Clay Cafe Avalon took class bookings online

About Clay Cafe Avalon

For nearly 20 years, Clay Cafe Avalon has offered hands-on art experiences in Newfoundland, Canada. What began as a paint-your-own pottery studio has grown into a vibrant creative destination offering pottery wheel classes, glass fusing, stained glass, canvas painting, clay hand-building, birthday parties, and unique special events for both children and adults.

Parents with young kids are still the studio's main audience, but Jamie has seen classes for adults grow a lot over the years. As what people wanted changed, the business changed with it.

Growing beyond paper calendars

When Clay Cafe Avalon first opened, booking people in was managed on paper.

It was literally in a binder. Here's the month, here's the calendar, here's their form and details and information.

That system worked until the company started to grow. As classes became a bigger part of the business, the studio needed a better way to keep track of sign-ups, customer details, instructor schedules, and event planning.

We started to realize that people really wanted to do classes. So we started to get class heavy.

To do that, Clay Cafe needed a booking system that was easy to use, without needing much tech know-how.

One place to run a growing studio

Jamie saw straight away that Occasion gave her something she couldn't easily build on her own: a full booking and management system made for experience-based businesses.

Today, the studio uses it for almost every class and event. Customers book right on the studio's website, and staff use it to handle sign-ups, print class rosters, give refunds, issue studio credits, and get ready for events before guests arrive.

It's very easy and convenient for them. I also find it very user friendly for somebody who's not so tech savvy.

With more than 15 employees and instructors teaching all kinds of classes, having everything in one place has become essential.

Saving time across the whole team

The biggest thing Occasion has changed is the time it saves every day.

We don't have to answer as many phone calls. Everything is online. The staff can see it. There's no real risk of losing anything or a paper being torn.

Jobs that used to take several phone calls or emails now happen on their own. Customers who need to cancel can get studio credit and rebook themselves, so there's no back-and-forth with staff.

They're all about efficiency. I love that for me.

Supporting one-of-a-kind experiences

Clay Cafe Avalon has become known for imaginative events that customers can't find anywhere else. This includes Painting with Kittens, where adoptable kittens from the local shelter wander through the studio while guests paint.

Those events often sell out quickly and require detailed planning before guests even arrive. With Occasion's digital rosters, Jamie's team can sort out seating, sit friends together, and set up each table ahead of time. Lately, the waitlist has become another handy way to fill every seat.

Our events sell out so well. If somebody calls or needs to cancel, we can contact that waitlist and see if they would like a ticket.

A better experience for customers

Occasion has made life easier for the Clay Cafe Avalon team, and Jamie thinks customers gain just as much. One of her favorite changes is that customers now stay on Clay Cafe Avalon's website while they book, instead of being sent to a third-party page.

I personally feel it's more trustworthy to the customer.

The studio has also customized Occasion with its own colors and branding, so the whole thing feels consistent online. But maybe the biggest sign it's working is what customers don't say.

I've never had anybody express any kind of difficulty with it. If they're not having trouble, then that means it's working well for them.

A partnership that keeps growing

After more than ten years with Occasion, Jamie says one of the biggest wins is the team behind it.

Occasion has the best support system. If something new comes out, there's always a video, which is the best way to reach people. If you have a problem, you click Help and it's usually resolved within a day.

She also likes that customer feedback doesn't just vanish into a suggestion box.

They're always asking for feedback and they're very quick to implement those ideas.

The result: more time to create

By keeping bookings, customer messages, and events in one place, Occasion has taken care of countless admin jobs. This gives Jamie and her team more time to keep adding new experiences.

For Clay Cafe Avalon, Occasion is the behind-the-scenes system that lets the studio spend less time on admin and more time doing what it does best.

It's saved time, it's saved money, it's so convenient, easy, user friendly, and then they come out with another feature and I'm like, 'Oh my God, I didn't know I needed that.'