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!!

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.

New favorite place for crafts! Picked up basics like staplers, staples, glue sticks, glittery pom…read morepoms, Lunar New Year decorations, crepe papers (including the kind for decorating piñatas) , ribbons... this place is delightful for artists and kids crafts.

This art shop is every crafters dream it has everything for all types of crafts; fabrics, yarns,…read morethreads, bottle caps, nicknacks & doodads, beads and glitters, scrapbooking, framing this place has it all and the proces are reasonable & won't break the bank. I had the pleasure of meeting the owners daughter who was running the shop; she was so passionate it was inspiring I will definitely be coming back for crafting supplies and like minded people! If youre available crafter come check this shop out I bet you will find something you didn't know you needed

I went to see Anthony Grant's show there and thought the space was really great. They also have a…read morelot of fun creative gifts for sale,

Always a great experience in this small, well curated shop featuring soulful pieces by diverse…read moreartists across multiple disciplines.

I've not written a review before, but I'm so pissed off right now. I was treated pretty poorly at…read morethis place. I've been looking for a statement piece necklace for months now. I stopped in this store today and found what I was looking for. Finally! But the customer service was so incredibly bad I walked out without buying it The woman who opened the door, took one look at me and I imagine decided that I wasn't worth her time. Didn't greet me, ask me if she could help. I stood in front of the piece of jewelry trying to get somebody's attention, but no luck. They just lost a sale.

I've been working with Peter Ostwald for over a year now and I have learned so very much. I learned…read morejewelry making in college many years ago and have always wanted to create really unique pieces. I am an artist and I primarily paint. Being able to come to Peter with a sketch of an idea and having him guide me to making it an actual work of wearable art is an amazing process. It's my favorite two hours of my otherwise crazy busy week as I juggle my art and a full-time sales job. I cannot recommend Peter highly enough, whether you are brand new to creating or a seasoned artist, his teaching style, creativity, and guidance are unparalleled. I am looking forward to studying with him for many more years.

I took Jewelry making and metalsmithing in college about 15 years ago and really wanted to pick it…read moreup again. I also needed something creative to add to my week to balance out my super technical job. Peter has been a godsend. He's super laid back, non judgmental, and has really helped me tap back into my creative side. This is my favorite 2 hours of the week and for such a reasonable price, I can't recommend it enough.

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 :)

I have been coming to this wonderful place for over 20 years and still love everything I have…read morepurchased. As a designer I am always in search of very particular items to give a pop of color, add the patina of an aged finish or a striking silouette or modern form. This is the only place I know that never fails - there is a bounty of beautiful vessels from all around the world in sumptuous textures and colors with designs that range from old world to modern. Even when I go in determined to only purchase a few items, I end up spending hours wandering through and finding new treasures. The staff is always very helpful, and a big shout out to Evan who helped me today and is so knowledgeable about plants and especially to Carlos for his amazing knowledge and good taste, who went out of his way to help me find exactly what I needed.

They have a great selection of pots in all sizes, colors, and styles! Both indoor and outdoor poss…read moreare available. Pricing is mid range. Their pricing is slight lower than my local nursery. I've seen pots at HomeGoods for about half the price here, but they're not available in all stores or at all times. So I would say if you want to wait to find a deal, this is not the place for you, but if you're in need of a pot you'll find a great one here. We purchased a 14-inch diameter glazed indoor pot for $100. They also had a clearance section with mostly smaller 2-6-inch pots.

The Compound Gallery is a (hidden?) gem of the Bay Area. It's *free* to enter/browse and there are…read morepieces here ranging from affordable to pricier. 1) I enjoyed David Fullarton's collection, "Everything's Getting Worse and I'm Not Helping," as well as browsing local artisans' pieces. The curation of this gallery feels cohesive. The pieces here are rich with meaning -- great conversation starters, so it's definitely an excellent place to bring a friend or two. 2) I wish I caught the name of the owner/director I met there yesterday -- he was so warm and a great host! It was my first time, and he took the time to briefly show me around the different areas of the gallery whilst entertaining my questions about the history of the gallery/its artists. He also shared upcoming events and exhibitions (artist talks, for instance), inviting me to stay connected! 3) Parking here is pretty great (I was at the gallery on the weekend). There's also a small park across the street -- great place to hang out and debrief after enjoying The Compound. I highly recommend The Compound Gallery -- I know I'll be back soon.

I was a member for a little over two years. I learned screen printing there and I'm genuinely…read moregrateful for that. There's a lot to like about Compound and I'm bummed that I got such a sour taste in my mouth right at the end. Pros: - Fantastic equipment covering a huge range of making and printing. REALLY nice setup for screen printing. Bummer that you can only do water based but it makes sense overall from a mess and fumes standpoint. - Open at all hours - which is nice - Matt and Lena are friendly and welcoming when you join and were generally friendly to be around Cons: - At $250 a month, I paid over $6,000 total even though times/eras would naturally happen and I'd not use it for 2-3 months. This really stings. Month after month it just felt like too much for what it actually was. - Often times, you end up having to wait a long time to get certified to use certain things. Was frustrating that something as simple as the conveyor drier needed a $50 course + waiting for many months when it could be taught in 5 min. - Communication is fairly slow on support tickets. When I was leaving I couldn't locate my flat pack storage area as I hadn't used it but wanted to make sure it was clear since my friend had missed clearing hers out entirely. The owners didn't know where it was either - Almost always empty. Great for working but not great for meeting people or feeling like part of a community. When I occasionally would talk to people , they would often say 'so odd that this place is always empty.' - The message board is pretty much only used for griping about cleanup vs. anything very inspirational or community oriented. Sour taste right at the end for me: I accidentally left a new thing of emulsion in the screen printing fridge. I emailed them, waited 5 days, then followed up, then waited another 5 days, messaged on Instagram, then biked over in person. I saw Lena in the gallery, tried to wave her down, and she ignored me and walked the other way. I asked the front desk if I could speak with her and was told she was busy, leave a note. I left a note. Never heard back. I eventually just ordered another one and moved on. It's not about the $30. That's obviously trivial. But it's just frickin harsh. I spent a lot of money at that place over two years, cleaned up, and was friendly and can't even get a basic response? I wasn't badgering them... I sent one email, waited, and followed up at a normal cadence. Even a 'sorry, we had to clean out the fridge!' Anything. The fridge was packed to the brim with old emulsion that no one bothered to clean up, if anything it would help to free up some space. My friend had a similar experience, she accidentally left something behind (I think in her flatpack area as well) and instead of a simple heads up email... they charged her extra months. She had to fight/plead to get that removed. How you treat people when they are suddenly no longer paying you $250 a month says a lot... The equipment is genuinely great and if you're going to use it constantly, I'd still say its worth it. It's a gem of a spot in many ways! But if not, I'd look into more focused + more affordable spaces elsewhere like ace makerspace or a slew of others that have popped up. And whatever you do, don't leave anything behind !