Driftwood Ceramics

Driftwood Ceramics is a teaching pottery studio founded in 2018 by husband-and-wife Ken and McKenzie Stanley, who came home to Kansas City from a year-long trek across Australia to open it. It runs two studios — the original in North Kansas City (now 1827 Buchanan St, in the RiverNorth District) and a second in downtown Overland Park (8018A Santa Fe Dr, classes live since spring 2025). Month-long wheel and hand-building courses, BYOB Pots & Pints date nights, kids’ and teens’ camps, private parties, and — at the NKC studio only — 24/7 monthly memberships with personal shelf space.

Description

Driftwood Ceramics is a studio built to teach, not to sell finished pots. Its own founding line — “a studio for art lovers and admirers” — has been on the site since the week it opened, and the business is structured around it: a floor of wheels and hand-building tables, a firing service, and a class calendar that turns over every month.¹²

The North Kansas City studio at 1827 Buchanan St sits in the RiverNorth District, the walkable NKC business core, and it is the original of the two — the one that carries the membership program. The Overland Park studio at 8018A Santa Fe Dr is on the downtown OP Santa Fe Drive strip and runs its own class calendar and its own shop page. Neither is a franchise; both are run by the same two owners.³⁴⁵

The teaching ladder is explicit. Month-long courses meet once a week for four two-hour sessions with all tools, instruction, and firing included: Beginning Wheel ($145), Intermediate Wheel ($155, some runs two months at $310), Advanced Wheel ($165), and Hand Building ($135). The advanced class is described in the studio’s own words as “not designed for ‘master potters’” but for people who finished the intermediate and want to make lidded jars, strainers, chip-and-dip platters, and ring holders, and to learn underglaze and decal surface design.⁶

Below that ladder sits the entry point most people arrive through: Pots & Pints, a two-hour BYOB date-night class at 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays, $50 a head, where every student throws one bowl, cup, or plate and picks a glaze. Private classes run $50 an adult and $45 a child (10 and up for the wheel; capacity 10 on wheels, 35 hand-building), aimed at bachelorette parties, company events, and birthdays. An At-Home Hand Building class ($75) ships four instructional videos through Dropbox with 10 lbs of clay, and students bring the work back to the studio to be fired and glazed.⁶

Above it sits the membership, offered at the NKC studio only: $130 a month for a full personal shelf or $65 for a half, with 24/7 studio access, wheels, tables, tools, and house glazes. Members may bring their own clay and glazes so long as they are cone 5–6; glaze firing is $1 per pound and bisque firing is free. Prior studio experience is a stated requirement, and the studio prints that it reserves the right to deny a membership “to insure a positive work atmosphere.”⁷

Seasonal work fills the rest of the calendar: kids’ camps (ages 8–12) and teens’ camps (13–17) in June and July, Mother’s Day wheel sessions with mimosas, a Pottery Throw Down charity event, Halloween witch-hat and pumpkin classes, holiday mug workshops, and a 4/20 pipe-decorating and ashtray pair.⁸⁹

The studio’s own bookings are the clearest operating signal it has: as of 4 September 2026 both storefronts were selling ahead — the NKC shop listing September month-long Beginning, Intermediate, and Hand-Building sections plus eight Pots & Pints nights and two Halloween classes, and the OP shop listing October Pots & Pints dates.⁹¹⁰

This page is not the Driftwood Room (Portland, Oregon hotel bar); not House of Clay, the separate pottery studio that opened at 7811 Marty St in downtown Overland Park in June 2025; not KC Clay Guild; not 323Clay in Independence; and not Back Door Pottery or Convivial, the two other KC ceramics operations already in the Registry.

Ownership and history

Ken Stanley and McKenzie Stanley are married co-founders and both are working owners. McKenzie holds a BA from Truman State University with a focus in ceramics; Ken holds a BFA from the University of Missouri with a focus in painting.¹⁴ McKenzie fell for the medium in high school — “I was always the only one that wanted to deal with slip… I loved getting messy” — and had heard the question that names the whole enterprise more than once: “What are you going to do with a degree in ceramics?”¹¹

They grew up in the metro’s orbit and met in Kansas City: Ken in Gladstone, McKenzie in Florissant, Missouri.² The couple went west first, working in studios in California and picking up graphic-design work for U.S. Soccer, then took a year-long trek across Australia. The decision that produced Driftwood was made on the way home from that trip: come back to Kansas City and open a ceramics studio.²¹¹

They chose North Kansas City deliberately over other sites they scouted, after attending an NKC business-council talk at an iWerx Coffee Connect. Ken, in 2020: “Bonus that the business community is really supportive… welcoming.” McKenzie: “I love the fact that everything is walkable. Friendly. We live down the street.”²

The original studio was at 2106 Swift St (Swift Ave) in North Kansas City — the address on the first-year Northland City Lifestyle profile and still, stale, on the Clay County tourism listing.¹¹¹² By late 2022 the business was publishing 1827 Buchanan St, where it operates now.¹³ No first-party or press announcement of the move was located this pass, so its date and reason are unrecorded here.

Two 2020 profiles catch the studio at one year old: eight-plus wheels, hand-building tables, on-site firing, non-toxic glazes, a first employee just hired to teach, and a kiln McKenzie had nicknamed Georgia. Both record the same ambition, in the owners’ words — “maybe some day get more wheels, even a second location.”²¹¹

That second location arrived five years later. Driftwood announced on Instagram that it was expanding to Overland Park, and on 28 April 2025 posted a new website with the class list for the new studio at 8018A Santa Fe Dr.¹⁴¹⁵ That is the earliest firm date for Overland Park classes being on sale; no grand-opening date was located this pass. Both studios sell classes today.

Outside the studio the Stanleys show at local makers events; Ken has also worked as creative director for the KC Comets.²¹¹ The studio is a RiverNorth District member and has taken part in the NKC Art Walk / Art in the Park programming.⁴²

The full two-studio arc — Swift Street, Buchanan Street, Santa Fe Drive — is carried as a Wiki business lineage at Driftwood Ceramics.

Legal entity name and registration (Missouri and Kansas Secretaries of State) were not searched this pass.

Links

• Website: https://www.driftwoodceramics.com/
• About: https://www.driftwoodceramics.com/about
• North Kansas City studio: https://www.driftwoodceramics.com/services-4
• Overland Park studio: https://www.driftwoodceramics.com/copy-of-nkc
• Class list (NKC): https://www.driftwoodceramics.com/classes
• Memberships: https://www.driftwoodceramics.com/memberships
• FAQ: https://www.driftwoodceramics.com/about-7
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/driftwood_ceramics/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/driftwoodceramicskc/

Sources

Footnotes

1. Driftwood Ceramics — “About Us,” accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Asserts: “created in 2018 by Husband & Wife, Ken and McKenzie Stanley”; McKenzie’s BA from Truman State with a ceramics focus; Ken’s BFA from the University of Missouri with a painting focus; “a studio for art lovers and admirers”; date-night, private, month-long, kids, and company-event classes; memberships at the NKC location only; electric kilns, cone 04 bisque and cone 5 glaze.) ↩ ↩²

2. Polly Alice McCann, “NKC Ceramics Studio for Art Lovers: Reprint of article in Northlandia Magazine,” 8 January 2020 (updated 5 July 2020). URL (Asserts: the studio was then on Swift Street in the newly named RiverNorth District; the writer met the Stanleys “a year ago the week they opened”; Ken grew up in Gladstone, McKenzie in Florissant; they met in Kansas City, worked in California, took a year-long trek across Australia, and decided on the way back to come home and open a ceramics studio; they chose NKC after an iWerx Coffee Connect NKC business-council talk, with both owners quoted on walkability and the business community; 8+ wheels; on-site firing; non-toxic glazes; classes, sip-and-art parties, memberships with 24-hour access and half/full shelves; biannual members’ sale; Ken as creative director for the KC Comets; McKenzie running the office, shop, and teaching; the stated ambition of “more wheels, even a second location.”) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Driftwood Ceramics — official site home page, accessed 2026-09-04. URL (HTTP 200; Wix. Asserts: both addresses — “NKC: 1827 Buchanan st, North KC, MO 64116” and “OP: 8018A Sante Fe dr, Overland Park, KS 66204”; email hello@driftwoodceramics.com; phone “913.802.4798 -text or call”; NKC hours Mon 1–4pm, Tue 4–8pm, Thu 2–7pm; OP hours Sun 10am–1pm, Mon 5–8pm; and the note that “class times are by appointment only & can happen anytime- they do not reflect these hours.” Nav carries separate North KC studio / Overland Park studio / NKC shop / OP shop pages.) ↩

4. RiverNorth District (North Kansas City) — “Driftwood Ceramics,” accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Asserts: husband-and-wife team Ken and McKenzie Stanley; both degrees; the “studio for art lovers and admirers” line; classes including “Pots & Pints” on select Friday and Saturday nights, BYOB; memberships; electric kilns at “cone 5-6.” District listing hours given as Sun 12–5, Tue–Sat 12–5, Mon closed — these conflict with first-party and are not used. Establishes district membership.) ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Visit Overland Park — “Driftwood Ceramics” directory listing, accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Asserts: 8018 A Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park, KS 66204; “Locally owned by a husband and wife team”; date-night, private, month-long, kids, and company-event classes; mapped marker at 38.983345, -94.672662.) ↩

6. Driftwood Ceramics — “Interested in taking a class?” (NKC class list), accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Asserts: Month Long Beginning Wheel $145, Intermediate $155 with some two-month runs at $310, Advanced $165, Hand Building $135 — all four sessions, once a week, two hours, tools and firing included; Pots & Pints $50 per person, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm, BYOB; Private class $50/adult, $45/child 15 and under, children 10+ for the wheel, max 10 wheel / 35 hand-building; At-Home Hand Building $75 with four Dropbox videos and 10 lbs of clay; no refunds, 48-hour credit window, 30-minute late cutoff; ~4-week pickup.) ↩ ↩²

7. Driftwood Ceramics — “Memberships,” accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Asserts: “MEMBERSHIPS NKC LOCATION ONLY”; $130/month full shelf, $65/month half shelf; 24/7 access; wheels, tables, tools, house glazes; own clay and glazes permitted if cone 5–6; glaze firing $1/lb, bisque free; prior experience required; personal shelf space; right-to-deny-service clause.) ↩

8. Driftwood Ceramics — “Events,” accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Asserts: 4/20 pipe-decorating (April 20, 12pm) and ashtray workshop (3pm); “Pottery Throw Down” charity event April 26; kids camps ages 8–12 and teens camps 13–17, June 9–13 / 16–20 and July 7–11 / 14–18; Mother’s Day wheel classes May 11 with mimosas and rosé. The calendar was un-swept on this fetch — spring dates against two live autumn shop calendars.) ↩

9. Driftwood Ceramics — NKC September class shop, accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Asserts: live September 2026 inventory — Month Long Beginning Wheel on Mondays 6–8pm, Sundays 9:30–11:30am, Wednesdays 6–8pm and Thursdays 6–8pm; Month Long Intermediate Tuesdays and Thursdays 6–8pm; Month Long Hand-Building Sundays 1–3pm; eight Pots & Pints nights, 7–9pm; “(NKC) Spooky Witch Hat Class” Sept 19 and “(NKC) Spooky Pumpkin Class” Sept 26.) ↩ ↩²

10. Driftwood Ceramics — Overland Park October class shop, accessed 2026-09-04. URL (HTTP 200. Asserts: live October 2026 inventory of “(OP) Pots & Pints” sessions at $50, 7–9pm, on Oct 2, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, and 30.) ↩

11. Rachel C. Murphy, “The Potter’s Wheel,” Northland City Lifestyle (photography by Aaron Leimkuehler). URL (Asserts: the couple as owner/operators “celebrating their first year in business”; the “What are you going to do with a degree in ceramics?” line and McKenzie’s high-school slip quote; Truman State degree; Ken also a painter; the Los Angeles stint working in studios and doing graphic-design work for U.S. Soccer; Ken as creative director for the KC Comets; month-long classes, private sessions, date nights, Pots & Pints, and 24/7 memberships; the kiln nicknamed Georgia; their first employee hired to teach; the studio’s address given as 2106 Swift St, North Kansas City, MO 64116; McKenzie on wanting to “expand, either in space for the studio or into another location.”) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

12. Clay County Tourism — “Driftwood Ceramics” business listing, accessed 2026-09-04. URL (Filed under Play → Attractions & Entertainment. Asserts a stale location: “2106 Swift St, North Kansas City, MO 64116” — the studio’s former address. Recorded as an address-history datapoint and a stale-listing conflict, not as a current address.) ↩

13. “Treat your loved ones to uniquely Kansas City experiences this holiday season,” The Kansas City Star (KC City Guides / Shop Local). URL (Asserts: “Driftwood Ceramics is located at 1827 Buchanan Street in North Kansas City” and recommends a Pots & Pints class. Used as third-party corroboration of the Buchanan Street address.) ↩

14. Driftwood Ceramics, Facebook photo post, 28 April 2025 — “Our NEW WEBSITE is live! Check out our list of classes at our new Overland Park location. New studio address: 8018A Santa Fe Dr, OP, KS 66204.” URL (Read from the search index only — the page itself was not fetched; Firecrawl declines facebook.com. Post date and quoted text are as indexed. A companion post, “Did you know we’re opening up a SECOND LOCATION in Overland Park ??!!”, is indexed at…/1253513956774569/. Treated as the earliest firm date for OP classes being on sale, not as a grand-opening date.) ↩

15. Driftwood Ceramics on Instagram (@driftwood_ceramics) — expansion announcement, “Coming soon! We’re expanding to Overland Park! Stay tuned for class updates and our Grand Opening announcement.” URL (Read from the search index only — the post was not fetched; Firecrawl declines instagram.com. The profile bio is indexed as “Ceramics studio providing a variety of classes for all skill levels and open studio hours for members. NEW location: 8018A Sante Fe Dr, OP, KS 62204” — note the studio’s own “Sante Fe” spelling and a mistyped ZIP, 62204 for 66204. Neither is used above.) ↩