This place is suitable for kids and adults. It doesn't matter if you are artistic or not you can…read morehave a go at designing and painting your own ceramic miug, plates or anything they have available. They will then fire it in their kiln and it will be ready to be picked up in 4 days. Besides that there is also a ceramic art gallery there. It is so much fun painting your own pottery which you can then display it proudly in your home. It is a great place to have parties for kids and they even do activities for adults too.

I visited with my 6 year old son during half term as a little late treat for his birthday. We…read morebooked a table which was great because they were busy! Inside the walls are taken up with displays of the ceramics on offer to paint, each table has a full selection of colours in pots and there are writer type paint pens in the corner to be shared by the whole coffee. There's a great choice of items for painting but it is fairly pricey! In terms of the cafe side of things, there isn't much offered by the way of refreshments. £1.20 for a can of Coke seemed reasonable and £1.70 for an instant coffee was acceptable but a little further down the street I'd have got a decent Americano for about twenty pence more! We didn't see any food or snacks on offer, other than a jar of unappealing cookies. A shame, as we were both hungry! Nonetheless, we spent a lovely hour painting in there and for older kids I imagine it'd be more worthwhile as they could easily spend a good few hours on an intricate design. At my little one's age though a £33 bill to paint a couple of side plates for less than an hour was a little expensive!

I went to this shop with a friend on a rainy couple of days over the summer when we were bored out…read moreof our minds and wanted to do something different. We had a blast painting our mugs; from choosing design and colours, to the finished product. We had loads of fun and spent the whole time gossiping the day away. You can also book parties there for kids and the shop is open late on certain evenings for larger groups of adults.

The ceramics cafe will fill a couple of hours wonderfully. Ideal for children, you start with a…read moreplain white bisque mug, plate or many other ceramic shapes, and you paint on your design using ceramic underglazes. Children absolutely love doing this, and they make wonderful presents for family and friends. They fire it for you in the kiln, and your piece is ready for collection within 2-4 days. With a bright, spacious interior and friendly, attentive and helpful staff, there are few more pleasant ways to wile away the hours with the kids.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Ceramics cafe. I was there for a birthday party, so we had a room…read moreto ourselves upstairs, an opportunity to chat and be creative - great! You can choose from a really wide selection of things to paint, from mugs and plates, but also teapots, clocks and (because its nearly Christmas) christmas tree decorations and father christmases. These vary in price, and a mug is reasonably expensive, at about £12. The cafe provide a wide selection of paints, brushes, and tools, with which to decorate your plate. They also provide drinks such as tea and coffee, and allow you to bring in snacks. A really great way to spend an afternoon.

This is something for adults and the kids! Fired up was set up about six or seven years ago on…read moreQueensway road in Pettswood, Bromley and has been a hit since. It offers you the chance to buy a piece of ready made pottery and then paint and decorate it yourself, whilst there, and then after about a week or two you can go and pick up your perfectly finished piece. I remember when it first opened I went along with my mum and I decorated a plate for my friend, I was so proud of it. It allows you the chance to make some really unique gifts or personal items. They have every type of pottery you expect and all of the paints to make them gorgeous. Prices start at £4 for a piece of pottery and whilst you're there you can enjoy refreshments such as cakes and coffees. It's a great place to take the kids on the school holidays or go with a friend. They also cater for parties and I can recommend this as a fun way to enjoy a birthday!

Had a terrible time at Fired Up today. I took my 3 yr old…read moreson to Fired Up today in Petts Wood, and one of the member of staff was very rude, insensitive and inappropriate to us. My son has always enjoyed painting, so he started painting straight away. He loves painting with black so he started with black. I was just taking my coat off as my son painted away, then a member of staff shocked me with a very loud, impolite and patronising voice aross the table through all the other children and all my friends (it was a birthday party) : 'Excused me! You will HAVE TO pay for that separately, DO YOU know THAT?! It's NOT part of the party deal! AND if you paint with black, it WILL NOT come out very nice!' - everyone went quiet, and my son stopped painting with a shocked face. I was also shocked - nothing to do with the message she was trying to deliver, but the way she said it. I said I'm fine with whatever color my son wanted to use, and I WILL pay for it separately in the end if that's case. I wanted to say more, but I didn't want to ruin the little girl's birthday party. What made me feel very upset was that, for the rest of the party, my son never touched the color black again! After the party, my son said to me that he did not like the way the member of staff spoke to us, and it made him feel ashamed. So, I would NOT recommend Fired Up pottery painting studio (129 Queensway, Petts Wood, Kent, BR5 1DG) to anyone who wants their children to create art freely, to express their very own personality through painting, or to simply have a good time. Very very disappointed and upset.

There's so much amazing stuff in there. There's art supplies but also just cool books and it's a…read moregreat place to get souvenirs to remind you of Hampstead!

A new-ish cass arts. I believe it opened up last year…read more Smaller than the others I've been too and a good chunk of it seems to be books and children's art supplies and projects. They have everything else just in smaller quantities and variety.

My girlfriend is a designer/artist (I believe there is a subtle difference) which inadvertently…read moremakes me a design critique and art supply carry horse. After traversing London and trying out London Graphic Centre and Atlantis for supplies, it was now the turn of Cass Arts to be scrutinised for inexpensive quality goods. We ventured to the flagship store in Islington which is laid out over three artsy feeling floors. First thing is that Cass Arts is the cheapest out of the three major art stores due to the sheer amount of deals and offers they run. They have good quality easels starting from £10.95, all manner of writing, drawing, painting implements and the parchment to decorate starting from less than a pound. For sheer range of product although impressive, they do not quite reach the dizzy heights of London Graphic Centre or Atlantis. The Islington store is new and not only claims to be the biggest store in Cass Arts portfolio but the largest arts store in London. Hmmm! Whether this is true is debatable. The Islington branch seems to have made a healthy start with helpful staff and stunning discounts. I also applaud their drive to encourage younger Londoners to explore their artistic selves by offering them free art goody bags.

This is Cass Art's flagship store, and 'London largest art store' spanning over 3 floors in a…read moreconverted warehouse building. This particular shop in Islington is very well designed, and with lots of airy space. It is also off Essex road, tucked in a much quieter street which makes the shopping experience slightly merrier. The unfortunate thing with most art products is that they can be expensive, especially for struggling students who wont necessarily be able to afford. Cass Art prides themselves with the best materials and the best prices. And even better if you're a student as you can get a card which entitles you to 15% off on most products. There are also always special offers about where a decent selection of products are slashed down to half price. Each of their central London shops holds over an impressive 20, 000 good quality art products. They are a shop which 'believe in art' and you have a strong sense of that as soon as you enter the shop. This is reflected from how everything is laid out, the attentiveness to the products they have, and their staff, who are all extremely knowledgeable with art and all seem to hold a passion for it. A highly reliable store which never seems to let you down!

My boyfriend Ben and I are no strangers to the pottery painting game, incidentally. We have been a…read morefew times before to a studio in Berwick-upon-Tweed called Pot-A-Doodle-Do, but this was our first venture in London (and without the premise of supervising young relatives!). We went with our friend Paul and Angharad. The set up of the studio was much what I was expecting several tables, with paints laid out and paintbrushes abounds. The idea was: you select your raw unglazed pot/figure of choice, paint it up with the paints provided, and in a week's time you could collect your finished, glazed piece! I picked out a big fat pussy cat piggy bank, whilst Ben took a big mug, Angharad a little oil jug and Paul managed to get his mits on the biggest bowl he could find. We took a good two hours painting our pieces (although I'm sure we would have stayed longer if we could the lady had to keep reminding us that they had to close the shop soon!) Comments on the shop itself: the table we were sat at was a little limited in space. I sat in the corner (as is my wont) but was firmly wedged in there as the table was very close into the corner. Also, unlike our experience in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Smarty Paints charge a studio fee of £6 per person, on top of the price of your piece. This I suppose I can forgive them, as everything is more expensive in London, and they have to make money SOMEhow. Finally, and I find this with all art&craft activities and studios, there was simply not a wide enough range of brushes. Either they were too big, or were small and had been hammered to death by someone's small child. I keep reminding myself I have to bring my own brushes to these sorts of things (because I am a mad perfectionist) but always, always forget. But on the whole, a hugely enjoyable experience. The staff were friendly and helpful, but didn't pester they knew we were loopy, and just let us get on with our thing.

The first time I saw this shop, it was closed, so all I could do was peer in the window, but I was…read morenonetheless enchanted. The pottery workshop is housed in a tiny and endearing standalone brick dwelling about a five minute walk from Victoria Park. Don't miss your chance to see it if you happen to be in the area. The woman who runs this charming cottage operation lives upstairs, and works and lets strangers roam around downstairs. When you walk in, she will no doubt be at her potter's wheel, turning out the merchandise that will soon furnish her shelves. All manner of piggy banks, and cups, and butter dishes are on offer - some glazed, some not... some decorated, some not. I know people who find her work very appealing... but I *do* wish it were a little less rustic and suited my taste just a little more... I swear, if that were the case, I'd be all-too-tempted to buy up a whole shelf's worth of pottery, just for the sake of the magical charm of it all.

This is a really cute little pottery workshop run by a really jolly woman. There is a little shop…read morewhere you can buy all sort of things like mugs which are made in the workshop, little wooden toys, playing cards, greeting cards. I have never tried the workshop but it looks like it could be fun.