CircEsteem was once a wonderful organization and has great potential, but that is unfortunately…read morecompletely wasted now due to terrible mismanagement. The teaching staff is amazing, talented, kind and knowledgable. However, those at the top of the administration have demonstrated a complete disregard for the working conditions of the entire staff, and pay themselves a very generous salary but constantly ask their employees to make sacrifices. As a result, the staff is constantly overworked, underpaid and underappreciated for their dedication. The turn-over rate of employees over the past several years has grown incredibly high and is a clear indication of the lack of professionalism and respect shown by upper management. Directors have frequently disregarded safety standards and repeatedly ignored the very reasonable concerns brought forward by staff and students. They also actively discourage whistleblowers from raising awareness on safety issues. This naturally creates a dangerous environment for students. For an organization who's core mission statement is to build self-Esteem, they do an incredible job of destroying the esteem of staff, and blatantly demand silence and compliance, and aggressively bully employees rather than making any effort to find understanding or compromise. This type of upper management class division, discrimination and subjugation has happened before with other nonprofit organizations, which inevitably resulted in strikes and petitions that were widely reported on the news. It is a shame that they would choose to risk this and strongarm employees into submission and lay off those who try to stand up for their rights, rather than have civil discourse. When more than half of the staff is extremely unhappy, and those that attempt to raise awareness of any concerns are fired or pushed out, that is a problem that requires consideration on how to restructure and they have taken zero steps to do so and have shown no accountability. I strongly encourage CircEsteem teachers to strike and unionize as soon as possible, or this trend of exploitation will only continue to worsen. The Executive Director also needs to resign, as it is blatantly evident that he is not qualified for the position and is clearly not upholding CircEsteem's mission of mutual respect, humility, patience, love and self-reflection. Bottomline - do not work for CircEsteem, and consider other options for circus arts.

I gave my daughter several options for her 10th birthday party venues and luckily she chose…read moreCircEsteem. I have to say that they certainly made a bunch of kids, and especially my daughter / hero, very happy. The CircEsteem staff totally rocked, from Scott's quick and continued communication leading up to the event to the engaged, happy, and involved staff during the event, and kind communication afterwards to ensure our happiness. Everyone was upbeat, fun, helpful, and excellent. We knew it would be good when one of the kids walked in, looked around and said, "I can tell this is going to be a great party!" She was right. I also have to give a shout out to the face painter and balloon guy. They were tremendous! I've never seen a balloon artist that talented. And one of the kids said re the face painter: "she's a professional make-up artist! Well it's all downhill for me from now on." I wish I were more fluent in 10-year-old, but clearly she somehow meant that as an "epic" compliment. It was great getting the kids together to actually learn some new fun skills, be active, and have fun, even while wearing masks. Where else can kids get on a trapeze, aerial silks, walk on stilts, and act like a clown, all while getting their faces painted and having incredible whimsical balloons twisted for them? I could go on and on about how excellent this was, but let's just say that it was certainly a party that my daughter and her friends will remember. Thanks CircEsteem!!

This place is SO amazing!!! My 6 year old son did a week of camp here and he came home with some of…read morethe most amazing art pieces! They were unique and used all types are art supplies! He was so proud of his masterpieces. Will for sure be back next summer!

Amazing birthday party for my daughter! The owner was so…read moreaccommodating and easy to communicate with. We had kids different ages and every kid was engaged and had a great time. We loved it! Thank you so much!

An incredibly happy place. The managers runs the studio so there's never a glitch. The instructors…read moreare not just elite-level sewists, but they are also incredibly kind and patient beyond belief. They meet you were you are. I often feel like a klutz around sewing machines, but they empower me to just go for it and, as long as they're by my side, I get great results. I look forward to the days I have an upcoming class scheduled. Recommendation: Take a class.

Over the past few months I took 3 sewing classes at Sew Crafty and LOVED IT!…read more I started with the Machine Sewing Basics class to brush up on my skills. I had sewn as a teen so it was easy to dive back in, but there were also brand new beginners in my class that seemed to do really well too. After Basics, I felt confident enough to sign up for Hemming and Alterations (a set of 2 classes), where we reviewed measuring and different types of hems/clothing modifications. We even got to bring in some of our own clothes to work on while supervised by the teachers :) Since then, I've been able to hem a bunch of items I've always wanted to wear, so I'll call it a success! The staff was soooo knowledgeable and patient (shout out to Anika who led both of mine!), making the total of 6 hours I spent there really efficient. The studio was tidy, well organized and had all the equipment we needed to thrive. Plus, the classmates were all super kind, so I guess it draws in nice people! 10/10 recommend!

So glad to have this space back open! I rented it out for my son's 2nd birthday party. We had a…read moregreat experience and would highly recommend. The kids loved racing around the open space and exploring all of the toys. The toddlers loved climbing through the tunnels. The adults enjoyed the space to gather in the party room. As the host, I had a terrific experience! The owner allowed me to drop in early to store some of my supplies in the fridge. She was very helpful during the party supplying me with things I'd forgotten and checking in to ensure all was well. I look forward to dropping in for classes in the future. As I was dropping things off, there was a cute baby sign language class taking place. The environment is so fresh, clean, and calm! Welcome to the neighborhood, Southport Fundamentals!

We recently attended a birthday party and the kids (and adults) had a great time! The space is set…read moreup to allow children to be active, creative, and engaged. We would highly recommend this space for birthday parties, as the party room is perfect for decorating, storing food/drinks, and mingling. Fun aside, the space is exceptionally clean and the owner was on site to help with the flow of the party. This space would also be ideal for hosting adult gatherings (classes, parties, meetings, etc.). Welcome to the neighborhood!

The Pottery Studio is an absolutely gorgeous studio space. The natural light, high ceilings, and…read moreopen space make the perfect workspace where creativity flows. They play relaxing classical music. The space is well kept and always clean. The prices may be on the pricer side for a hobbyist, but as a serious artist I find the membership price to be incredibly affordable for such a beautiful studio. The staff here is absolutely amazing. I'm a member so I can't speak to the class experience but I've watched from afar and they seem great. They also have a couple free parking spaces!

In terms of a welcoming, beautiful, open space to work on some personal projects, this place…read moredefinitely hits the mark. If you're a complete beginner looking for some structure to learn the pottery basics, I can't say this is the place I'd go to. Originally had booked a one-time evening class and on the day of the event we all arrived only for the teachers to not know there was a class and had nothing planned. The people working there were super accommodating and I was offered a private make up class at a discounted rate. While I really liked our teacher, the makeup class was very unstructured and I would have appreciated something a bit more organized so I could learn basics instead of what felt like floundering around with play-doh. When I came to pick up the pieces, I noticed there were a few missing and some things we wanted glazed were not so they cannot be food safe now. All that said, my handicraft pot turned out well and I use it as a vase. Id only recommend coming here if you already know the basics and want a clean open studio to work in.

DO patronize this place. I've been coming here for a bit over a year and have had a wonderful time…read moredoing so. I've learned how to make figures, mugs, bowls, vases, and how to glaze them in so many different ways. The owner Meg will be sure to show you physical examples and lend you books if you have an idea of a piece you want to do or a color you want to try, and she'll talk you through the steps but still say it's your piece to do what you want with! They also have a wonderful scholarship program that I've been able to utilize from time to time and if you buy a mug from their wall it goes towards that fund. I am so grateful to have found this community and to be able to learn in this kind and open space.

After reading a recent review by Rianna D., I had to check out the windows. I must say I was QUITE…read moredisappointed by the terrible inaccuracies of Rianna's review. I did not see any violence and there was not a single ERECT PENIS to be found. What I did see was a most varied collection of distinct and unique art that clearly represented the artists that work from their most welcoming space! I have worked out of several studios, and have to say Lincoln Square Pottery & Learning Center has been the most welcoming, supportive and generous art space I have been a part. If you are looking for interesting gifts and unique ceramics, come on by. If you are looking boring, uninspired, slap it in a frame and call it art art, just keep walking. If you a re looking for ART, something that might challenge you, or perhaps a mug to give as a gift, there is both and everything in between. And a little advice for Rianna, look up St. Sebastian, that was the inspiration for one of the "pornographic" pieces you referred. And before referencing something you clearly know nothing about, BDSM, do some research on that topic as well. And by the way, YOU DID contact the Alderman to report the "debaucherous" display, and they did not have a problem with it AT ALL! You might want to check out that little thing called the First Amendment, it covers Freedom of Expression of which artistic expression is covered.

Spudnik is a co-op that allows creatives and such to use their equipment in the studio for their…read moreown personal pursuits. They have letterpress, screen printing equipment, lithography, and more at your disposal. A membership with Spudnik gains you access to all of this and there are different levels based on what you want to use the studio for (basic and volunteer for more casual artists and keyholder for those who, say, make a living off of their art). If you're new to all of this they also lead classes and workshops for outside groups as well, including classes on screen printing, zine making, lithography, risography, letterpress, photoshop and more. I had a great time here designing and screen printing t-shirts with my colleagues last week. Tara and the other Spudnik folks were so fantastic, walking us through the process of creating the image (we did a collaborative drawing but you can also use their computers to create something digitally) then taking us through the steps of screen printing. I had done some INCREDIBLY DIY screen printing years ago so it was great to see how it's done in a proper setting with a dark room and all that good stuff. She told us all about the different screen gauges, the emulsion process, and more. So fun and educational! A super cool space that I wish I had known about when I lived in Chicago. I would have definitely joined and exercised my creativity, no doubt.

Loved my experience at Spudnik! We rented out the place for a team bonding screen printing…read moreexperience and had a blast! As others have mentioned, this is a space for creatives to play. While there are studios for individual artists that are in-house, there are letterpress and screen printing machines as well as workshops that are offered to the general public. Our group made a screenprinting design, where we collaborated on a drawing between the 12 of us and the wonderful staff helped us make T-Shirts with the original screenprint that we created! It was a fun, involved process and the staff at Spudnik made it easy, seamless and stress-free. If you're looking for a fun experience or just looking to get more connected to the creative community in Chicago, check out Spudnik!

My daughter has been taking classes here for a few weeks and is really loving it! She's learning…read morethe basics of form drawing while also getting to experiment with different materials in a supportive environment. I highly recommend StudioUs!

Studio us is an amazing art studio located south of Andersonville. Rachel is the owner and…read moreinstructor and has an absolute magical way with children. She employs technology to help kids learn to draw one line at a time. She also holds amazing workshops for $10 an hour where kids can do special art projects. Classes are maxed at 6 kids, most have around 4 so your kiddos get lots of attention. Best art studio in the city.