All Fired Up is a paint-your-own pottery studio and coffee shop just off The Square in Bournemouth town centre, two doors or so from Tesco on Bourne Avenue. Rather than somewhere you pop into for a quick coffee, it's a destination in itself: a hands-on, unhurried activity that works for a wet afternoon, a birthday treat or a slow visit on your own with a coffee.
How a visit works
Choose a ceramic piece from the shelves, where more than 150 items are on offer, mugs and bowls through to plates, piggy banks and ornaments, then take a table with paints, brushes and stencils. The studio fee of £3 per person pays for all the equipment along with glazing and firing, and you can paint several pieces in a single sitting for the same fee. Once finished, pieces go into the kiln and are normally ready for collection about a week later; for a fee they can be posted to you instead. Tuesday evenings are given over to potter's wheel taster sessions, which must be booked ahead.
Coffee and cake
All Fired Up is also a working coffee shop, with freshly made sandwiches, cakes and Italian coffee on offer, plenty to keep you going through an hour or two of painting without leaving the building.
Practical details
You can walk in if there's room, but for groups, birthday parties and the potter's wheel sessions it's sensible to book: the online contact form handles bookings more than 48 hours ahead, and anything sooner is done by phone. Dogs are welcome, the paints are water-based and non-toxic so suit children, and there's disabled parking directly outside with metered parking over the road.
It combines well with a stroll through the town centre gardens or with the rest of our food & drink guide, and it's a dependable choice when putting together a wet-weather plan from our things to do guide.