What is Well Traveled Wares and Why Come to Portugal for a Residency or Retreat?
Well Traveled Wares is a new residency and retreat program in the Silver Coast area of Portugal, about an hour north of Lisbon. We offer workshops, classes, retreats, and self guided or custom residency experiences. Our goals for our studio is to foster connection and community in the international ceramics community. We want to provide an attainable immersive experience, where we can all teach and learn from each other.
Two things that have greatly influenced my artwork and creative style are travel (experiencing new scenery and culture) and time for reflection. Sure we have time in our home studios, but we also have the push and pull of everyday life that distracts us. When’s the last time you sat in the middle of nowhere and allowed your mind to wander (without looking at your phone)? When’s the last time you doodled, or tried something completely new with clay?
Visit us in the tiny agricultural village of Salgueiro and take a deep dive into studio time. The residency house sits over the studio, so you can have 24 hour access, whenever you’re feeling inspired. We’ve got great natural light, 5 wheels, a 60 liter kiln (firing to cone 6 currently), and access to a larger kiln a short drive away, slab roller, studio made glazes, solid work tables, all the usual tools, and plenty of space to work.
Take a Retreat, and Get 3 Extra Nights Stay Free
Join us for one of our summer retreats with the option to add 3 nights stay before or after the retreat (subject to availability) as part of the retreat package. Bonus nights do not include meals or transportation, but the kitchen is available for preparing your own food. Book before June 15 and save!
- Option to add a full week’s stay for 250€. This includes studio access and one bag of clay. Additional clay and firings can be purchased.
- Upcoming retreats:
- The Magic of Double Walled Pottery with Jordan Coons July 12-18
- Woven Porcelain during the Solar Eclipse with Stela Ivanova POSTPONED
- Clay Imprintology with Helen Rasehky August 30-Sept. 4
About the Residency House and Studio
The house has three bedrooms and can sleep up to four artists at a time (one shared bedroom and two singles), there’s a full kitchen, two bathrooms with showers, and laundry on site. And while our village is small and remote feeling, we have a lunch restaurant, small market and cafe a 10 minute walk from the house. By car we are 15-20 minutes from shopping, restaurants, museums, castles, a sculpture garden and more. In 30 minutes you can be at the ocean/beach, and in 30-90 minutes you can be transported to some of the hidden gems of Portugal, or into Lisbon.
Help Us Grow and We'll Help You Create an Affordable Experience
We’re just getting started but we have big plans to continue growing and adding to the experience. We want to offer community studio members an affordable opportunity to visit, create and explore with us. Residency programs and getting to them can be so expensive and we believe everyone deserves to have such an experience at least once, so we’ve partnered with community studios and other ceramics focused small businesses to create some really dreamy offers for members who want to visit in 2026 and 2027. And your visit helps us continue to invest in the studio and offer new programs. We hope you'll share your experience with your artist friends.
Two Week Collab Claycation for 3-4
Gather your pottery and clay pals, and come play in the studio together for two weeks. We can accommodate up to 4 friends, and because you’re occupying the whole house, we can make it super affordable. What’s included?
- Studio Access
- Firing smaller pieces- we will cover firing the 60 liter kiln twice for bisque and twice for glaze (or we can transport work to the larger kiln to fire once for each) Additional firings can be purchased.
- 2 bags of clay (10 kg each)- more available to purchase
- Studio made glazes
- Garden grown fruits and veggies (in season)
- TOTAL: 1,800€ (with VAT)
- With four people the per person cost is 450€
- Guests will likely want to rent a car, and we can help make transportation arrangements from the airport, or for day trip adventures.
- Make it 3 weeks for 2,700€ (675€ per person for 4 people)
One or Two Week Solo Self Guided Residency
Come hang on your own terms, you’ll get a private room in the guest house, with access to all shared areas, and you’ll get to mingle with other visiting artists, or you may even have the house to yourself! Also includes:
- 24 hours studio access
- 2 bags of clay (10 kg each)- more available to purchase
- Studio made glazes
- Firing smaller pieces- we will cover firing the 60 liter kiln once for bisque and once for glaze. Additional firings or use of the larger kiln (transporting pieces required) can be purchased.
- Garden grown fruits and veggies (in season)
- Two Week TOTAL: 650€ with VAT
- One Week TOTAL: 350€ * pieces may not dry enough to be fired in a one week residency.
- Guests will likely want to rent a car, and we can help make transportation arrangements from the airport, or for day trip adventures.
The Magic of Double Walled Pottery with Jordan Coons July 12-18
Join Jordan Coons in rural Portugal for an immersive 5-day workshop exploring the magic of double-walled pottery. Together, we’ll handbuild and throw/assemble layered vessels, learning the structural techniques that make these forms possible — and the carving methods Jordan uses to transform solid walls of clay into intricate, light-catching surfaces.
Tiered Pricing:
- Workshop + lunch only 400€
- Workshop, meals, day trips 825€ (before June 15)
- Workshop, meals, day trips and lodging 1,160€-1,375€ (book before June 15)
Minimum: 4/ Maximum: 12
Woven Porcelain with Stela Ivanova- August 10-16
Learn the innovative techniques of ceramic artist Stela Ivanova, who creates delicate porcelain sculptures with intricate patterns reminiscent of lace or fabric, through the careful setting of porcelain coils. Thanks to controlled collapse during high-temperature firing, the rigid, raw pieces are transformed into unique sculptures with a characteristic organic beauty.
We'll have a clear view of the total solar eclipse (95% totality from Portugal), visit Stela's studio, and local cultural and architectural sites, plus Nazare beach, home of the giant waves.
Tiered Pricing:
- Workshop + lunch only 400€
- Workshop, meals, day trips 1,485€
- Workshop, meals, day trips and lodging 1,350€-1485€ before June 15
Min: 6/ Max: 10
August 30-Sept. 4 Clay Imprintology with Helen Rasekhy
Helen (you may know her better asThe Persian Potter)will teach a 5 day workshop on all the tips and tricks you'll need to create your own rollers and stamps for making patterns on clay. International guests are invited to join us, with accommodations for four available in the residency house (right over the studio), or in shared accommodations for 5 more guests a short walk away from the studio. Local artists may choose just the workshop portion, or can join us for the whole adventure, but sleep in their own beds. We’ll be dining together at Villa do Barro (aka the residency house). Visiting local restaurants, and cultural attractions.
Tiered Pricing:
- Workshop + lunch only 500€
- Workshop, meals, day trips 825€
- Workshop, meals, day trips and lodging 1,105€-1230€
Min: 4/ Max: 12
Scenes from
Well Traveled Wares Studio and the Surrounding Areas
From Portland to Portugal: the evolution of Well Traveled Wares
In late 2024, my husband Nick and I relocated to a small agricultural village in the Silver Coast area of Portugal. We found a plot of land with two houses, and a giant garage big enough to house a ceramic studio. The bigger house was transformed into a residency house for up to 4 guest artists, and in 2025 they began hosting artists for residencies and teaching classes to local artists. Thus creating a new play on "Well Traveled Wares" and expanding it to visiting and local artists, and the wares they create here and travel home with.