Oak Park residents looking to get their hands on a pottery wheel will have twice as many options by fall 2026. ViaClay, the ceramics studio at 208 S. Marion St., is expanding from seven to 14 class sessions after founder Gabriel Tetrev opened a separate members-only studio in Forest Park that freed up space at the original location.

The business

Tetrev, 28, grew up in Oak Park and graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 2016. He opened ViaClay at the Marion Street address in 2020 with a 2,000-square-foot space. When a neighboring business closed in 2021, he doubled the studio to 4,000 square feet. For the past three years, the Oak Park location capped its membership program at 40 people.

That bottleneck broke in May 2026 when Tetrev opened ViaClay Two, a 6,000-square-foot members-only studio at 7744 Monroe St. in Forest Park, less than two miles from the Oak Park location. He secured a mortgage and equipment loan from Forest Park Bank and purchased the building in September 2025.

The results were immediate: 111 members signed up in the first month, Tetrev told the Wednesday Journal. Membership costs $250 per month and includes 24/7 access to 17 pottery wheels, two electric kilns, custom-built worktables, and a dedicated glaze area, according to the studio's website. Members pay separately for clay by the 25-pound block.

The Oak Park impact

With members working at the Forest Park studio, the Marion Street classroom has room to double its class schedule. One-time, two-hour wheel-throwing sessions for ages 10 and up cost $80. Six-week courses fill the rest of the calendar.

"When people see a wheel in the window, or you working with clay, they want to do it themselves," Tetrev told the Wednesday Journal.

Tetrev's business partner, John Beck, has helped run ViaClay since 2020. Both studied ceramics under OPRF teacher Pennie Ebsen, who now teaches classes at the Oak Park studio alongside current OPRF ceramics teacher Bridget Doherty.

What's next

Tetrev said he plans to install a gas kiln at the Forest Park studio in August 2026. The kiln is roughly three times the size of ViaClay's electric kilns. He said he waited six years for the equipment, which was impossible to set up in a rented space.

Class registration information is available at viaclay.com/classes.