I read one persons silly review about the waitlist. Well of course it's a long waitlist because…read moreTHEY ARE THAT AMAZING and everyone wants to get in!!! They are doing their best in a tiny space especially with Covid restrictions. I have been a customer of theirs for years and I am JONESING for more pottery. Gerry Thiebolt and Eric Woods are THEEEEE NICEST GUYS running the place. Such fine artistry down there. If you love pottery, this is the place to go. It's like a little secret place. I took my mom down there and she was already WOWING before she got to the front door. We adore Clay Associates!

Honestly, this is my happy place in San Diego. I've been taking classes here for the past few years…read moreand have learned so much! I've bought amazing work by students, associates and teachers during their annual sale! The teachers are so knowledgable, kind, and patient, and the community is creative and friendly. Some students have been coming to classes here for decades. There are wheel throwing classes and hand building classes, and a long waitlist for good reason. I love being a part of this community!

Glad to see this shop is still in business. It had been years since I had been, and happened upon…read moreit during an art walk. It's a little shop but has a lot of cool masks, day of the dead pieces, sugar skull art and more. My friend found a cool pair of snake earrings there, and I picked up a shoulder bag and mask for myself. Lots of items from small to more elaborate. A little bit of everything to choose from. Use your yelp check in and get 15 percent off your order (which I realized after I had left *sigh*) I was given 5.00 off my next order as well. I would recommend, if only just to look.

EVERY day is Day of the Dead at Back from Tomboctou…read more Really though, it's a charming shop of Mexican folk arts and antiquities. Heavy emphasis on the skulls. Heavy emphasis on really beautiful stuff. Makes me wish I was Catholic. Not in the Vatican/catechisms kind of way. More in the ancestor-worshipping kind of way. They bring gorgeous artisanal materials from various regions in the south, and they really get a lot of great stuff. My living space is getting progressively more Mexican despite my best efforts to avoid buying more. They also do workshops in the fall to make sugar skulls, pinatas, and those papel picado (paper cut banners) as well as paper mache skulls. Super cool. Wish I had an 8 year-old to drag with me. Kind of like Vintage Religion on 30th, except this place is more specialized, more quaint, and though I like Vintage Religion, I just like Back from Tomboctou better.

Do not do business with this guy- not honest! From Pakistan, NOT San Deigo area…read more I called asking for 50 custom patches on a tight timeline for a military event and was assured my deadline will be met. Everything was great and the work was expedited until it came time to ship, at which point the estimated delivery date was almost a whole week past my deadline. I also found out the patches were being shipped from PAKISTAN, after the guy I spoke to told me they were in the San Diego area. He straight up lied to me about the deadline, location, and shipping. After I saw the shipping date, he would not answer any of my calls. Do not recommend.

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While visiting San Diego, I always try to find fabric as a souvenir, and stopping into Fringe…read moreFabrics was such a treat. The shop has a beautiful selection of apparel fabrics, with lots of tropical, fun, colorful options that feel perfect for flowy garments, alongside more neutral choices as well. I ended up purchasing a really lovely tropical viscose and an incredible deadstock Gucci bouclé that immediately spoke to me and it happened to be on sale, which made it even better. The owner was wonderful: warm, knowledgeable, and genuinely fun to talk with. We chatted about the fabrics and brainstormed what I might sew with them, which made the experience feel extra special. Highly recommend stopping by if you love sewing or beautiful fabric. It's a great shop with a thoughtfully curated selection, and I'm so glad I made it part of my trip.

The staff is extremely helpful and courteous. The boutique-like fabric store is cute with nice,…read moreaffordable fabrics to chose from. They also have some unique finds like French lace and high quality threads.

A kitchy neighborhood thing to always check out what's arts fartsy. A beautiful garden to check out…read morebehind it with water conservation innovation incorporated into art. Once in awhile also students display their work and are sold at great reasonable prices. Go check it out!

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.

I am the "nice Lady" owner of the driveway of the house next to Artisan Collection. The gentleman…read moredid ring my bell and ask to park in the driveway, and I did tell him that the owner of AC leaves no later than 5:30 and that he needed to let her know that I had allowed him to park there. The Owner and her friend are my neighbors, and dear friends. And it is unbelievable how many people "abuse" my driveway every day and park in it, or block it from the street, and so my neighbors look after me while I'm at work (I work 15 hour days usually, and it's very frustrating to come home and find I can't park in my own driveway), and this whole situation was a miss-communication, and ABSOLUTELY NOT IN ANY WAY a reflection of Artisan Collection OR Artistic Ruins. I, in general, stand by my awesome neighbor's actions in defending my property--I ask them to look after my place often while I'm on travel. If I could do the event over again, after giving permission to the guy to park in my driveway, instead of telling him to tell my neighbors I had authorized it, I would have walked over and let them know first hand from me. Now, to review Artisan Collection--Shirley, the owner, and actual jewelry designer is WORLD CLASS, renowned, and a respected artist, jeweler, and appraisor. I have trusted her with my family heirlooms from Germany, as well as making new, unique jewelry for me and have referred her to people who have come from ALL OVER THE US to get unique fashion designed by her. She is a long-standing member of the local community, supports local San Diego Artisans, and is an amazing woman with a life full of adventure and stories. Do yourself a favor, stop in sometime over the weekend, and see just how friendly she is. And, treat your loved one to a unique, hand-crafted piece of art.

If you are an art collector or have an imagination to create your own pieces this is a one stop…read morecreative shop! Shirley is an amazing woman full of information and experience to help out any questions !! So glad I have found this place, thanks to friends and my future hubby ! He had my custom engagement ring made here. My favorite thing about this place is it showcases local artists! I also have a killer ceramic art piece/ serving dish that I scored here made by a local ceramic artist! I posted a pic of my ring ( it's the heart shaped one) Enjoy the journey that this cute boutique takes you too when you visit! And tell Shirley , I may very well love her and thank you for this amazing custom ring!