The Art Clay Club doesn't provide courses: you need to book through Kitiki. To look at Kitiki, use the link above the menu bar. The Kitiki Studio provides a comprehensive Art Clay educational programme as classes, masterclasses, workshops, and Art Clay Level 1 and Level 2 teacher-certification courses.

The scheduled courses are listed on the Kitiki timetable. However, open days, showcases, arts and crafts events, extra classes, masterclasses, workshops, and courses, are often added. If you're interested, mail or call.

When you successfully complete an Art Clay Level 1 or Level 2 course, there are lower prices for Art Clay, kilns, tools, and materials. You don't need to set up an account: just mail or call with your certificate number.

However, before booking a course with anyone, read a few general reminders and some of the comments sent in by Art Clay Club contributors:

It's very important to be clear about directions, journey times, parking, accommodation, and course times, before you leave home: and arrive on time.

Remember that other students may have arranged childcare, travelled a long way, or taken time off work. If you arrive late, they're losing valuable irreplaceable lifetime. It also means that the teacher has to fit the course into a shorter time, adversely affecting everyone.

If you arrive too early, the course centre may not be open so, if you know you'll arrive more than 20 minutes early, call beforehand to check the opening time.

Ask if your teacher has been Aida-certified, at Level 1 or Level 2. Although anyone can say they're an Art Clay teacher, your certification won't be recognised unless your teacher has been Aida-certified. If they're not, you won't get a genuine certificate, and you probably won't get support and service once the class is over.

At the end of an Aida Art Clay teacher-certification course, you should be entitled to product discounts. Plainly, a distributor will set lower prices than someone who buys Art Clay retail.

Take a look at their internet prescence. Does it convince you? Does it offer more than just short product descriptions? Do they have a regular email newsletter, with ideas, special prices, and competitions. Who answered the phone? Do you feel they know their products?

Ask how many people will be in the class. Most people like the social interaction, the ideas, and support that you get in a group of six or seven. However, too much chatting can break your concentration.
Some teachers prefer to teach small groups: if there are only two or three students, it doesn't mean that the course is unpopular. Others will teach up to ten. The trade-offs should be obvious, especially as a large class needs to move forward together often sacrificing personal attention.

There's a good selection of inexpensive full-colour books about Art Clay, which include tips, suggestions, ideas, and projects. Check that your teacher has books in stock.

Whilst at the course, you'll learn about, and use, chains, necklace clasps, earing loops, brooch pins, settings, and stones. Check that your teacher has these, if you want to buy some at the end of the course: it's much easier to choose these whilst you can see them and feel them, rather than from a catalogue later.

Kitiki has two Aida-certified teachers and is an Art Clay distributor and learning centre. We supply Art Clay and support users and, as a Paragon distributor, we supply, service, and repair kilns.

Kitiki is committed to the Art Clay world, so Art Clay is not a secondary product within an existing glass, polymer clay, or craft business. With SilverClay and The Art Clay Club, we provide the largest on-line Art Clay knowledge-base in the UK.

The quoted course fee should be the total amount, and include all the materials you'll use and the use of good-quality tools. Don't accept a course where the materials have an unspecified extra cost: you may find that you have to pay for already-opened scraps, over-priced stones, poor quality findings, and very expensive gold clay.

Check how much you'll be refunded if you have to cancel. However, course providers generally need payment in advance as many still have to pay staff and venue costs.

The Kitiki courses are held here in Corfe Castle. We provide all the tools and materials you need, including kiln time so that you can fire and finish your work.

Make sure you won't be working in a domestic kitchen, a cold church hall, or a barren municipal classroom. You won't enjoy your time if you're uncomfortable.

If your course is also a break for you and your partner, think about what your partner will do all day. Remember, a bed and breakfast doesn't offer the same all-day relaxation facilities as a hotel. Research the area before you leave home, or ask the course provider.

The Kitiki Studio is set in beautiful countryside surrounded by pretty villages, historic buildings, clean beaches, dramatic cliffs, protected coves, open heathland, and panoramic views.

Your course should include cold drinks, tea, and coffee. You can either bring your own lunch or go to a local cafe or pub. However, if the lunch break is short, a cafe or pub may be a bit rushed. If you're late back, the course might have continued without you.

If you're staying overnight, you can eat at your B+B or hotel, or in a pub or restaurant. Think about booking somewhere in advance for your evening meal: a lot of pubs and restaurants may be full and will stop serving at 21:00.

Venues should have dedicated work tables and chairs, public liability insurance, safety cut-out electrical adapters, a fire extinguisher, safety glasses, clean water, hand towels, toilets, and wireless internet access if you want to check your emails. If you got a pet allergy, check first.

Train ticket prices vary a lot, so always ask if there are special offers or saver tickets. Try to book your there and back seat numbers in advance, find out if the seat has a table, ask if there's a restaurant car, check if the train stops often, and find out the total journey time. Depending on the time of day, First Class may not be much more expensive, so it's always worth asking: sometimes you can upgrade on the train.

Depending on the time of day, the same journey could cost £160 or £28, so it may be cheaper to travel the day before on a cheap rate ticket, and spend the night in B&B.

Taxis from the station to the venue can be expensive, so ask about buses before you automatically join the taxi queue.

If you're driving, make certain you find out about parking: how near is it, is there a time limit, can you park overnight, and what happens if the car park is full. And remember, some garages in country areas will not be open in the evening.

Parking signs are not always clear. Some are free parking at certain times of year, some are free parking for one or two hours, and some are pay-at-the-meter: so bring small change. Don't rely on moving your car every few hours to avoid paying, as there may be nowhere to move it to. If you have to park away from the course centre, bring an umbrella.

Kitiki is eight minutes from Wareham station on the Waterloo to Weymouth line. Corfe Castle is on the Poole to Swanage bus route. Trains and coaches arrive at Poole from across the UK, and Heathrow. Parking is easy and free.

Don't start looking for accommodation at the last moment. Bed and Breakfasts are often full, particularly on Saturday nights: there's always a wedding, an antiques fair, a steam engine rally, or some other event. Sort this out well in advance. A lot of hotels do special low-price breaks, but you'll have to ask or search the internet.

If the course is in the country, you might find it difficult to get from your accommodation to the venue, especially on a Sunday. Also, think about booking somewhere in advance for your evening meal: a lot of pubs and restaurants may be full and will stop serving at 21:00.

Kitiki courses are held in Corfe Castle, a pretty village near the Dorset coast. There's a range of local accommodation, from bed and breakfast to hotels. If you can't find anything, we may be able to help.

The nearest Tourist Information Centre is in Wareham, about 5 miles from Corfe Castle. They should have a list of places to stay.

Ask if each person will be using a complete set of tools, or if you'll all be sharing. You can't work creatively whilst waiting for the one file or the one burnisher. Some courses even made people share one piece of abrasive paper, tearing off smaller and smaller pieces.

It's also worth mentioning that cheap tools will make it more difficult to work and may mark your pieces. Don't accept blunt drills, coarse files, and a messy work environment: if you're not happy about something, try and resolve it at the beginning.

The Kitiki courses include the use of our top-quality acrylic work sheets, tool sets, and electric mini-drills. If you don't have a tool set, but want one to take home, you can buy one at the beginning of the course and use it throughout.

You should be given new packets of clay, not re-worked left-overs from a previous course. Don't accept a course where the materials have an unspecified extra cost: you may find you have to pay for unweighed scraps, over-priced stones, poor quality findings, and very expensive gold clay.

The Kitiki courses include all the materials you'll need. You can keep materials you have paid for, but may not have used up.

It's important to ask if there's a kiln: there have been courses where pieces have been fired overnight somewhere else, making it hard for you to learn. A kitchen torch or a microwave casket is no substitute.

It's important to feel confident about your teacher: there have been cases where pieces have been dropped, broken, or incorrectly fired, and the teacher only seems one step ahead of you.

Kitiki courses use a Paragon SC-2 kiln. Your pieces are usually fired during a break or lunch, so you don't spend part of your course-time waiting.

Courses have a set start time. If you arrive late, for whatever reason, it's unlikely that the teacher will wait more than 15 minutes, as the other students will want to complete their projects: especially on teacher-certification courses. Don't forget, if it's a Sunday course, that it might be the weekend that the clocks go backwards or forwards.

Check whether your teacher works with you, rather than just talks about techniques and shows you something made earlier. There have been courses where the teacher didn't actually make anything: there's no substitute for watching someone.

Aida Art Clay teacher-certification courses generally ask you to make pieces set by Aida that use a combination of techniques. After the course, in your own workspace, you'll have more time to plan designs and refine the shapes and the finishes.

Although workshops and courses have start and stop times, breaks, and lunch, ask how flexible the hours will be. There shouldn't be any pressure to finish on the dot, if you're still working.

At the end of the course, most people like to buy clays and tools, especially as there should be a discount. It's better to use your snack and lunch breaks to prepare a list and get things together, than wait until the end whilst everyone is packing up.

Don't be persuaded to buy lots of books, tools, or materials, unless you've had time to think it through. Be very careful about the real value of things described as special offers, bonus packs, and comprehensive sets.

If you're doing a two or three day course, get the prices clear at the end of the first day to avoid any impulse-buying whilst your taxi is waiting.

At the end of an Aida Art Clay teacher-certification course, you should be entitled to product discounts. Ask what these will be, as it may only be 10% off orders over £100 or a discount based on a minumum order of £500.

It's important to be able to mail or call your teacher. Companies that hire in teachers often rely on sales staff, who may never have done a course, to try to help out afterwards.

It's worth asking what will happen to your certification status and product discounts if the teacher says you have failed the course. Will you be expected to repeat a day, or the whole course?