Bucktown's Winter Classes Run on Kiln Time. Which One Still Fits Before the Holidays?

Megan Lambert went to Italy to pick out fabric herself. She came back with about 200 rolls of wool, cotton, silk, linen and denim for a shop that specializes in natural fibers and European deadstock, and put them on the shelves of Folklore Fabrics at 1912 N. Damen Ave. She told Block Club Chicago that making something with your hands "provides a certain type of dopamine that you just can't get from making a PowerPoint deck."

Her shop opened on Damen at the end of October. That gives Bucktown a fabric shop along with two pottery studios and a woodshop, all running classes this winter. Most of them run on fixed schedules, though. Pottery has to go through a kiln before you can take it home. The multi-week courses start in December or January. So if you want to make something with your hands in the next few weeks, check your calendar before you pick a craft.

A pottery night in November comes back before the holidays. One in mid-December may not.

MADE Chicago's "MADE at Night" wheelthrowing workshop is the easiest way to start. It's $85 for a 6 to 8:30 p.m. session, and you leave having finished two pieces, such as bowls, cups or pots. It's BYOB with canned beverages only, and participants must be at least 16. The first night of the season, Friday, Nov. 6, sold out.

According to MADE, glazed and fired projects are ready for pickup within three weeks. If you count three weeks forward from each remaining date on MADE's workshop page, the season splits in two:

Up through Nov. 28, a mug or bowl made on the wheel should be ready by Dec. 19 at the latest, before Christmas week begins. From Dec. 4 on, the three-week window runs into Christmas and New Year's, so those sessions work better as a night out than as a way to make gifts. MADE also lists a $60 hand-built mug workshop on Saturday, Nov. 14, which falls in the early group.

The holiday project is in the woodshop

The one workshop in the neighborhood with a holiday theme isn't a pottery class. MADE's Wooden Sleigh Cookie Tray is a 6 to 9 p.m. woodworking session for $85. You shape, sand and assemble a sleigh for serving holiday treats or giving away, and you don't need any woodworking experience. It runs twice, on Friday, Nov. 20 and Friday, Dec. 11.

Two details set it apart from the pottery nights. The workshop page lists a firing turnaround for the pottery but none for the sleigh tray, and since you shape, sand and assemble it in the session, the Dec. 11 date isn't working against a kiln the way the December pottery nights are. The house rules are different too. MADE prohibits any intoxicants in the woodworking workshop, so the BYOB format of the pottery nights doesn't carry over. If you're planning a group outing, MADE also books private holiday parties with pottery or woodworking projects.

December's four-week option is on Elston

If you want to come back more than once and keep going, the next step is a December series at The Pottery Studio, 2525 N. Elston Ave. The studio describes itself as a cone 10 gas-reduction studio in a historic building with views of the river. It sells memberships with 24-hour access, and it's open for tours and in-person sign-ups Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

Its beginner wheelthrowing series costs $205 for four sessions, in two time slots:

• Wednesday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 2, 9, 16 and 23
• Sunday afternoons, 3 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 27

Both series end in the week of Dec. 21. Before signing up, check that last date against your travel plans. The Wednesday class meets Dec. 23 and the Sunday class meets Dec. 27.

The cost per hour shows what you get by committing to more than one night:

The one-night workshop costs the most per hour and asks the least of you. The longer formats cost less per hour, but you have to show up every week.

January is when the long terms start

MADE's eight-week winter term begins the first full week of January 2027. Each course has several start days, so you can pick one that fits your week:

1. Wheelthrowing I, $456, a weekly three-hour class. Sections start Monday, Jan. 4; Tuesday, Jan. 5; Wednesday, Jan. 6; Thursday, Jan. 7; and Sunday, Jan. 10.
2. Handmade Pottery I, $456, a hand-building course with no wheel. Sections start Monday, Jan. 4; Wednesday, Jan. 6; and Sunday, Jan. 10.
3. Woodworking I, $520, weekly. Sections start Tuesday, Jan. 5; Wednesday, Jan. 6; Thursday, Jan. 7; Saturday, Jan. 9; and Sunday, Jan. 10.

Students in the ceramics courses get shelf storage in MADE's Bucktown studio and a damp box for work in progress. Eight weeks starting in early January puts the last sessions in late February or early March. That covers most of the winter.

On Damen, the fabric shop is building its class list

Folklore Fabrics is the newest of these places. Lambert calls it a "neighborhood haberdashery." Along with fabric, it stocks sewing accessories and has space set aside for workshops. She has announced a series of classes, including one on smocking and another on taking measurements. She also plans to offer private lessons and open-sew time on sewing machines that are due to be installed later this year.

The shop's website points customers to the store itself, so the best way to ask about upcoming classes is to stop by. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends. Lambert told Block Club she wants the shop to bring together Chicago's sewing community, a place to "meet people with similar hobbies."

A few blocks south, and two neighborhood dates

Just over the line in Wicker Park, a couple of short, one-time classes fill out the calendar:

• One Strange Bird, 2124 W. Division St., has a BYOB stained-glass earring workshop on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. for $75. It's beginner-friendly and materials are included. It also has a $50 Paint Your Pet acrylic portrait class on Sunday, Dec. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.
• Black Luxe Candle Co., 1252 N. Milwaukee Ave., runs guided custom candle-making Thursday through Sunday for $60 per guest, lasting up to two hours.

The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce lists Small Business Saturday activities for Nov. 28 and 29, along with a holiday digital shopping map. Its WPB Winter Wonderland & Tree Lighting is on Saturday, Dec. 5. Nov. 28 is also MADE's last pottery night whose three-week pickup falls before Christmas week, so you could shop local that afternoon and spend the evening at the wheel.

Our team keeps track of Bucktown's calendar down to the kiln schedule, and that knowledge is just as useful when we price a home on a block near Damen or Elston. If you're thinking about a move this winter or next spring, the Leigh Marcus Team is glad to talk it through. Book a consultation, and we'll start with what you love about your corner of the neighborhood.