I started keeping this list because I kept losing the notes. A name written in the margin of something, a photograph of a sign I couldn't read back later. This is an attempt to organise them.
The criteria for inclusion: I visited in person, or someone I trust did and told me about it in enough detail that I'm confident it's worth the trip. Studios where you can only buy from an online shop are not on this list. The point is the visit.
The Netherlands
Studio Derksen, Arnhem. Small operation — one potter, working in earthenware with a preference for functional objects. Mugs, bowls, the kind of things you'd use every day rather than display. She fires on Tuesday and Thursday and the pieces are available on Friday afternoon. No appointment needed to visit, but she is sometimes out. The studio is attached to her house. The work is precise without being fussy.
Keramisch Atelier De Vries, Nijmegen. Larger workshop with two resident potters and occasional students. They run open-studio days on the first Sunday of each month where visitors can watch work in progress and buy directly. The range is wider than Studio Derksen's — decorative alongside functional, some experimental pieces. Worth the trip if you're already in Nijmegen.
Portugal
Atelier Barro, Lisbon (Mouraria). Run by a potter who trained in the north of Portugal and relocated to Lisbon about eight years ago. The work draws on traditional Portuguese ceramic forms but without the souvenir quality — these are objects you'd buy because you want to use them, not because they reference a tradition. The studio is open to visitors on weekday mornings; afternoons are for production.
One thing worth noting: the shop front faces a street that's becoming tourist-adjacent faster than the potter would like. This was mentioned to me directly, without complaint but with the implication that the nature of the place might change. Visit while the dynamic is still what it is.
Germany
Werkstatt Holl, Cologne. The oldest studio on this list — established in the late 1980s, currently run by the founder's daughter. She works in stoneware, high-fired, with muted glazes that change unpredictably in the kiln. No two pieces are the same in any meaningful way. The studio is in a courtyard off a residential street. Not signposted. Worth the effort to find.
What visiting a studio means, generally
Most of the studios on this list are not set up for visitors in the way that galleries or shops are set up for visitors. You're entering a workspace that also sells things. The dynamic is different.
The useful posture is unhurried. Ask one or two questions if the potter seems willing to talk, not more. Buy something if you like it, but don't feel obligated — most potters I've spoken to would rather you came back than left with something out of social pressure.
The difference between a studio visit and buying from an online shop is mostly about understanding where things come from. That sounds abstract but it isn't. Knowing that the mug you drink from every morning was made on a Tuesday in a courtyard in Cologne, by someone who learned the craft from her father, changes the thing slightly. Or it changes you slightly. Either way something is different.