Class was so much fun. Ended up being my partner and I no one showed up and the small class was AMAZING. Jay was an incredible instructor so much fun definitely coming again!!!! read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I attended an event with a group of 9. We signed up to make mosaic coasters. It was a great time had by all. When I got there, 2 tables were already set up for us with boxes of tiles, cutters and glue. The experience was pretty straight forward and to use the subtractive method to get our little mosaic pieces. We were given ample time to create our designs, cut and glue to our base. I can't wait to grout it and see the finished design. read more

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The 1st review was written to receive on discount and almost felt compelled to do so by the staff and to off set the mounting cost of this lack luster experience! This was a total waste of time and a waste of celebrating my daughter's birthday!!! It was very unorganized, poor customer service, overworked staff, separate charges for many services!! THEY LOST 3 OF OUR PIECES, WHICH WE PAID FOR!!! I wish I could get a refund!! However that's next to impossible considering reaching customer service is like trying to contact the Great Oz and right fully so because this place is all smoke and mirrors!!!! read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Bowl - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Attended a "mosaic lamp" class. Maybe class should be in quotes. Because there was no instruction. There were no templates, there wasn't even light for the first hour. The girl who let us in basically said, "here's some glue and supplies, have fun!" The supplies we were offered were VERY LIMITED. They clearly don't restock. There were some seed beads, some polymer clay bracelet beads, and some large plastic beads. There were also some thick plastic shapes to mimic the Turkish glass tiles we were expecting. They were not sorted in any way, and colors were again, limited. We were given Elmer's glue. A glass globe, and these supplies. We asked for examples. I have included a picture of the examples. The "instructor" left us alone the rest of the day. I am not kidding. She actually left the premises. I cannot recommend this "class" I'm so glad it wasn't full price. The other classes looked to have much more instruction. Pay close attention to the website when booking, lots of rules. If you bought a Groupon, good luck, most of the classes don't seem to accept them. read more

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I was invited to attend a pottery class. I have never been to a pottery class, but I had a good time. I made a small bowl. I wish I could have made something bigger. It was a short class but it was fun. It is all about memories. I have to wait 5 weeks to get my bowl but I guess that is how it works. I will be back. Maybe next time I can make a bigger bowl. read more

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Our first time trying out pottery making at Color Cocktail Factory and it was super fun! This place is so chill and the instructors were all super sweet, helpful, and extremely funny. My friend and I went in for the 20 dollar wheel throwing class I found on Groupon and we had a ton of fun making our piece. I can't tell you how many times I messed up trying to make a "bowl" but my instructor just kept coming back to save the day. Definitely made this experience more relaxing and fun. After we finished with our piece we had the option to take it home as is to air dry, get it glazed, or get it painted. We chose to get it painted since that also sounded like a fun experience! It's extra to do so but we were just so eager to come back that we didn't even hesitate. read more

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Very fun class, pretty easy to follow, video tv instructions, good intro to pottery ! read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Beginner bowl - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The class was really fun. We had an amazing Instructor DT he is awesome!!! You guys have to try this class don't be scared....

My daughter and I did three classes. Wheel throwing, Turkish lamp, and bonsai. We had a wonderful time. The staff is very knowledgeable. Such a unique experience. Highly recommend. read more

Father's Day experience ruined came with my 2 kids which they saved and bought a bonsai class for me as a gift showed up and was told only one kid can attend with me asked for a manager considering it was Father's Day "Jesus" was very unprofessional and rude and seemed racist as well, wanted to tend to the non black customers. No phone number to contact manager only email. Horrible place I have been better and cleaner places. Not to mention it was Juneteenth weekend, and we stood at the door for about 10 minutes before someone came to assist. Dont go here, rude, impolite, I almost had to smack him to give me the plant I paid for. Horrible experience!!! read more

A friend and I recently went for an adult-themed ceramics class. The pros of Color Cocktail Factory are that it is easy to get to via a CTA bus, staff is friendly, and it is BYOB. There are great places to eat and/or drink nearby, so it is a good spot to make an afternoon or evening of it. Our projects, once fired and glazed, looked great. They did a great job with that. Here are the aspects I was not too fond of: When one buys tickets, there really isn't an indication that it will cost more to fire and glaze one's creation. The cheapest add-on for glazed is $10, which is not awful, but it cannot be paid via cash. It's all cash-app options. Our class ended early evening, and it was a tad confusing exactly how to pay for what we wanted in order to pay for our creations to last. We could have taken them home as-is, but we were told they would not last too long if we did not have them at least put in the kiln. I feel like non-artsy people may not understand that they have to do the add-on if they want their project to last. It is loud in there, and the staff, while friendly, did not give great explanation on how to complete the project. They did not provide how-to's for most of the project, just the first step. It's almost as if they bank on someone else at the table to be able to give tips to fellow crafters. (maybe it's better for some classes, just not ours) I feel like I would not have had an issue if I asked questions, but staff is busy. There is nobody who stays with the group to give full instruction. All that said, they do check in, so questions most likely would not be ignored or annoying to staff. Upon project-completion, one's hands are not clean. They want creators to use sponges to wash hands via a community bucket of water. I think we all feel a bit off to do something like that these days. But I understand that they do not want clay going down the sink. I feel like there could be a better method for this, if even just one bucket per table, as I had no clue how long that water bucket was there. It was pretty gross. As far at the pick-up after firing and glazing - it was three weeks. I'd read reviews about it being rough, or even pieces gone missing. Well, I was semi-lucky. The unlucky part is I had to wait a long time (20-30 minutes) to be led to the basement to find our projects by an employee. The ceiling is SO low, and I'm short. But the staff member helping me found our two pieces relatively quickly. However, there were two ladies down there who were still hunting for theirs. It did not look good for them to find their projects ever. They had clearly been left down there alone, so I wish I was given that option so I didn't wait for so long to be taken down. Pro Tips: If they have a BOGO, just sign up for one person. This was a mistake on my part. I paid for both myself and my friend, so I did not get a discount. Totally on me, but we were not allowed to do two of the project, even though I paid double and emailed once I realized my mistake. I'd bring your own hand wipes or something to avoid the community water bucket. Also bring disposable gloves if you want to wear rings, or leave rings at home. Make sure your party knows they will not be taking home their project that night unless they want it to be a temporary sculpture. I say this because my friend and I were sitting with a bachelorette party, and people felt salty they would be going home with nothing unless they wanted a temporary treasure. read more

I visited Color Cocktail Factory with a group for a friend's birthday, and I was not a fan of their system. We each payed my friend $25 to cover our spots in a "body positivity" boob mug/butt mug making class (though the body positivity aspect was never addressed during the session). The instructor came around to our table every ~10 mins to check on us and suggest hand building methods. She was nice, but we could hardly hear her over the loud wheel throwing class in the next room. When we were done, it was chaos trying to figure out where to wash our hands off, how to label our projects, and learning we needed to pick glazes for them. We had to Venmo them $10-30 extra to have our pieces fired and glazed (and the prettier the glaze, the pricier). I would have been happy to pay for this bundled in the original cost. It woulda been nice to know at the beginning that you would need to pay more to get a finished product at all! They rushed us out at the end and said to come back in 3 weeks. My gf and I came back in 3 weeks and 1 day, and were taken to a creepy low-ceilinged basement with shelves of of pieces. The employee was basically like "good luck!" and went back up while we searched. After 15 minutes and only finding 2 of 4 items, we went back upstairs, only to be asked to prove they were ours with a picture. Again, would have been happy to do this if anyone at all had instructed me to TAKE a picture of them when we made them! Luckily my girlfriend had one and we made it out alive, lol. We didn't find my friends' pieces, and I'm not surprised because of their system. People were making super thick pieces without being advised otherwise, and as a previous pottery instructor I know they prob ended up exploding in the kiln. They don't offer refunds so you're sht outta luck if you don't find yours. Would not return! read more

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This place doesn't even deserve one star. It won't allow me to write review so had to put one star but it's zero star. It was beyond disorganized and chaotic from start to finish. After a rushed 10-minute introduction, we never saw our instructor again. We received no notification about when or how to pick up our pieces. When we tried calling, no one answered. When we finally went in person to pick up our work, they had lost one of the pieces with no explanation and not even an apology. We came here to celebrate a friend's birthday and left feeling disappointed and upset. This was a complete waste of time and money. There are far better places that offer a much more professional and enjoyable experience. read more

Staff are overwhelmed and expected to teach multiple classes at once in addition to collecting pottery for people stooping by to pick them up. If you want or need a teacher's attention, this isn't the place for you. If you want minimal instruction and want to be left alone, this is the place for you. Be aware that firing and paint/gloss for your finished pottery will cost extra and it will take at least 4 weeks for it to be completed, not 2 or 3, but 4. Also, there is a lot of pottery dust everywhere and WILL get on your clothes even if you wear an aporen. Management, please help your staff. read more

It's an amazing place to come to for date night or just a fun time with friends. We brought our friend for her birthday and it was a good time! Moises was amazing and funny instructor. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Clay sculpture - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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DT was amazing and showed us step by step how to make a bowl/mug. It was a very fun class and he was super good at explaining how to do the steps to make a finished piece. I went home with a bowl today :) read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Update from my earlier review- WARNING. This place is a SCAM. You will NOT hear back from management for any reason. You may or may not get what you paid for. I filed an official complaint with BBB. Not a shocker. This company has an F rating with BBB: https://www.bbb.org/us/il/chicago/profile/art-schools/color-cocktail-factory-0654-90012060 BBB Rating F Reasons for rating Failure to respond to 5 complaint(s) filed against business 5 complaint(s) filed against business read more

Took the beginner pottery class. Went back to get my bowl after they put it in their kiln and they lost it and refused to give me a refund. They said their kiln was broken and it would take 6+ weeks, I went back after that amount of time and they said I took to long to come back. then made me look for my bowl in their basement on their own. not worth your money! read more

I planned a date night here and the class went well. There were several other couples there.. We both made a bowl and they both turned out really well. Since this was our first time we wanted to pay the extra glaze fee and keep these as a keepsake. They instructed us to pick a color and that we could pick it up after a week, but they would only hold it for about 30 days before throwing it out. The place is about 45 minutes away so we looked on the website to see the business hours and showed up but the place was locked and no one was there. We tried to call and no one answers the phone. We made two other attempts to drive out there and get our pieces that we paid extra for and every time the place was locked. It was very very disappointing knowing that our pieces got thrown out and we made four attempts and multiple calls to try to coordinate a time for pick up since the business hours on the website were wrong. If you go, just take your project with you and do not waste your time trying to come back and get it. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Our bowls - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Fun date night activity to do! There's so many different options for what kind of pottery you want to do or if you want to do pottery with the spinning wheel. We opted into going to a candle holder class. It was only me and my cousin who was at this class with our instructor. We had our own section we sat in and the instructor was very helpful/gave us some great tips. While we were doing our pottery class , there were other classes going on as well, and some people came in to paint their previously made pottery.The candle making was fun because we were able to personalize the candle holder and make it our own!  The class itself was easy to find and book online. You do have to book a seperate online reservation for painting your product you made. The new location they moved to is super cute and easy to find with street parking around. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I went with my partner for a "date night" pottery wheel experience. I worked on a wheel throughout high school, and after years of being out I finally got to throw again. Truly a wonderful time! The instructor, Jayme, did a fantastic job of explaining working with the clay. Consistent and clear instruction delivered with enthusiasm! I decided to visit again a few days later to make another piece. Jayme was there again, and, again, was so wonderful to work with. Color Cocktail Factory is a great little studio, and I'm pleased to have had two great experiences! read more

Horrible service and completely unprofessional (yelled "ugly ass bitches" and flipped us off) We arrived 10 minutes before the grace period ended (which still falls within their 30-minute grace period) and waited another 10 minutes without anyone greeting us. When 1 stepped away to the restroom, they suddenly refused to seat us - claiming "they didn't see us standing inside" The staff was rude, dismissive, refused to give us names, and kept saying "that's not our problem." No one answers the phone, and there was no way to reach a manager. As we calmly left, a staff member ran to the door, yelled "ugly ass bitches", locked it and flipped us off. Never going back. Avoid this place at all costs. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - The policy saying there is a 30 min grace period - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was excited to attend a Terrarium Class at Color Cocktail Factory on December 28, 2025 with a friend. The description of the class and photos depicted the sort of thing I would enjoy. Alas, we arrived to find that there were no other participants in the class, the instructor was not working that day, they were out of containers, there was no handout or written instruction, and the person who attended to us informed us she was "doing the best she could." We were left with the impression that we were not important, yet we paid for a 90-minute class but the assembly of the scaled-back version of the class was only 30 minutes. The attendant provided us with a terrarium glass that fits in my car's cupholder (see photo). She told us they were out of the size of terrarium glass that they usually use, which was depicted several times on their Instagram as being roughly the size of a fishbowl that would require two hands to hold (see Instagram picture). About 9-10" in diameter. Our version was 3.5 inches wide. The class consisted of the attendant bringing us materials with the instruction, "put some of this in next" after which she would disappear for about 5 minutes before she brought the next items to "put on top." Many of the plants were half dead, and we could only fit one in the provided container. The Instagram images depicted a fishbowl glass with about 3-4 good sized succulents. Very disappointing. They should rename the class, "How to repot a succulent in 30 minutes or less" and charge $10 because that is about the value of the materials and guidance that we received. Our calls to the Owner were unanswered. We each paid $39 and will not be returning or recommending this establishment to our friends. We both live in the area. This is a sad operation. Not recommended. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - ColorCocktailFactory instagram post - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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They disposed of my pottery. This was a piece I made specifically for a gift, and was told it would be available to pick up after 14 days. I paid extra for the "upgrade" finishing, and attempted to call and contact this place to pick it up. They NEVER returned emails, messages, etc. and then I came to find out they "recycled" my project. They need to reimburse anyone who this happens to. read more

It is unfortunate that I have to leave a bad review (because I like to post and celebrate positive experiences), but this is rather deceitful, so I need to share. After purchasing a Groupon for the Turkish lamp experience at the Color Cocktail Factory, I was beyond disappointed for what I was offered once I sat down. The ad on Groupon is nothing like what you will be creating, for a rather high price tag! A glass fish bowl with beads and white glue is not a Turkish lamp. They even gave us a push light to put inside (that didn't even have batteries). Again, a lamp? When asking one of the workers about our confusion, they simply replied that "yes we know, and we have heard that before, but the owners have not changed anything." It is a shame because they could do so much at that establishment, but misleading customers is not acceptable. I would be weary of spending time and money on such businesses that portray false advertising. The only positive attribute was meeting people at our table that shared the same complaints and tried to make light of the situation! Unfortunately...Buyer beware. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - What you actually are offered: glass fishbowl, white glue and a push light... - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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does not accept their own Groupons. Have no classes available to use them. tried contacting owner multiple times and had no response

My wife and I were gifted a class here for clay molding. While the class itself was fine and our instructor was accommodating and friendly (5 stars to her) the rest of the experience was anything less than favorable. There are multiple classes going on at one time so it can be a bit chaotic and your instructor usually teaches other classes as well. We were told that the glazing and firing of our cups & bowls would take 3 weeks to pickup and cost $10 per item ($40 total for us). We had no problem paying and went back 5 weeks later. When I went in I was told to pick through the large amount of other pieces scattered on a few shelves to find our pieces. After searching for a bit and getting flustered I found a few of our pieces but not all of them. I went to show one of the instructors and she asked for me to provide pics of my pieces to prove they were mine. My wife had the pics so I called her to ask for them - before I could the instructor kept telling me I needed to be careful because these were "works of art people worked hard on" and acting rude as I tried to confirm they were our pieces. I finally got flustered and told her we'd be back. I understand these are projects for other people but I found ours and was treated like I was stealing (no robber would steal any junk from this place). When my wife went back, she was told our pieces in the crawl space and had to dig through to find 2 of the 4 pieces. We request our $20 since we couldn't find the others and have yet to be contacted back. This place is a front of some sort and I would never give them a penny. Crooks I tell ya! read more

After doing a pottery experience (see previous review), we paid $10 each for 4 pieces to be glazed and fired. The pickup process was a mess. My husband went and was met with the rudest staff member imaginable who told him that they probably didn't have our pieces anymore. I sent a Venmo refund request for $40 since our pieces were not available despite being within the pickup window, and also sent an email. My Venmo refund request was declined with no message and we received no email response. Two days later, we were able to make it over to the color cocktail factory again. I went in and was met with a pleasant enough person who apologized for the way my husband was treated. She said that our pieces were likely in the crawl space under their building, and led me out the back door into the alley and down a set of stairs and showed me racks and racks of glazed pieces I could look through for my pieces. The ceiling was low, and I ended up picking through multiple racks of pieces and only being able to find two of our four pieces after about 30 minutes. I went back upstairs and asked for a refund on the two pieces I couldn't find. I was given the managers personal cell phone number to call in addition to emailing again. It's been over a week, and I've yet to hear back in any way from this business. What a scam. read more

My sister had lost her ring here. We live over an hour away. My sister kindly messaged them asking if they could look out for it or look in the aprons when they wash them. They ended up blocking her. How rude and unprofessional of this business. Don't come here. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - picture of the convo to show my sister was kind she asking - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I visited a year or two ago and preferred to forget about the entire experience but... here we are. Trauma still lingers I guess. Take your money elsewhere. This place is unprofessional, knows nothing about quality customer service, and is not attentive at all. I feel like the treatment (and instruction) I received was lackluster in comparison to whiter customers. hmmmmmmmmmm. Prices that were agreed upon seemed to not matter... They asked us to pay more near the end of class. Seems like everyone's having the same issues... not receiving what they were promised, not receiving proper instruction, having a not so great time. This place was messy, unorganized, and had rude staff. DO NOT COME HERE! They will take your money and you will leave empty handed. You'll probably come by to try and pick up what you were promised only to again, leave empty handed. Take your money elsewhere. read more

Moises was a great teacher! The class was super fun and came away with a cute piece of art!

Had a lovely time making a terrarium! It was just two of us so we got close hands-on instructions. Shout out to Matt who was wonderful and answered all my questions throughout the process. Would go again, maybe next time for a pottery class! read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Terrariums - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Stopped in after seeing online that there were 20+ open slots, but were immediately told there was no availability, which is fine, but the staff was very rude and dismissive. Overall, we felt very unwelcome and chose not to book. read more

Waste of time and money! We signed up for CCF's candle and soap making class through Eventbrite. We spent about an hour waiting for the instructor to check in class attendees, help other customers and set up. This class was advertised as "hands on". The extent of our participation was to pick out a scent/color and the instructor did the rest for us. Supplies were limited and cheap. Our candles were poured into pottery pieces that were chipped. It seems like they used ceramic containers that were made by other students (picture included). Not to mentioned we did not make any soaps, despite this advertised as a candle and soap making class. We reached out to management and have not heard back. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I have taken my 9 year old son here 3 times and he's becoming quite good at handling some clay on the wheel. Brittany is a master of her craft, super great with my son, after trying sports, art, and music classes at 10 different places this is our favorite because the instructor really welcomes us and the instructions are easy to follow for a hard skill. I've seen a lot of couples in there, this also seems like the perfect date activity. Excellent value for the price. read more

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Today was totally a happy accident and we walked in on the wrong day but ended up doing a wheel throwing class and it was so much fun!! Moises was the absolute best and soooo helpful! 10000/10 would recommend read more

Color Cocktail Factory - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went for wheel throwing class. Instructor was so amazing and totally dug their vibe. However, they were horribly stressed out because they were the only person running the place. and It was 100% clear that there should be another person there to help! There's so much explaining, elements, and cleanup. There wasn't anyone in the front to greet us when we walked in and it was very confusing on how to even check in. Even though the instructor was frazzled, when he sat down to teach us he was amazing, funny, and very knowledge. I enjoyed the whole process from seat to picking out a glaze. Was inspired to come back again and have the understanding that the management needs to iron out a few staffing kinks. read more

TAKE YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE! I visited this location in November of last year, I paid to have my piece blasted to take home and I never heard from them again. Nor did I get my product. They don't answer phones They don't respond to emails You'll be lucky to get an instagram reply. Extremely unprofessional. I would not recommend unless you want to risk wasting your money. read more

Color Cocktail Factory - The simple piece I paid for and never received! - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Ive been here 3 times and followed all pick up instructions and still never received my art. This place is a a scam. I would love to meet up with the owner and discuss this further. read more

This business likes to troll people into cancelling their orders. I went in on Jan 17th to make pottery. Brittany had such an attitude the whole time but we all brushed it off afterwards. First she had my friend make a positive Google review right in front of her for discounted services. Then She cut the class short by an entire hour. It is advertised as a 2 hour class and we were being rushed and told to wrap things up once we had been there for only 45 minutes. She told us she'd get ahold of us in a month to pick up our finished products. My friend had gotten ahold of her around Feb. 9th and the owner & also the women we dealt with and did the class (Brittany) never responded. When Feb 17th rolled around I attempted to contact her and she became incredibly hostile and rude and just plain out disrespectful. She told me I had to wait 48 hours before I could get a response from her. So flash forward to today- March 23rd- 2 months after we did the class and a month after her original deadline and now she responds to every single message with "wait 1-7 business days before a response" it didn't matter what I said she would respond with "wait 1-7 bunisess days for a response" So it's no longer 48 hours, it's 1-7 business days and I believe at this point she has no intention of giving me the items I paid for. $100 of services and I'm left empty handed. She deletes bad google reviews and responds to some with pure disrespect and immaturity. I have never experienced something like this in my life and don't know if this will even do anything but this woman scams people like no other. read more