This wonderful novelty toy store is brimming with popular and unique offerings for all ages. My…read morenine year old granddaughter and I had a wonderful time browsing. We only had 45 minutes to shop which was not enough time to check out everything, but with the guidance of the friendly, knowledgeable owner, we spent our time well. We selected fidgets for her, presents for her cousins as well as several games to bring on our annual family vacation in Narragansett, RI. It was great to be able to ask the store owner about items and get informed responses. It was much better than shopping online and searching for questionable product reviews. Again, we chose to support a small local business!

For a relatively small store, it's amazing how much interesting (to me anyway) stuff there is in…read morehere. When I first walked, in, I thought it was mostly for kids, but as I strolled around, I was amazed in a good way at the inventory here, including an assortment of smaller games (card, dice, social, party, etc), "grumpy old people" themed socks, a variety of interesting books, and more. There's a lot of things here which I don't necessarily need but are still calling out for some of my discretionary income. I have quite a few friends who would also definitely enjoy coming here when they visit me.

OBSESSED. I was really impressed with their art collection -- and really every vintage piece there…read more Prices are OK. This place is definitely a maze, totally jam-packed, but really fun and stimulating.

I really loved this shop and I would highly recommend it. I thought I had seen jam packed vintage…read moreshops before, but this one took the cake! It had amazing variety, tons of small things like jewelry and mid-century porcelain items, which are among my favorite vintage items! The owner was really nice, too, and very patient as I spent over an hour looking carefully through her things. I did buy, and when I looked over at home the items I had purchased, I was even more pleased with them than I had been in the shop! Don't miss this one the next time you are in Albany, NY, guys! You will be so glad you went!

I came into The Pottery Place with three friends. We all arrived at different times and each time,…read moreLou came and greeted the new-comer at the door and walked them through everything they needed to know. They were warm, welcoming, and throughout the experience made us feel so comfortable. They answered all of our questions and gave genuine compliments about our creations. Lou, thank you so much for making our experience truly outstanding. You're a rockstar! Would definitely come back.

My wife and I had been here a few times on dates, and she mentioned that it's cool that they do…read morebirthday parties.. SO I called in a reservation and got it going! The person on the phone got it in with a 50$ deposit, you need a min of 8 people which wasn't an issue. Lou was our host and they were very helpful, fun and nice. We got everything a week later and it was all wrapped up beautifully. They always have rotating items which I like. Lots of cute vintage and some creepy, cursed looking things (my fav.) The price covers the piece, supplies, and firing which I think is great. The 420 pieces are especially fun. The pricing can add up (we usually drop $60 when we go there just the two of us) but in THIS economy, and with everything you get in the overall process, it's well well worth it. Staff is always nice, place is always clean, and it's a great local business.

A wonderful surprise which is next to Touchy Coffee. I ordered my breakfast sandwich next door and…read morepicked it up here. What a surprise to find these two places collaborating together. Same hours as well. What a nice little mix of a gift shop and market. Things you wouldn't find everywhere and food specialty items as well but comes with a price. A well organized little shop.

We hired Diana at Bella Fleur to do our flowers for our wedding at the Appel Inn. Diana is an…read moreabsolute gem! I love flowers, think that they're beautiful and can really set a vibe, but I do not have any concept of how to work with them which is where Diana came in. We set up a meeting with her in her shop, went over some of our visions and then I provided her with some inspiration and guidance and a few pieces for our ceremony and centerpieces and she created total magic! All of our flowers were gorgeous and absolutely perfect. I would 100% recommend hiring Diana for all things flowers, wedding related, or not! Thank you, Diana you are great!!

The arrangement Bella Fleur created for the loss of a friend was beautiful. The entire process was…read moreamazing, I called and explained what I was looking for, and they were knowledgeable and friendly and went out of their way to help. I cannot recommend enough.

This place is awesome. Huge selection of all types of all types of candy and chocolates.read more

I'll lovely cafe near home with an even lovelier owner…read more A girls lunch with one friend. I've been here before and got a sandwich which was good but the pancakes were outstanding, a family recipe and I ordered a side which was a sausage patty. A very good experience. They were short on help, but the waiter was good, and it really wasn't that long of a wait. My friend enjoyed her salad. We both had coffee and were good. After eating we went and looked around their little gift shop. They also have a little dessert and candy area. If you want a treat to go.

Let me begin by mentioning that I am a degreed chef, I worked for 12 years as a flight attendant…read moreand Purser for Pan American World Airways, almost always working the First Class Galley, I have chaired many Tea Gatherings for my local CT Church and entertain frequently by serving an authentic English Tea to friends and family. I have earned and wear with pride my nickname of "The Tea Lady". I have taken Tea Ceremony classes in Tokyo Japan and have enjoyed afternoon tea service at 5 star properties from Manhattan (The Russian Tea Room) to Dacca in Bangladesh. I have enjoyed Tea at The Churchill Hotel in London, The Breakers Hotel under their hand painted ceiling and most recently I reveled in a cherry blossomed Tea Room in Edinburgh at the famous Palm Court of the Balmoral Hotel second only to the Palm Court at The Plaza in NYC. I say this only to provide context to what I am about to say concerning a tea spot in East Greenbush which until recently was one of my favorite upstate NY places to have Tea and escape for a few minutes from our bustling, noisy, distracting world. Just last week I invited a friend to come to tea and lunch with me since we had not seen each other in a very long time and she had had surgery a short time ago. I called Roots at 1PM and asked if their tea service could be ordered for one hour hence. I was told: "Oh no that takes 3 hours to prepare, sorry you can't order Tea now". So I settled on lunch and made an appt for 2PM. (they advertise that they are open until 3PM.) We arrived on the dot of 2, only to be reminded that they close down the kitchen at 2:30 so we should order pretty fast, in addition the kitchen was 112 degrees and the cook wanted to be out of there! We ordered and the meals came out very fast but not before we were asked 3 times by the very loud and frankly intrusive server "were our drinks ok?", "did we want to order NOW", and again, how are your drinks?" My friend and I were talking in a very soft lady-like manner and this person's tenor and intrusions into our conversation was very un-welcomed. My sandwich had mustard slathered on it, so much that I had to wipe it clean in order to eat. My tea had been served w/o the milk I requested and w/o benefit of a spoon with which to stir it when I finally was given the milk. Thereafter there followed an annoying uninvited "visit" by our server approx 4 more times to interrupt the important conversation I was trying to have with my guest. When the cook came out and pulled the money out of the register, and when the server yelled across the large room to someone who had entered the front door, over our heads, I asked my guest: "what time is it?" "2:30" she answered, we were being told it was time to leave in no uncertain terms before the close of their published business day! Then the coup de grace... the lights were turned off! Frankly I was surprised that the vacuum cleaner was not also engaged at that exact time. I stood up and said " Well I gather we are being told to leave?" No answer from either the cook or the server. I asked for the check and shared with the server ( in a very calm demeanor) how she had broken every rule of gracious dining in the 45 minutes that we had been their "guests". I left but not without leaving a generous tip even though she told me since we had had such a negative experience that I did not need to leave a tip. After all it is not her fault that her employer has not trained her in the finer points of hospitality...which is by definition "the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers". We were neither treated or received in a friendly manner. I left saying: "Goodbye for now and forever". I went home dreaming of the next time I would be at The Reading Room Cafe in Cos Cob, Greenwich where the customer is treated with the most gracious hospitality ...even if I were to arrive just before closing time at 5PM. Instead of leaving the world behind for one hour we were instead bombarded by the world outside being inside Roots... noisy, distracting and utterly w/o even the semblance of good manners and dining etiquette. Sadly and Sincerely, Mary Howard

My kids had received gift certificates here and today we went to check out the place. The short…read moreversion of this review is: my kids loved it here! The space is very open and bright. There are tables/chairs set up around the room waiting for painters to sit at. The walls are lined with shelves of blank pottery to choose from. There are items such as plates, mugs, teapots, and vases. There are dinosaurs, bears, cars, treasure boxes, princess crowns, and a variety of coin banks. There was even a holiday section with Santa bowls, Rudolf plates, trees, and ornaments. There is something for everyone from kids to adults. It would really surprise me if someone couldn't find a piece to paint. There are art books, stencils, and stamps to help get your creativity flowing. The paints are a variety of beautiful colors - and there even is a tile showing how each paint looks when it dries (which was extremely helpful). The only down side might be the parking but that really is a stretch. There were only a few spots in front of the store - BUT there is more parking down behind the shop. Do not be deterred by the parking! My kids loved it here and they ended up spending 2-3 hours happily working on their projects. The owner is very helpful and came by often to refresh our water bowls. In one week the pieces will be ready for pick up and my children can't wait to see their creations glazed and fired. I really am genuinely happy this business has come in. It was a nice way to spend a few hours and I can easily see groups gathering here.

Last weekend, we held our daughter's 13th birthday party at Piece d'Occasion. Nine girls, including…read morethe birthday girl. It was a huge success, due in no small part to Heather's efforts. When we arrived shortly before the party, we found the place done up lovingly with balloons, a table nicely decorated for the girls, and another table set up for presents, with a commemorative plate for the occasion that all the girls got to sign, with our daughter's name already beautifully painted on it. Her favorite music was playing, too, with a custom playlist that Heather created for her based on her preferences. Once the girls finished catching up with each other, Heather led the girls through the process. There was a huge selection of figures for painting, and, of course, all the painting and decorating supplies the girls needed. While they worked, they were given glitter tattoos, which they went nuts for (what is it about glitter?). When the girls finished their pieces, they got their pizza (included in the price) and then we brought out the cake, and the party wound to a close. It went a few minutes over, but Heather was very understanding about it. The girls had a terrific time. My wife and I were delighted with everything, and Heather was wonderful to work with. The price was more than reasonable for what we got. We'd celebrate another birthday here in a heartbeat; in fact, we very well may, when our girl's 14th birthday rolls around!