Great art supply store! Excellent selection, friendly staff. Came down from Port Orchard and was…read morenot disappointed.

I love the gift section at the entrance to the store. I always end up buying 5 to 10 items to send…read moreoff as goofy gifts. It's just a great space in that way. They have an adequate supply of art products but I wish they went deeper on watercolor merchandising, and especially on watercolor paper and journals. The staff is very friendly and helpful . The downside for me is the concrete floors, and the loud talking of the staff-I get sensory overload and really stressed in the space .

My friends and I have been here multiple times. We always have a great time. Cora is a terrific…read moreinstructor. She's very patient and encouraging. You leave class with a finished product. You will be a successful crafter in one of Cora's classes. I've taken a macrame rainbow wall hanging class, a needle felting class and a coiled bowl class. All were excellent and I highly recommend any of her classes.

I've been to Craftopia a couple different times now, but the girls and myself went to her new…read morelocation for the first time the other day for her candle making class. It was great. The place is really big, easy to find with a nice big sign right on the building and parking right in front. Has a lot of different rooms and a lot of art displayed in each. I loved walking around everywhere and looking at it, it was definitely encouraging us to want to come back and partake in even more classes she has to offer! Cora was even nice enough to give us one of the pieces that she had done that the three of us liked the best. Definitely recommend this place and we'll be back soon! Thanks Cora!

The name drew me in! And so glad it did. I was on 6th Avenue for lunch, so decided to walk around…read moreand check out all the nearby businesses, which is when I spotted a huge, colorful sign with a narwhal wearing sunglasses. It was The Nearsighted Narwhal! Of course I had to check it out. The shop is small, but has a ton of fun and witty gifts and items, from local zines to buttons to prints. I spent a good amount of time, checking out all the different and detailed items. Specifically, I really liked the magnets they sell here, as they have clever sayings with a colorful background. In fact, when I was checking out, I asked the owner if there were any more and she mentioned that she was making more magnets and to stop by again for different sayings. One that I bought says, "Not today motherfucker." Now who wouldn't want that hanging at their office? The Nearsighted Narwhal is a great store to browse and shop local. If in the area, definitely pay this shop a visit and support the local artists that sell their work here here. Plus, ya gotta love the Tacoma pride found, as they sell many items from tees to magnets, expressing Tacoma is cool and Seattle drools. Hah!

Cute shop! We popped in twice while in town to have lunch at nearby Shakabrah. The owner arrived as…read morewe were admiring the cute vinyl decals through the window. She let us in and was very pleasant and helpful as we shopped for t-shirts, lotions and decals. The jewelry was amazing-very bold and wearable. Loved that the t-shirts were high-quality, soft, amazing colors, and in all sizes, not just small and mediums. We each bought a t-shirt and I got a pepper lotion to use on sore muscles- whoa, its very potent! But I think I like it. The book and zine section was cool. I wish I had more time to browse that section.

Kindergarten craft table, but for adults!... and kids.... But ADULTS!…read moreLike a an organized junk drawer... Which itself is a contradiction in terms. Like your grandparents craft room, and your parents retirement box. Best description... Tacoma's DIY Archie McPhee.

The pay by the bag thing was a total scam. I tried my best to navigate what was supposed to go in…read morebags and what was off limits but it was a mess. The smallest signs that said "not for bags" were written in sharpie on tape. I was sure I picked all the bag eligible items but when I went to check out every item was rung up. So instead of 7 dollars it came out to 23. In response to owner- I looked for the signs as best I could, I thought all these things I picked out were good to go. The signs are very small and not obvious so it's hard to tell what is individually priced and what's not. Everything in the store has a price on it. But yes next time I will triple read the signs to avoid paying 22 dollars for old pins and beads!:)

We absolutely love it here! A lot of pieces to choose from, easy instructions, great and quick…read moreservice when needing supplies. We have been back twice!

A fun and relaxing place to spend an afternoon. The employees were nice and professional, and there…read morewas a wide variety of pottery to paint, with a wide variety of colors. The one criticism I have of the cozy atmosphere is that the building it's in isn't super wheelchair accessible. Bring a friend and have fun! Will definitely be coming back in the future!

Although I wasn't part of the experience, my daughter went to a birthday party here yesterday. She…read moresaid it was fantastic and she would love to have her own party there. There was an instructional portion for the ceramics and then the kids were allowed to make their own items. She made a bowl and a cat. The family was also able to bring pizza and cupcakes in. She had such a great time that we have been checking out other classes that are held here. Very neat spot.

Open Arts is a studio offering classes in drawing, pottery, sewing, voice, piano and guitar. Most…read moreclasses are for children/teens, but they do have a fair set of classes for adults as well. John, the director of Open Arts Studio, is a dynamic guy who is so charismatic...it's easy to envision him sitting at a piano, leading a bunch of people in song around a piano a la Cole Porter. He's the voice teacher and drawing teacher and he's great at both. Home schoolers note: they offer classes during the day for home school students! For me, one caveat is the price. It's not astronomical, but most classes are about $125 for a session, about 5 classes, and it adds up. I believe it's because of this that some classes aren't very full. On the up side, if you take more than one class, or have multiple children enrolled, you get a 10% discount. They hope to add cooking classes somewhere down the line. We are looking forward to the addition as I know my daughter would learn a lot because they are both organized and inspiring at Open Arts!

I was a JoAnn's fan but since it has closed I thought that I would give it a try! I was definitely…read moremotivated when I went to Walmart and tried to buy yarn with a crocheting friend. Yeah we unwind the day literally with crocheting projects. This place was literally a candy store for people needing yarn and material for sewing. I bought a pretty sparkling blue and a spring time color. I am uncertain what I may make but I am excited. Probably a pretty throw! Customer service has changed. There are three self checkouts. Two of them take cards but only one take cash. Then there is two regular cashier stands. My friend and I realize that we need to come here for crocheting/knitting and sewing projects. Plus side is there is a sewing machine shop nearby too. In the meantime I will enjoy my goodies.

I couldn't believe the amount of items that were on sale. Wow! It is end of January and looks like…read morethey are trying to get rid of inventory. I was disappointed however about their drawing pen selection. Almost everything was gone which was sad for me because they had only 2 items stocked in an area that shows abut 30 items! Bare bones! But they had other things like mod podge, valentine items already, and more. With all the coupons as members, great value! I bought more paper and pens, and with the discount as a member, the cost was worth it bs buying online. And the people are super friendly. Very easy and willing to help.

Steve and I were on 6th Ave a few weeks ago and came across Grit City Books purely by accident. We…read moredidn't know of it's existence but it was a very pleasant surprise to come across. The bookstore is sleek, clean and very well organized with a good selection of books. The staff member was very friendly and eager to assist me in getting a special order started for a book I was looking for. The special order came in a few days ago which is going to prompt a return visit and perhaps even additional books to purchase. Looking forward to continuing being a customer at this lovely bookstore!

I ordered some books over the phone with them. First time I've bought through them because I wanna…read morebuy local. I honestly didn't want to leave when I went in. I love the way the store is set up, and the woman at the desk was super nice, we had a short chat. Definitely will be coming back. Thank you guys for nabbing some books for me!

I interviewed for a postion as a teaching instructor with this studio and was really fristrated…read morewith the entire process. Here is what happened: One of the first interview questions that was asked was around kicking people out that didnt agree with their political opinions. Next, the white women discussed blood/moon rituals, and was scolded by the other owner to stop. It was unprofessional and did not highlight their dynamic in a positive light. I was then asked to teach someone who had never thrown before, the owner, which I wasnt Informed of, or I would have prepared. The expectation to teach a surprise lesson was incredibly inequitable and a horrible interview practice. The fact that she didnt know how to pull was shocking, as this is a basic technique in ceramics. She didnt inform me that this was a skill she needed to be taught. Unfortunately, all the owners now how to do is turn a kiln off and on. Everyone who purchases a peice is lucky that the glazes stick. I went home feeling pretty terrible about the experience. When I called to ask about the status of the position I was told that they chose someone with more experience and a degree. Y'all i have a masters degree in ceramics and have taught high school ceramics for 10 years. Linda then admitted she didnt really know why they went with another canidate and offered a sales position which i declined. Overall incredibly disrespectful, inequitable, and unprofessional.

This is a great place to do a gathering or solo activity. You pick your own pottery to paint, paint…read moreit and they fire and glaze it for you. Prices are very reasonable and the staff is kind and helpful.

My friend and I traveled to the area for other reasons, and decided to fit in a little yarn…read moreshopping. Unfortunately, the hours posted on Google were not correct, and when we arrived, the store was officially closed, although a class was going on. Win, whom I am assuming was not just sales but perhaps the manager, was extremely apologetic. Rather than turn us away, she let us browse , saying that she was teaching the class but wouldn't have time to help us in real time. She let us know that we could flag her down if we had questions. We really enjoyed ourselves. The store is much larger than any local yarn store I have been to previously, and there are many unique and different yarns. Win came to help us after her class, and could not have been more wonderful. What started out as a browse, turned into some nice purchases. It's a gem of a store, and I look forward to going back on my next trip up north.

Great yarn store. They cater to all kinds of fiber arts. The selection is fantastic - you've got…read moreyour staples (Noro, Malabrigo, Manos del Uruguay etc) as well as the fanciful and rare, in all weights, fibers and types, and neatly organized too. It's located in an old industrial space. Light industrial brickwork. The sign is a little small and hard to spot. You enter through a small door and go up a few stairs, and voilà - Alibaba's cave. The staff is helpful, friendly, and very knowledgeable. They'll help you as much as you want them to, without being pushy. In my case, there were some yarns that I liked, and they found the right projects for my taste and skill level, made sure I was kitted out, and taught me the techniques I'd need. In case you need patterns, they've got them. There's a full room dedicated to books. Don't miss the clearance section! They also do knitting workshops during week days by reservation, for a very modest fee. They also have classes, though they do fill out fast!