We love Whitney's work. We first saw her work at the Palo Alto Clay and Glass festival and have…read moremade a point of going to find her every year since. We also had the opportunity to visit her open studio in Oakland a few years ago. Her work is beautiful and she's a joy to talk to and work with. This year she worked with us to create a piece of a particular size we needed. We'll definitely continue to look for her in coming years and figure out a way to fit another piece into our home.

My love affair with her beautiful work began in 2008 when I received one of her cake stands as a…read moregift. Since then my collection has grown as I follow her Etsy website (http://www.etsy.com/shop/whitneysmith), her blog, met her in person at her various shows around the Bay Area. She will also host an open studio event one or twice a year where you get the opportunity to see where all the magic happens. She's wonderful to talk to and work with. If you are a lover of the arts, then you owe it to yourself to own a Whitney Smith piece. What I love about her work: * How she incorporate nature (birds, leaves, butterflies, flowers) * The clean lines * The gorgeous glazing (my favorite is her signature green glaze) * The pieces are beautiful for home decor AND practical for every day use!! * You can tell each piece was a labor of love * There is nothing else like her work on the market I have 15 pieces and I can't wait to get another!!

This place is a delight! They have supplies for stained glass artwork, classes on stain glass, they…read morecan do custom stained glass, designs, basically everything you need related to stain glass. Out front they always have a little table that has an activity involving stained glass. It's fun to bring kids and let them do a stained glass art piece. For about 20 bucks you can have them put it in the kiln and come back the next day and pick up your kids artwork. What a great activity to do on fourth Street.

Recently took a class w friends w instructor Julie Orchard - mere words cannot capture her…read moreawesomeness.. She'sthat rare combo of extremely experienced & able to communicate everything clearly & calmly, while making you feel like you can totally do exactly the same thing she did... & then she made good on it! Srsly, everyone in the class was thrilled e their results. Honestly I was shocked at what we all were able to achieve in just a few short but super sweet hours. If you're a serious nose to the grindstone student you'll appreciate Julie's expertise & clarity. If you're a total beginner looking to just have fun Julie will help you do just that - AND make a super beautiful piece. Win/win! HIGHLY recommend Julie

My wife and I decided to pick up a new hobby 9 months ago, and I'm so glad we did. Since then,…read morewe've taken 6 classes at Cass Ceramics, where we've benefitted from personalized attention from Lizzie and Lauren, both of whom took great care to impart lessons to us about throwing ceramics on the wheel, hand-building pieces, and glazing our pottery. It's been a captivating new artistic obsession, made possible by the welcoming community at Cass. We feel very lucky to have found Cass, Lizzie, and Lauren!

I'm a big fan of Cass Ceramics and appreciate that the studio has opportunities for folks with a…read morewide range of ceramics knowledge and skills. I'm a ceramics novice and over the past year or so have taken a weekend workshop and three classes here with Cass, Lizzie, and Lauren. The instructors are super friendly, inviting, and helpful. As a beginner, I thought it'd be really complicated - from learning ceramics techniques to figuring out how get my pieces fired, glazed, etc. But the classes and workshops are super informative, and the studio has an efficient and easy to understand process of getting my pieces from start to finish. I look forward to taking more classes here :)

There is no place like this place. It's such a beautiful store, filled with all sorts of absolutely…read moreexquisite things, nothing like typical Mexican import places. You feel like you're in a museum surrounded by artifacts, except the prices are so reasonable. Talavera Ceramics brings the real Mexico to us. And there's no one like Lilia, the amazingly knowledgeable gal who has run the place for 20 years. She and the store are truly Bay Area treasures!

We are so happy to have our wood burning oven finally completed. The tiles we chose were special…read moreorder, but work the wait. This oven has been used for years and we finally got our tiles done, long over due. There were so many options, it was hard to choose.

We visited for the first time to see a small show of a friend's artwork. What a cool little shop…read more It seems to mostly sell the work of the craftspeople who have studios there. The items are so diverse. There are many cat-themed items -- not cat lady items, more like "cat dude" items. It's close to the Ashby Bart and the people seem very friendly and low key. They have some wonderful and reasonable art, lots of cool prints. I couldn't tell when they are open, but think it's worth a call if you are looking for a unique gift or artwork for your own space.

I love this gallery! They have all different kinds of art, from cute little cactus arrangements to…read morefull-on illustrations. I purchased several prints from here - including the pictured one of the cats wearing fish heads - and several cards as well. Everything is beautiful, handmade, and original. The owners are lovely and welcoming, and everything is well priced. Definitely worth a visit, but bring some $$$. I would come to all of their openings if I lived closer!

Great spot with lots of fun gifts, cards, kitchen goods, and trinkets. I love that there's an…read moreOakland section too! I'll be shopping here for my holiday gifts for sure. The staff is nice and the store is dog-friendly which was nice as I stopped in while walking my dog after work.

I enjoy Nathan & Co when shopping for a last-minute gift, but I was disappointed at their customer…read moreservice during my last experience. During the holidays, I bought a bunch of gifts for my in-laws in New York, and it turned out that some of the items were expired! When I brought the item back, the cashier did not offer an apology until I expressed the embarrassment of gifting an expired thing. The lack of accountability and nonchalant-ness is unfortunate when I've spent so much money at that store. I went around and checked out some of their other perishable items and noticed that they, too, were expired. Nathan & Co, step your game up and get better employees that actually care about being there enough to check inventory & provide decent customer service.

Surprised this wasn't more popping on a Saturday! Sweet staff and a fun, inexpensive art activity…read more(they have a self-guided glass art class for relatively cheap). Gorgeous, open, and clean space. Loved looking at all the glass samples. I can't wait to see how our pieces turn out!

We absolutely love visiting this store! The glass selection is incredible (though I've had the same…read moreissue with them not cutting down bigger sheets, making it harder and more dangerous to transport). The staff have been incredibly helpful, always willing to answer my random glass questions. I even had someone share insights on glass fusing, which I'll be trying once my kiln arrives! My best piece of advice, check for sales to save some cash. Twice a year they have sales of 50% off glass, so stock up and save big!

What a surprise! I expected there would be several reviews for the Berkeley Potters Guild and…read morefound only one, by my friend Kelly! The Potters Guild was established in 1971 and is the oldest and largest clay collaborative on the west coast, according to their card. I have visited them for years. People come and go and many of the pieces I have are by people who are no longer part of the collective. Kimi Masui works in porcelain. Her pieces are exquisite, light and graceful. Regardless who else is in the guild, I'm always eager to see what she has. Her studio is in the back, so for me, it's best for last. http://berkeleypotters.com/kimimasui.html I have been buying her work since she sold it on Telegraph Avenue. I have several of her cups and a covered jar that we use for nonfat dry milk. That jar has had a lot of use. It's chipped and the lid has been broken and glued back together. I came here to see if I could find a replacement. I went through the various exhibits of people's work. Some is functional and some decorative. Some is both. When I read Kelly's review and clicked on the link she included I saw that the woman whose piece she bought was one whose lovely, colorful work had attracted me as well: http://berkeleypotters.com/margaretgriszdow.html I'm not sure how many potters are here. It's a warren of spaces and hallways but if you wander through and double back a few times you can see everything. There's even a jeweler, Janie Rose, who I suspect used to be a potter who was part of the collective years ago and switched to jewelry. Her earrings are attractive and inexpensive. There are several potters who are new to the collective since I was last there a few years ago and there was a great deal to be admired, but I was looking for a couple of specific things. First was a replacement bowl for the cracked one, since I didn't find what I was looking for at the Potter's Studio. Finally I reached Kimi Masui's studio. I immediately found a bowl to replace the cracked one. Kimi was there and I described to her the covered jar we had and its condition. She was very accommodating and patient, going through her backstock looking for jars the right size. There was one that was a perfect size, but the opening was a bit too small so I didn't get it. I'll keep checking.

I had been wanting to check this place out for some time... they were open and Dr. R. was going to…read moreget Audi parts in the area, so I decided to give it a looksee. Yep, it was pretty pricey. I did buy an espresso cup and saucer for $35, but it was a beautiful cup which will bring me pleasure whenever I use it (like the other espresson cups I have in my collection). It was nice to meet the artist and when we took off the shelf, she gave me a couple of small slips that explained the piece and it's care as well as her general philosophy. Here is her website: http://berkeleypotters.com/margaretgriszdow.html I do love buying handmade ceramics. I bought the absolutely perfect cereal bowl from a crafts cooperative in West Virginia during a road trip and have always kicked myself that I did not buy two or even four. It is the perfect shade of blue and the perfect depth... feels good in the hand... that is the plus side to buying from the hand of the person who has made something. There is a recognition that a human being not only designed this object, but fabricated it to become a piece of your life. One sour note was at the cashier. There is a central clerical area, staffed by the potters. We arrived at the area, to be third in line. During the second transaction, we waited through a mutual compliment of each other's jewelry, conversation about who each of the potters were to each other and an eventual trading of email addresses with a plan to meet up later... all while we were waiting and feeling like chopped liver! :::laugh:: I know.. how high school can you get? It just left a sour taste in my mouth, which I quickly dispelled at Vik's!