Katie B., who I have always been a huge fan of, has had some events in this area and I wish I could…read morehave been to more. The area is new to me and I very much enjoyed some of the shops.I am a guy who at one time only had experience eating in South Central Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Long Beach and the Hub Cities. I do love these cities and I am happy to experience new unfamiliar places like Atwater Village and Silver Lake. Molly was there to kindly greet everyone, guide the children to complete task and behave, teach craft and chat with the adults. I enjoyed being in her class and I enjoyed seeing my little nephew complete his project. You can tell Molly has experience and education working with young children. On the walls we saw paintings and various drawings made by children. We did an Autumn seasonal craft project with paper, wooden wreaths, glue and various other decorative items. They have no-meter warning on Sunday, all other days there is a 2 hour maximum at a meter which can be paid by quarters or credit card, I do not think they accept EBT. Plenty of parking that day and other parking available if you are willing to walk. There is a garden area out back with rocks and a bench and the sun and air flowing in. I enjoyed the experience very much so as did many of the people I met there. I think the price range is fairly reasonable for the uptown people of this affluent area though maybe not for this downtown kind of guy. I do plan to come back in this area and I would highly recommend this place to any Hipster parents who want to keep children entertained for a while and want to help develop their children's vital skills.

We LOVE Ms. Molly! My daughter goes to her after school and she loves it! She has learned to hand…read moresew @ age 6, which is cool. Her drawing and coloring continues to improve with the encouragement that she receives from Ms.Molly and her helpers. We have gone to parties there as well and they are so much fun for all the children.

I took a candle making and intention setting workshop here last night and it was great! The…read moreinstructor was very knowledgeable and spent so much time answering all of our questions. She was kind and helpful, and you can tell she really loves and knows her craft well! It was an intimate setting, and it was a fun experience to learn about one process of candle making. At the end of the night, you get to go home with your own hand poured candle that you created. The intention setting part of the workshop was very peaceful and created an opportunity to reflect on the past year and be intentional about something you'd like to foster for yourself in this new year. Excellent class and I'd return to this studio for another one. However, $70 may be a bit steep for some for a workshop like this.

Yelp Cliff Notes: What's more fun than exploring our…read moreinfinite creativity through crafts? Partnering with a sustainable studio that leads the activities, and cleans it up so you don't have to, haha. Yelp Unabridged Version: There's something that is so simple and so soul-fulfilling in crafts. Looking for a fun date night activity, we found a unique experience (check), quality time inducing (check), and sustainable activity (bonus check) in forager crafts. The instructors are deeply passionate and the workshop was a blast! Leaning into sustainability, we reused some of the craft trinkets in a multi-bean sensory bin for our 1 year old daughter. Double score! Highly recommend-

As time passes it feels more and more of Chinatown is slowly starting to die out. The once bustling…read morestreets filled with vendors selling all types of knick-knacks and groceries have gone from every street to now just a few blocks. Restaurants which used to be filled with families every weekend now slowly find themselves closing earlier and earlier. The strong community that once was is slowly starting to age out and be pushed out. Luckily, there are new businesses finding roots in this part of Los Angeles and Element Art Center is a great example of how arts and crafts can bring life back to a community. After making a reservation for one of their classes and being let into the building you can look around and see how much of this space is made for building, crafting, and designing. With classes spanning from ceramics to stained glass it is a safe space to let your creativity run wild or be instructed. The instructors are young and teach in a way that welcomes questions without judgment. They encourage your creativity but also provide gentle direction along the way. With supplies provided if you are a novice learning a craft it is an artistic adventure without the cliff falls of expenses weighing you down. If you take their classes that last a few weeks or a month it also gives you access to come and go to create at your own pace. Element Art Center is a wonderful time whether you're doing a solo trip or being social with others. This is the kind of business that bring traffic to a neighborhood and help sustain it. Hopefully, more spaces for art will pop down the line in Chinatown but for now, it's fantastic we have Element Art Center to hold it down.

I took the wood spoon carving class. There were about ten of us in the class, and that ensured a…read morelot of great variety, as everyone is encouraged to draft up and carve spoons in whatever style they can imagine. (I admittedly went with a fairly traditional spoon design as I have never really carved before, but some of the folks here gave their spoons handles that were zig-zagged or had wild faves in them.) The instructor was very helpful, attentive, and fun, engaging us all in conversation as we whittled/carved. All the tools provided were of great quality, and they offer a ton of other classes that also seemed really interesting, with one of the people in the class talking up having taken stain glass earlier. I went solo, as did several other folks at my table, so it was a good mix of individuals, couples, and groups all coming together for spoons! It was really fun and I'll likely be back, either to make another spoon or to check out another class.

Siri is a great teacher, supportive, encouraging, creative and very helpful. She can teach in many…read moredifferent mediums and is wonderful with adults as well as children. There is never any pressure. I have learned an enormous amount from my classes with her.

Siri is a wonderful teacher. She really looks at your work and gives you meaningful feedback. She…read morehas a detailed knowledge of visual art and artists to draw upon. She is kind, calm, and easy-going. Taking an art class with Siri is a wonderful experience. She is very encouraging.

Overall: great facilities, instructor and experience!…read more We stopped by for the intro class. Justin is an amazing instructor and guided us through the process of centering and shaping. The class had an energetic vibe and he guided the students via a combination of verbal instruction and hands on guidance. For students who wanted to keep their work product, Justin helped firm up the work in preparation for firing.

Amazing pottery studio. I felt so comfortable asking questions and getting help from the instructor…read moreOllin. He was extremely knowledgeable, professional, and easy going. I highly recommend taking a class. You will learn something about clay and something about yourself. I love this place so much!

I took a wax ring casting workshop where I got to design my own ring. It was challenging but lots…read moreof fun! The entire class consisted of step-by-step instructions on how to size, carve and etch a design on a wax mold. Once complete, you attach your name and contact info on a card so that it can be shipped to you once it has been cast into a brass (or silver) ring. You really learn what goes into designing a piece of jewelry- would definitely take this class again. Will have to remember to post a photo of the finished piece after I receive it!

I took the pressed flower candle making class. It was very easy to follow instructions, fun, and…read moreeveryone's candle turned out lovely. You are given a kit that includes all the items you need to make the candle in class and for you to use at home. I knocked down one star bc I ended up paying a minimal fee ($2) for parking as the class went just a little over 2hrs which is the validation period.

Don't hesitate... just sign up! Whether it's for kids, teens or adult this is an amazing studio to…read morelearn from. My kiddo has taken both adult and kids classes and she has excelled in both. You can see the skill, techniques, and artistry in the work that they bring home. She feels very supported and enjoys going every week and always comes out excited to tell me about her project. Doesn't get any better than that. So if you've been wondering... just do it. Sign up.

Started out taking drawing lessons here for practical reasons, then I fell in love with drawing and…read morepainting and I have been a student here for a while now. They are incredible. Very reasonably priced and the teachers are amazing artists who will help you draw or paint whatever you want to do. Good community feeling as well, just good vibes all around. Lovely people.

Wonderful, caring and thoughtful teachers in the Primary room. My kid looks forward to class!read more

Our experience at Renaissance Arts has been really good. This school is different, and personally,…read moreI am thankful. My son told me, "There are no bullies at Ren Arts". I can see why. The staff is strict and they somehow manage to do what our previous school was not able to do - keep the kids feeling safe. When my kids started, I sat in on many of the classes to help one of my kids adjust. Almost every day for a year I went to the first 2 classes. In a large 8am singing class meant (I imagine) to gather the kids together and provide structure while stragglers arrived, I watched the teacher nip every potential behavior problem in the bud with, "I hear someone talking. If someone is talking while X is asking a question, then we can't hear X's important question". Or, "If you aren't participating then we are missing your voice. We need your voice". Everything here is based on the idea of an ensemble. And the importance of the individual within the ensemble is stressed. The ensemble performances that they do twice a year are truly amazing. Imagine being thrown in with different groups of students in your school twice a year to perform. Part of the reason there is no bullying is that you bond with your fellow cast members. There are some overarching mission statements that you see over and over again that are unique and heartwarming. For example, although there are no tests, they have a lot of essays to write where the kids have the opportunity to express themselves. They are told that there is not right or wrong answer and they just want to hear their ideas. They are often asked to reflect on themes and the teachers don't feel like they have "the answer", but rather are excited to hear what the kids come up with. It feels like college level teaching. To me, this is exciting stuff! I sat in on a second grade humanities class and felt like I was in college: a group of 8 kids plus a teacher sat around the table and discussed King Lear. The kids had so much to say about the age-appropriate rendition of what they were reading. The school also has a social justice bent and the themes of their shows often reflects current events. One of the high school students told me that they read the constitution every year in high school and every time she finds something new. So yes, there is much here that is going to look different from your typical school. It functions differently and so the form will be inherently different. I feel that as long as the child is happy, that is the best gauge of the fit of the school. And my kids are happy here.