Make Your Own Necklace in Toronto
Last updated: April 26, 2026.
The short version
The truth about necklaces: they don't get made — they get assembled. The pendant is the part that's actually personal.
What you make: 6–8 porcelain pendants and small charms, shaped, textured, glazed, and kiln-fired in our studio. The studio strings them on chains during assembly.
Price: $99 per person, 2.5 hours, all materials and hardware (chains, jump rings, pendant bails) included.
Where: 4909 Yonge Street, Unit 2 — a 2-minute walk from Sheppard-Yonge station in North York, Toronto.
How do I make my own necklace in Toronto?
You make the pendant; the necklace gets assembled around it. A necklace is a chain plus a pendant plus the small piece of hardware (a jump ring or a pendant bail) that connects them. The chain is mass-produced. The hardware is mass-produced. The thing that makes a necklace yours is the pendant in the middle.
At Mini Pottery Studio's Ceramic Jewelry workshop, you make the pendant. Real porcelain, shaped and textured by you in a 2.5-hour session, then bisque-fired, glazed, and kiln-fired by the studio. We also handle the assembly: pick your chain and hardware at the end of class, and you come back a few weeks later to a finished necklace — plus extra pendants and charms, since you make 6–8 pieces in a single session.
The workshop is $99, beginner-friendly, and runs at our studio in North York's Willowdale neighbourhood, near Sheppard-Yonge station. Mini Pottery Studio is Toronto's first studio focused on mini ceramics, and pendant-scale work is the studio's home turf. It was designed and is taught by Cielo Vianzon, MPS co-founder and miniaturist artist featured on Netflix's Best in Miniature, with brand commissions for Sephora Canada, Zara Home, Fenty Beauty, and Heineken US.
What can I use as a pendant?
Pendants come in five common materials in Toronto: porcelain (kiln-fired ceramic), sterling silver, glass beads, polymer clay, and metal clay (PMC). Most "make your own necklace" classes in Toronto teach silver or glass — porcelain is the rarer option, and it's the one that reads most like a small piece of pottery hanging from a chain.
Porcelain at pendant scale is lightweight (a typical pendant fires to a few grams), holds fine surface texture (lace, leaves, stamps print cleanly), and has a glassy finish once glazed. It doesn't tarnish.
How the five common pendant types compare:
Pendant material | How it's made | Typical Toronto class | Take-home pendants |
|---|---|---|---|
Porcelain (ceramic) | Shaped, glazed, kiln-fired at over 1,200°C | MPS Ceramic Jewelry — $99, 2.5 hours | 6–8 pendants and charms |
Sterling silver | Sawed, shaped, soldered, polished | Silversmithing studio class — $150–$200, 3 hours | 1 pendant |
Glass beads | Strung on cord or wire — no firing | Bead-stringing workshop — $40–$80, 1–2 hours | 1 strung necklace |
Polymer clay | Baked in a home oven (~130°C) | Mostly DIY — Etsy kits, YouTube tutorials | Varies — you supply hardware |
Metal clay (PMC) | Silver-dust binder, kiln or torch fired | PMC studio class — $150–$200, 3–4 hours | 1 pendant |
The take-home column is where the porcelain workshop separates itself: pieces are small, so a single session produces 6–8 pendant-eligible pieces — enough for one finished necklace plus charms for a layered set.
How do I make a ceramic pendant?
You make a ceramic pendant in three stages: shape it from porcelain in class, hand it to the studio for glazing and kiln firing, then pick it up assembled onto a chain. Class is 2.5 hours; firing and assembly takes about 3–4 weeks afterward.
Here's how the in-class time breaks down:
0:00–0:20 — Apron on. Cielo demos porcelain handling, tools, and example pendants from a previous session.
0:20–1:30 — Roll out a porcelain slab. Cut shapes — circles, squares, organic blobs, anything that reads at chest scale. Most students cut one statement pendant and a few smaller charms. Add texture with stamps, lace, leaves, dried flowers — anything that prints into clay.
1:30–2:15 — Refine edges. Pierce the hole at the top of each pendant — this matters for necklaces specifically, because a hole that's too low pulls the pendant forward and makes it sit awkwardly. Cielo will check placement before bisque firing.
2:15–2:30 — Pick your chain (delicate or statement; gold-tone or silver-tone steel) and your bail or jump ring. Tag your tray.
After class, the studio bisque-fires every piece, applies the glaze you chose, fires it again, and assembles the finished pendant onto the chain you picked. Total turnaround is 3–4 weeks. (For more on what happens between class and pickup, see our guide to what to expect at your first pottery class.)
How do I attach a charm to a necklace?
You attach a charm using one of two pieces of hardware: a jump ring (a small metal ring that opens and closes) or a pendant bail (a curved or hinged piece that grips the top of the pendant and slides onto the chain). Jump rings work for charms with a hole through them; bails work for charms without a hole or for cleaner finishing on a heavier piece.
You don't do this part yourself. The studio assembles every piece after firing — you choose the chain, the bail or ring, and any layering preferences at the end of class. Hardware is included in the $99 price.
Layering: a set of pendants from one session
One session produces enough pieces for a layered necklace set. A common plan: one larger statement pendant on a longer chain, plus two or three smaller charm pendants on shorter chains, worn together for depth.
Practical notes for a layered set:
Stagger chain lengths — 16", 18", 20" sit at the collarbone, mid-chest, and lower-chest respectively.
Mix glaze tones — one matte, one glossy, one with a Premium Gold Lustre detail reads as intentional.
Keep the statement pendant readable — espresso-cup-sized is the rough rule. Bigger reads heavy on the chest; smaller disappears.
Save extras as charms. Pieces you don't use on a chain make good earring drops or bracelet charms.
The layered-set framing is also a strong gift case: one workshop produces a coordinated experience gift set, not a single chain-store necklace.
Premium Gold Lustre — the pendant upgrade
Premium Gold Lustre is a real-gold finish applied as a third firing after the regular glaze fire. It's not paint — it's actual gold suspended in a medium that bonds to the porcelain in the kiln. On a pendant, it's particularly effective: a gold edge around a circular pendant, a dot in the middle, a thin line tracing the texture. The gold sits flush with the glaze and reads as fine-jewelry detail.
Gold-lustre kiln loads run less frequently than regular glaze loads, so pickup takes longer than the standard 3–4 weeks. The finish needs gentle handling — no abrasives, no ultrasonic cleaners. Add the upgrade at checkout or on the day of class.
How much does a necklace-making workshop cost in Toronto?
The MPS Ceramic Jewelry workshop is $99 for 2.5 hours, with materials, glazing, firing, hardware (chains, jump rings, pendant bails), and final assembly included. Toronto pottery class prices range from about $35 to $200+. Necklace-making elsewhere in the city is mostly silversmithing or PMC at $150–$200 for one finished pendant, or bead-stringing at $40–$80 for a strung-glass necklace. The take-home count of 6–8 porcelain pendants and charms is what makes the $99 land differently — about $12–$16 per pendant-eligible piece.
Workshop | Pendant material | Duration | Price | Pendants home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MPS Ceramic Jewelry | Porcelain (kiln-fired) | 2.5 hours | $99 | 6–8 pendants and charms |
Silversmithing pendant class | Sterling silver | 3 hours | $150–$200 | 1 pendant |
Bead-stringing workshop | Glass / semi-precious | 1–2 hours | $40–$80 | 1 strung necklace |
Where to find us
Mini Pottery Studio is at 4909 Yonge Street, Unit 2, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of North York — a 2-minute walk from Sheppard-Yonge station on the Yonge corridor. The studio is on the second floor; look for the sign on the east side of Yonge. Free street parking is usually available on weekends, and the door-to-subway walk is short.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I make a ceramic pendant in Toronto?
Yes. The MPS Ceramic Jewelry for Beginners workshop is the only ceramic-pendant class we know of in Toronto where the pieces are real porcelain and kiln-fired. Most other "make your own necklace" classes teach silversmithing or bead-stringing. The class is $99, 2.5 hours, and produces 6–8 pendants and charms ready to wear on a chain we provide.
How do I attach a charm to a necklace?
You attach a charm using a jump ring or a pendant bail. At MPS, the studio assembles every piece after firing — you pick the chain and hardware at the end of class.
How many pendants will I take home?
Typically 6–8 finished porcelain pieces — a mix of statement pendants, smaller charms, and pendant-eligible shapes. Enough for one finished necklace plus extras for a layered set, earrings, or bracelet charms.
What can I use as a pendant?
Porcelain, sterling silver, glass, polymer clay, or metal clay are the five common pendant materials. Porcelain is lightweight, holds fine surface texture, and has a glassy finish once glazed. Silver and metal clay involve soldering or torchwork; polymer is softer and home-baked; glass is usually strung as beads rather than shaped as a single pendant.
Will my ceramic pendant be heavy on a chain?
No. Porcelain at pendant scale fires to a few grams, lighter than equivalent silver or stoneware. Most pendants from the workshop sit comfortably on a delicate chain.
What is the Premium Gold Lustre add-on?
Premium Gold Lustre is a real-gold finish applied as a third firing after the regular glaze fire. On a pendant, it adds metallic detail to an edge, a dot, a line, or a ring around the piece. Available at checkout or on the day of class. Pickup runs longer than the standard 3–4 weeks because the gold-lustre kiln load goes in less frequently.
How much does a necklace-making workshop cost in Toronto?
Toronto necklace-making classes range from about $40 (bead-stringing) to $200+ (silversmithing or PMC for a single pendant). The MPS Ceramic Jewelry workshop is $99 and produces 6–8 porcelain pendants and charms with chains and hardware included.
The short version, again
Necklaces are assembled; the pendant is the part you actually make.
$99, 2.5 hours, 6–8 porcelain pendants and charms, with chains and hardware included.
Beginner-friendly. No clay or jewelry experience needed.
Ready to book? Reserve your spot for the Ceramic Jewelry workshop. For the cluster overview of every wearable-ceramic option, see our Ceramic Jewelry workshop guide. If you're choosing between formats, the make your own jewelry in Toronto umbrella walks through all three; the earrings spoke is make your own earrings in Toronto, and the bracelet spoke is make your own bracelet in Toronto. Browse the full class catalogue.
