I love coming here! This is one of my favorite places to come with my friends. You walk in, choose…read moresomething to paint, pay at the front, and have unlimited time and access to all the paint and supplies to paint your item. I always come here with my friend every month and we get our snacks and drinks and chat and paint! The staff is really friendly and helpful. We always discover something new, like you can use supplies like rulers and stencils from the front, and the staff can even help match what paint you use. Speaking of that, they have a hair dryer to help speed up the drying process! I highly recommend coming here for a date night, girls night out, arts and crafts date, anything really!

The staff were wonderful! So sweet and very helpful. Everyone was so friendly and were checking on…read moreall the different groups painting. The assortment of items to paint vary from figurines, containers, kitchenware, and home decor! There's plenty of seating, a large variety of paints, and lots of fun stencils/stamps. Very excited to pick up our creations in a week!

I took the 5-week Form and Function class with Misha, where I learned to throw, trim, and glaze for…read morethe first time. While I walked away with new skills and 4 pieces that I am proud of, I found Misha's style of instruction difficult to follow and unpleasant at times. Misha began the first class by telling us that she will intervene if she notices our projects going south. However, on multiple occasions she purposefully stayed quiet when a student was having trouble and then when it was too late to save the piece, she said, "I was waiting for you to ask a question." This resulted in students having to scrap their projects without time to retry. I understand that Misha aims to strike a balance between hands-on assistance and letting students figure things out on their own, but her lack of intervention felt like punishment for not following her instructions well enough. I also found it challenging that Misha structured her classes by verbally explaining all of the tasks of the day at the beginning of class. After this intro, she did not speak much for the rest of the class. During several classes, she began to work on personal projects and did not seem approachable for questions. I would have appreciated a few more demonstrations and for instructions to be repeated throughout the class. Because this was a class intended for beginners, I expected a bit more patience and active involvement from Misha. The 5-week course was structured well and allowed students to learn the entire process making ceramics, but the style of instruction made the course harder than it had to be.

I took the five week Form + Function course with Misha and it unfortunately wasn't the fun…read moreintroduction to pottery I was hoping for. I liked that the classes were structured around specific projects as it gave us direction in our learning, however I felt Misha did not always have the patience that is required when working with a class of beginners. I think she sometimes got overwhelmed working with the students (completely understandable as 5/7 students in the class had zero experience with pottery) but she allowed this to negatively affect her instruction and often became short when asked basic questions about projects/next steps. There was very little time allocated for experimentation and students were taught to only do things one particular way (Eg. Centering, opening up). While this was likely due to time constraints, alternatives do exist and when myself/other students would inquire about modifications when steps weren't clicking or something went wrong with our piece, Misha would tell us to "figure it out" or to trash our piece entirely. She also began every class ignoring students as we entered and only broke her silence once 3+ students had greeted her. I was able to create some pieces I am really proud of in the course, and I did learn a lot, but it didn't feel like an environment where I could truly enjoy myself and explore the craft. There is no doubt that Misha is talented, however I don't think she enjoys teaching, at least not beginners. I was hoping for a welcoming environment, and am discouraged to say Ho/Co often felt a bit hostile. Perhaps my timing was bad as I know Misha released a new collection on her Etsy shop during this time and maybe felt overwhelmed due to order volume? She often worked on pieces for sale during classes, so maybe she had too much on her plate and our class was simply a casualty of this. Regardless of the cause, I unfortunately would not recommend Misha's courses and will be trying out a new studio.

My hubby and I signed up for our very first pottery date night here, and honestly... we picked it…read morebecause it has my name in it (how could I not? ). This turned out to be one of the most unexpectedly fun, and messy kind of nights we've had in a long time. Our instructor Josh was fantastic: super thorough with step-by-step guidance while sprinkling in just the right amount of sarcastic humor to keep things light when our clay creations started looking... questionable He made total beginners feel comfortable getting our hands dirty (literally) and embracing the chaos. So pottery is WAY harder than it looks. My husband and I quickly realized we probably won't be quitting our day jobs to become ceramic artists anytime soon But we had an absolute blast trying, filming our wobbly moments, and competing with other couples to see who comes out with the best pieces (we lost proudly). At the end of the night, you get to keep what you make (1 piece for each person) and they'll glaze and heat it up for you to pick up at a later date. Bonus: they had a whole stack of finished pieces from past classes that were never picked up, selling them for $1 each or 10 for $5. I totally walked out with 10 pieces like a boss Despite our lack of natural talent, we somehow managed to produce two actually decent bowls: miracles happen once and a while If you're looking for a date night that's interactive, memorable, slightly messy, and guaranteed to give you stories to laugh about later, this is it Pro Tip: Wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty... and prepare to discover muscles in your hands you didn't know existed

We tried the date night for 2! It was a ton of fun, neither of us had ever done pottery before. Our…read moreteacher Kaia was fantastic and let us through the process and then walked around and helped everyone as needed. Such a fun date doing something new. Low intensity, fun time on the spinning wheel. Would recommend and we will return in the future. :)

Agree that the items are outrageously expensive (especially since you can find the same for a…read morefraction of the price elsewhere), but I've come to realize that we're really paying for the experience, materials and time spent at the store. I chose a small sushi plate ($38) and ended up spending 3 hours choosing the colors, chatting and painting. The employees mostly leave you be (which I appreciate) and are super knowledgeable about the process if you have any questions. After you're done, drop off the item with the employee to fire up your items and you should get a call around 3-5 days later. Overall a pleasant experience and place to hangout and chill with your buddies.

I was able to participate in their new event series. They kicked it off with "One Wicked Party". I…read morethought it would be really cool to attend since the movie will be in theaters pretty soon. When I arrived, it looks like the event was going on during regular business hours open to the public and not private which made it difficult to tell who was participating in the actual event. Since it was my first time there, I thought the staff would give me a brief rundown after checking in and paying... instead, I was left to figure it out until I finally had to ask what's the protocol here. That rubbed me the wrong way! I also noticed the staff had their friends there too and it was a distraction instead of staff being attentive to customers especially new ones. Another staff came in a bit later and started to interact with us and provided the information I wanted to hear from the very start. She seemed more seasoned than the other staff I encountered earlier. She really turned things around and this event ended up to be not bad at all. She actually saved this review from being a 1-star.

My friend and I wanted to do something creative for my birthday and we found this place spur of the…read moremoment. It's a typical paint your own ceramics kind of place. You pick out the unfinished piece you want, gather your paint and supplies from the shelf, and then spend a couple hours painting them and turn them in for final firing. The pieces are priced reasonably -- it includes all supplies and the final firing. My friend chose a mug that holds a cookie on the bottom and decided to transform it into a likeness of her pug dog-- see the photo... Mine was much more tame-- I picked out a small geometric vase and ended up painting it an ombre shade of an earthy purple. We sat and enjoyed the experience and they offer a concierge type service-- they cleaned up everything for us! Very chill and fun evening- will do again .

I enjoyed spending some time here with my grandkids. It's very spacious and clean. The customer…read moreservice the day of our painting session was fantastic as well as the day we picked up our finished pieces . The available pottery options may not always be available. The selection was low the day we painted, but on the day we picked up the selection was plenty with well stocked shelves. Brushes and cups of water are already neatly set up at the tables. The only thing you have to do is get your paint in the bottled containers. Little hands may need assistance with this or leave it to the adults to prep the paint dish. I really like the space in the Art Cafe. There is plenty of room between each table. It may be different with more customers (we were the only ones on this weekday visit). But even then, I think there is more plenty of space you don't have to worry bumping into someone. I find all ceramic cafes to be a bit pricey but this is something to do once in awhile. I find it therapeutic and I love to watch the kids paint and be creative with their piece. Great bonding time with someone or good, quiet creative time for just yourself. Go check them out.

We go in every year to celebrate birthdays. Plenty of items to choose from, super friendly staff…read morewilling to help even if you have never done this before. They are super patient and will teach you all the basics needed to create some beautiful items. Our youngest kid loves this place and now has the whole family going to create and just have fun away from all digital noise. They fire everything for you and take great care to ensure you get a good looking piece back. Can't say enough or share the appropriate nice things about these folks. Walking distance to great restaurants and shopping so really easy to plan a great day that includes a stop at this location. Parking is out front or across the street.

We were in SD for my birthday weekend getaway. We had reservations for a restaurant at dinner time…read moreso we had time during the day to do something so we decided to give pottery another go. We took a class at a pottery place in Laguna Beach last year so we wanted to give it a try again because it was pretty fun! We did the one time class pottery wheel try it class. It was $80 per person. Which is on the pricier side, compared to the other class we took last time. I will say this class was more informative than our last class. Our instructor taught us how to start working with our clay, demonstrated how to do it, worked with us, helped us out, showed us different techniques and steps on how to form our pottery. It's was definitely more challenging this time around because I think we didn't have to do as much in our last class we did. My boyfriend said he didn't like the pace of the class and having to work with a whole class. Our last class had less people so it was more intimate and slower, as for this class it was a little bit more of a faster pace. In the end we made 2 pieces. First one was like a practice piece and the second one was when you kind of got the hang of it and the final product looked better. We were only able to take one piece home. Our instructor said she typically does 2 pieces because she teaches faster but we are only able to take one. Honestly, I didn't like my first one too much so I was okay with that but I know some other people in the class wanted to take both. After you are done you have to clean up everything and put everything away. Then you chose the color glaze you want from a choice of 4 or 5. They glaze it for you then they tell you when it's ready for pick up. We are not from SD but it's an excuse to come back down to pick up our pottery.

I had an amazing time at The Hot Spot in 4S Ranch!!…read more I took my friend for her birthday and we had a blast. A fun, creative art workshop where you can pick from a variety of options from painting pottery to making candles to building your own garden pot. The prices are clearly written on the item and it's all inclusive (the item, all materials, and use of their facility) so no additional fees other than tax. Most items were between $20-35. The owner was friendly and welcoming. There's plenty of free parking in the large shared lot. You're allowed to bring your own drinks and food as well. We opted to make candles and it was really fun. You start with picking out your glassware, then cutting up the colored wax pieces you want to use and fill them in your glassware, then choosing which glitter color and scent you want. They pour hot wax to mold it all together and the candles ready to go within 15 mins. A great activity for all ages including adults. This would be a great option for any type of celebration, date night, hang out with friends, or spending time with your kids. There's something for everyone.

I made a reservation here for me and my friends for my birthday and it was such a fun activity! We…read moreall did the ceramic painting pottery and chose our own ceramics and colors. The process was easy and there weren't many directions aside from picking out a piece and colors and the rest was left up to you. They do take about 2 days to fire so you'll have to come back and pick up your piece. The plates were roughly $27 which isn't terrible for the experience. I don't think I'll come back again unless there's a special occasion

Art Café is amazing! Such a nice Yelp Elite experience. The staff was so prepared, and it gave us a…read morewonderfully relaxed, slow-paced vibe where we could get some great 1:1 time before having to head out. We ended up opting for these cute heart-shaped bowls. Even though I live in NY, they were so accommodating and were able to prep the piece so it could safely make the trip back home with me. They were just so nice! It's all about the views, the incredibly helpful staff, and the immaculate vibes. Vibe: Cozy, welcoming, and effortlessly charming art café located in the mall. Family-friendly and genuinely wonderful.

This is a great addition to the mall and something fun to do if you're just walking around…read moreshopping. They do allow walk ins, but you can book a reservation as well. You walk in and the employee will give you a run down on the process. If you want to take your ceramic home the same day, you can use acrylic paint, if you don't mind waiting you can choose to glaze it and there is a $5 firing fee. We chose to do glaze and wait a 1-2 weeks and they texted us when it was ready. (Only took a week) In terms of inventory, they have cute Knick knack ceramics you can make or kitchenware like plates, bowls, coasters, etc. I also saw people painting canvases so you really do have a lot of options if you're looking for a fun craft day. Pro tip: do multiple layers if you're gonna do glaze. I'd recommend at least 3, but 4 or 5 if you have the time.