stays in your clothes. We have a lot of different pots and bowls drying on the wooden shelves, waiting for their turn in the kiln. People often wander over after visiting the art gallery nearby, and they stand in the doorway watching us work. We don't mind the company, though we’re usually too busy with a lump of clay to say much at first. It’s a slow process, making things by hand, and you can’t really rush it or the clay just collapses. The weather affects everything here too; if it’s too damp, nothing dries, and if it’s too hot, the clay cracks. We just take it as it comes. In the evenings, we clean up the slips and the tools and lock up the studio. It’s a simple life focused on making things that people can actually use in their kitchens. It’s peaceful being out here away from the main road traffic and the noise. We often stay late when a batch of pots is in the kiln because you have to keep an eye on the temperature. The walk home through Andretta at night is very quiet.