Help & FAQ

Helping U Help is a platform that connects potters with local studios for kiln firing, wheel rental, and workshops. You can browse studios, compare prices and cone ranges, submit booking requests, and track the progress of your firings — all in one place.

Browse available studios on your dashboard. Click one to see details like pricing, pickup options, and turnaround times. Click “Request a booking,” fill in your firing details (type of firing, number of pieces, clay and glaze info), and submit. The studio reviews your request and approves or declines.

Yes — studios that offer wheel rental show their available hours on their profile. Pick an open time slot, book it, and just show up and throw. You don’t need to own or haul your own equipment. Wheel time is booked by the hour at the studio’s posted rate. Some studios reserve wheel rental for members — if so, you’ll see that on their page.

Yes — if a studio offers take-home rental, you can rent a wheel by the month and use it at home. Open the studio's Wheel section and choose “Monthly take-home.” You pick the month (rentals run a full calendar month from the 1st), and the studio assigns you an available wheel — you don't pick a specific one. You pay the monthly rent plus a refundable deposit upfront; the deposit comes back when you return the wheel in good condition. You can rent a single month or set it to auto-renew until you cancel. A wheel that's out on rental is automatically blocked from in-studio bookings for that month. Taxes and your final total are shown at checkout.

You can cancel a wheel session or workshop seat up to 24 hours before it starts, from your bookings. Rescheduling isn't available yet — to change a time, cancel the booking and book a new session. Refunds are returned to your original payment method and typically take 7–10 business days to appear. Inside the 24-hour window, the booking isn't refundable — reach out to the studio directly, as each sets its own last-minute policy.

Studios post upcoming sessions — one-off classes or recurring series across a season. On a studio’s page you’ll see each workshop’s dates, type (private, couple, or group), price, and how many seats are left. Pick a session and register; the studio confirms your spot.

You pay securely through Helping U Help with a card — no e-transfers or cash to chase. Wheel sessions and workshops are paid when you book, so your spot is confirmed instantly. Kiln firings are different: you drop off your pieces, the studio reviews them and sets a final price, then you’ll get an “Approve & pay” prompt on your booking. Payments are processed securely and go to the studio's connected account.

Once a studio approves your firing booking, they’ll reach out to coordinate drop-off logistics. Some studios offer pickup for an additional fee.

Firing involves risk — pieces can crack, warp, or break. This is part of the craft. Studios aren’t liable for normal firing losses unless caused by clear negligence.

Cancel from your My Bookings page. If you cancel at least 24 hours before the start time, you get a full automatic refund — it's returned to your original payment method and typically takes 7–10 business days to appear. Within 24 hours of the start, the booking is no longer refundable. To change a session time, cancel and book a new one — rescheduling isn't available yet. Studios can also cancel a session, and if they do, you're refunded in full.

Kiln firings are billed only after the studio reviews your pieces and you approve the price, so they aren’t refundable once paid. If something goes wrong, message the studio directly through the booking.

Each studio lists their turnaround time on their profile. Bisque firings typically take 2–5 days, glaze firings 1–3 days. Combined bisque + glaze can take a week or more.

Yes. Once signed in, click “My bookings” in the header to see all your requests — firings, wheel time, and workshops — and their current status.

Your clay packaging usually lists a cone range (e.g. Cone 6). That’s the temperature the clay needs. Match this with a studio that supports your cone range before booking.

Some studios offer memberships. A studio may keep its kiln or wheel service open to everyone, reserve it for members only, or offer it to both with a discounted member rate. Workshops are open to all by default. If a studio offers membership, you can subscribe from their page — billing runs through the platform, and you can cancel anytime.

Sign up, enter your studio details, and submit. The Helping U Help team verifies your studio. Once you’re approved, you make your studio visible to potters by switching at least one service to “accepting” or “coming soon” — and keeping your studio unpaused. Until then, you won’t appear in search or on the map.

Potters pay through the platform by card, and the money goes to your own connected payment account. To receive payments you’ll set that account up first — a quick, secure connection. Until it’s set up you can list and be discovered, but can’t take paid bookings. Once connected, payouts for wheel sessions, workshops, and approved kiln firings flow straight to you.

It depends on the service. Wheel sessions and workshops are instant: a potter pays and the booking is confirmed automatically — you just see it in your dashboard. Kiln firings come in as requests; you review the pieces, set a final price, and the potter approves and pays. Every booking lands in your studio dashboard with an email notification.

In your studio dashboard, open the Wheel tab. Add your wheels (individually or in bulk), publish your weekly opening hours and slot length, and set your hourly rate. Potters can then book wheel time inside those windows, and you’ll see each booking in your dashboard.

Open the Workshop tab in your dashboard. Create a workshop template (title, type, capacity, price, duration), then schedule it — either as a one-off session on a single date, or as a recurring series across a season. Sessions appear on your public page with live seat availability for potters to register.

Yes. Sign in and go to your studio settings. You can edit all your info — kiln pricing, wheel rate, workshop details, turnaround, cone range, description — and changes go live immediately. You can also pause bookings entirely during vacation or busy weeks.

For kiln firings, you review each request and can decline ones you can’t take — whether it’s a clay body or firing type you don’t service, or simply a capacity issue. Wheel sessions and workshops are instant and pre-paid, so they confirm automatically; you manage availability by setting your hours, slots, and seats.

Each booking has an in-app chat window, so you can message the potter about their firing, wheel session, or workshop right from the booking — no need to swap phone numbers or email.

Helping U Help is completely free for studios during early access — you keep 100% of what you charge, paid to your connected account, with no commission and no charge to list or run your studio.

Kiln bookings move through these stages: Requested → Approved → Dropped off → Loaded in kiln → Firing → Ready for pickup → Picked up. You update the status from the booking detail page, and potters get email notifications for each change.

Yes — memberships are optional. For kiln and wheel, you can keep a service open to everyone, make it members-only, or offer it to both with a discounted member rate. Workshops are open to all by default. You set this per service in your studio settings. Potters subscribe and become members instantly — billing runs through the platform, they can cancel anytime, and you keep 100% of what you charge. Your Members page lets you see and manage who’s subscribed.

Check your spam folder. If it’s not there, wait a few minutes and try again. Email delivery occasionally takes a moment. Still stuck? Email us and we’ll help.

During early access, this happens occasionally. Email support@helpinguhelp.ai with a description of what you were trying to do, and a screenshot if possible. We take all bug reports seriously.

Yes. Email us and we’ll close your account and remove your data within 30 days.