Real Talk: Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio Review (2025)

We all know I’m obsessed with all things mini pottery. Just check out my article on my quest to find the best mini potter’s wheel out there—I’ve tested the Vevor mini pottery wheel and the Small Ceramics Wheel with great success. But lately, I’ve been getting tons of inquiries about the best intro wheels for kids. So naturally, I hopped onto Amazon and stumbled across the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio. With glowing reviews and claims of being a “mess-free” pottery experience for little artists, I just had to try it out for myself. But does it actually deliver on the hype? And is it really the perfect starter pottery studio for your child? Read on to find out.

How I Rated the Mini Pottery Wheel

To find out if the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio is “real”ly the best wheel for kids, I set up a few straightforward criteria to judge it fairly.

User Friendliness

Let’s be honest—I’m a 26-year-old potter trying out a pottery wheel made for kids 8 and up. If I can’t easily whip up a cute mini-vase and snap some Instagram-worthy photos, how can we expect our kids to have fun creating their own masterpieces? This should be effortless enough for both adults and little hands alike.

Functionality & Features

The kit proudly claims to have everything your child needs to craft a legit air-dry clay masterpiece. It includes the wheel itself, clay-centering tools, and even some “shape guides.” I’ll be carefully checking if each tool and gadget actually does what it’s supposed to—or if it’s just there for show.

End Result

Ultimately, I’m aiming to create something resembling an actual mini vase. If I end up holding a sad lump of clay, we’ve got problems. The packaging teases adorable mushroom vases and ice cream cone sculptures—but can you realistically achieve those, or is it clever AI-assisted Photoshop? Time to find out.

Unboxing the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio 

When the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio arrived, I was immediately impressed that it genuinely came with everything you’d need to dive straight into pottery-making mode. (A relief, considering there’s nothing more frustrating than the dreaded “accessories sold separately” sticker—especially when you’re gifting it for birthdays or Christmas!) Even better, it’s USB-powered, so there’s no frantic digging through junk drawers searching for those elusive AA batteries.

Let’s break down exactly what’s inside:

The Wheel

The pottery wheel itself arrives in a few separate pieces. First, you have the base, which provides the power and neatly stores the USB cord away when you’re finished—gotta love that built-in organization. Then, there’s the removable rotating wheel head, which is admittedly quite tiny. Realistically, don’t plan on sculpting anything wider than about an inch and a half. Finally, there’s the clear protective dome that snaps right onto the base, allegedly shielding you from any messy clay splatters (fingers crossed!).

Tools

The rest of the kit includes handy shaping and decorating tools. There’s air-dry clay, a centering tool designed to help you create a neat little clay cylinder to attach to the wheel, plus shape guides and carving tools that promise to help you sculpt recognizable mini masterpieces. And to top it all off, there’s a set of paints for that finishing creative flair.

At first glance, the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio checks all the boxes. But will it pass our real-world toy test? Let’s find out.

Testing the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio

To put the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio to the test, I made three different mini pottery pieces. Did it live up to the hype? Well…yes and no. The short version: this mini wheel comes with a real learning curve. But, once you master a few tricks, your kids can definitely create adorable mini masterpieces and experience all the joys (and occasional frustrations!) that come with pottery-making.

User Friendliness

Out of the box, this kit’s instructions are pretty straightforward. They clearly outline how to form your clay using the centering tool, how to attach it to the wheel head, and how to shape your piece using the included tools and guides.

Here’s the catch: unlike traditional mini pottery wheels, this kit doesn’t involve classic wheel throwing—you’re actually carving away at a clay cylinder, guided by shape templates. As I discovered, if you push the carving tool too aggressively against the shape guide’s contours, the wheel frequently stalls or slows way down. This made achieving smooth, continuous shapes tricky and at times frustrating.

I quickly learned a key trick: patience is your friend. You need to gently and gradually trim away clay, easing your tool toward the curves instead of diving straight into the dramatic contours. Even with this careful approach, the shapes weren’t quite perfect—but practice definitely helped.

I created two pieces using the provided shaping guides, and then experimented by using my Small Ceramics pottery ribs on a third piece. Surprisingly, this freestyle creation ended up being my favorite. So, if you find the shaping guides aren’t your cup of tea, don’t hesitate to grab your own pottery tools and let your creativity shine!

Overall, with some patience, practice, and maybe a dash of determination, you can definitely make some charming mini pottery pieces. Is this the easiest kit I’ve ever used? Not quite. But is it a super affordable and fun entry point for your kids to discover pottery and get excited about creating something special? Absolutely!

Functionality and Features

When it comes to the wheel itself, I’d rate it as decent—but like I mentioned earlier, applying too much pressure can quickly cause it to stall out. The real standout feature of the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio is definitely its centering tools. If you’re new to pottery, centering clay can be tough—but this kit makes it a breeze, ensuring your child can create balanced pieces without the dreaded wobble.

How does it work? Simply place your air-dry clay into the cylindrical centering container, insert the centering rod down the middle, and snap the protective dome into place, connecting directly to the rod. This clever setup ensures your clay is perfectly centered every single time—no guesswork or frustration involved.

Now, the shaping guides took me a moment to get used to, but they turned out to be pretty innovative. The kit includes three different shaping guides for creating distinct pottery designs, plus the instruction booklet offers additional advanced shape ideas for those ready to step up their pottery game. These guides let kids explore shape and form creatively without needing advanced pottery skills like pulling walls or collaring—making it a fun, accessible way to start creating cool little vases right away.

End Result

After all was said and done, I ended up with a three cute, tiny vases. The air-dry clay included in the kit was surprisingly easy to work with, giving me a nice, smooth surface ideal for painting and decorating. Trust me—once you conquer the learning curve of the wheel, you’ll have adorable little pottery pieces that’ll make you (or your child) proud to say, “Hey, I made that!”

The kit itself comes with enough clay to create around 10 mini pottery masterpieces, but if your young potter gets hooked, you can easily stock up on more air-dry clay. Need recommendations? Check out my detailed guide to the best air-dry clays on the market. It’s a handy reference if you’re ready to keep the mini-pottery adventures rolling.

Final Thoughts: Is the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio Worth It?

Overall, the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio is a fun, budget-friendly way to introduce your child to the magical world of pottery. Sure, there’s a learning curve, and it might test your patience a bit. But when you (and your little artist!) finally hold that tiny finished vase, it’s totally worth it.

While this wheel won’t turn your child into a professional potter overnight, it will spark their creativity, boost their confidence, and deliver plenty of “I made this myself!” moments. And honestly, what’s better than that?

If you’re looking for an easy, mess-free entry point to pottery for your kiddos—or even just a cool gift idea—I’d definitely say the Make It Real Mini Pottery Studio deserves a spot in your craft cabinet.

Happy potting!