I've been a member at Artisan's Asylum since 2017, and it's been one of the most meaningful…read morecreative communities I've been part of. I started out pretty tentatively, just learning and exploring. Over time, I got more involved and eventually became the laser shop lead for four years. That experience opened the door for me to build a small business creating bamboo candle lanterns and piggy banks--something I never would have been able to do on my own without access to the tools and support there. That's really what makes a makerspace like this so special. You get access to equipment that would be wildly expensive (and impractical) to own yourself, and you're surrounded by people who are both learning and generously sharing what they know. A recent moment really drove that home for me. I needed to test out my tent system for an upcoming show, but the weather outside was terrible. I was able to set everything up in the common space and run a full test. Honestly--such a small thing, but incredibly helpful, and exactly the kind of flexibility that makes this place so valuable. These days, my focus has shifted to painting, and having studio space at the Asylum has been just as important for this next chapter. I have the room I need to work in encaustic, lay out panels, prep surfaces, and wrap finished pieces for transport. The shared spaces make all of that possible in a way that would be hard to replicate anywhere else. It's a welcoming, diverse environment with something for everyone--whether you're just curious or looking to build something serious. If you've ever thought about trying something new, take a class and see where it leads. You might surprise yourself. Time to get creative.

completed the jewelry 101 course. Fantastic instructor who led us through a series of steps…read morelearning the correct techniques on every tool in the Artisan's Asylum jewelry shop. We completed a ring (which my wife liked) over the two day 6 hour course. I have had some previous experience but this was an excellent learning process that taught me many things that improved my skills. Highly recommend taking this learning journey!! Great value for your money.

Are you ever on a random journey in a new town and open to new ideas and experiences???? That was…read moreus on this very cold but sunny day in Boston. We were walking from the north end after getting fresh pastries from an amazing shop ( See my other Boston reviews) when we saw a small historical sign explaining the history of North Bennet Street School. It was bustling as we curiously peered in. As we continue to walk up to the corner where we spot a sign for an open house at the school. We immediately turned around and went back. The lobby and staff were so welcoming! They got us checked in and answered a few of my questions. They gave us a low down and a map. Each area had us exploring and listening to the enthusiasm spilling from the students. It was really interesting and inspiring. Each presentation was so specialized and well organized. We spent a good chunk of time learning about the complexity of pianos, paper making, hand bound books, architecture and more! Another highlight was talking to an older gentleman who was a first year silver smith ( yes it was super cool) who was putting the finishing touches on a ring just as we walked by. He took the time to show us all of the steps from a rod of silver to the dazzling finished ring!!!! My feedback is that they should a season or two of web series showing their talents to the world. It would also be a great STEM connection for education. So many talents and interesting people in the area. Highly recommended. I'd love to attend a class or two here!

Unprofessional is an understatement to describe how the North Bennet Street School handled my kid's…read moreapplication. The admissions committee ghosted my student after they completed all the admissions requirements in time for the priority deadline. My student received an email confirming their materials were submitted in time for the priority deadline. Following an interview, there was no notification of acceptance, rejection or placement on a wait list. Zero. Weeks went by, and then months. My student sent emails to follow up, including to the admissions director. Crickets. We parents also contacted the admissions office and director to ask about our student's application. No response to very polite emails and calls. At one point, we got a human on the phone at the admissions office who seemed to be reading from a script, saying they were reviewing applications and would reach out if they needed more info. Six months have passed since the priority application deadline. Still no word -- except that they have the nerve to keep contacting my student with marketing materials. So, clearly they have accurate contact info. Even highly selective Harvard communicates with all applicants to let them know if they're in or out. Yet, NBSS can't get its act together to offer applicants the courtesy of sending a timely rejection email. There is something seriously wrong, in my opinion, with an artisan and trade school that charges $30K a year but treats prospective applicants and families in this manner. In my view, it's a big red flag, and I'd be curious to know if others have had similar experiences.

i just want to say i wish i didn't have to leave this review. i tried to resolve this through…read morekaitlyn weagle and her supervisor lisa but it unfortunately did not work well. this is what kaitlyn weagle did to my hair. i asked for a trim and she chopped off half my hair without checking with me after i explicitly told her i wanted to keep my length. my hair is naturally curly, and kaitlyn did not have experience with that. she told me someone who did have experience would be coming over to help, but that never happened. even after she cut my hair too short, i tipped her $50 and left. when i got home, i straightened it to add some of the length she chopped off, and i found that it looked like this. some of the pieces weren't even trimmed. because she was a student and i wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, i texted her to tell her that my hair was uneven, just in case she wasn't aware. she told me she didn't know i would want to wear my hair straight and that she only cut it for "curly wear". she then blocked my number when i asked for a supervisor to call me. i decided to go ahead and call the salon at this point. they did not answer so i left a voicemail. after 4 days i called again. lisa answered and told me she knew about the situation and that i was no longer welcome at empire beauty school. i would never go here again anyway, but i was confused as to why i was "not welcome". i did tell lisa i would leave this review because i felt that it was unprofessional the way i was treated and she said "fine. goodbye." and hung up on me. i've never been treated so poorly by a business or an individual, and i'm pretty shook up by the whole interaction. i didn't want to be a karen about this but i just figured it was worth a review. edit: after originally posting this review, i have gotten countless instagram messages from kaitlyn weagle's friends and family threatening me and telling me to take it down. very unprofessional and disrespectful.

I'd give it a 0 if that were an option. As a retired educator, I am appalled by the lack of…read moreinstruction the students receive. They leave this "school" totally unprepared for a job in any salon. Empire Beauty School in Malden is a complete sham and a total waste of people's money.

I had a great testing experience here and highly recommend it. The staff are all super nice and…read morehelpful in getting you checked in and started on your exam. It is a smaller location, so I can see the spots filling up fast. There are probably 20 seats in total, so I think the lower volume makes less traffic of testgoers and an overall great experience. If I have further professional exams to take, I will do my best to schedule them here!

This test center is located in downtown Boston and is very accessible by bus or train (only a few…read moreminutes walk from the downtown crossing train station). My experience here has always been positive. The staff here (David and Debbie) are helpful, likable, and kind. I've also never had any issues with the computers and connectivity here while taking my exams (unlike my experience at the Pearson Back Bay location where the connection occasionally got laggy and scared me to death when a couple system error message popped up in the middle of my exam!) The only downside about this test center is that there's only a single bathroom available for each gender in the building that is shared with other tenants. This might be an issue if you're taking a timed exam but i've personally never had an issue with this since i never had to use the bathroom in the middle of an exam. Good luck on your exams!

An old friend is a prominent member and instructor, Dale Savit. This past fall we drove east for…read morefall colors, clam chowder,and a couple of Dale's pieces. This is a great place to visit if you can, and hey, it's across a parking lot from Sam Adams brewery too!

I always stop in here during the JP Open Studios and this past weekend (Sept 2012) I actually…read morebought a small installation. Extremely fair price. You can wonder around the whole studio and see pieces in various states of creation. You can't miss the giant sculptures outside. If I ever have unlimited cash, I'll be back to buy one or two of those things. Check it out if you have any interest in metalworks. They have classes too! The piece I bought was by Walter Clark at outsideartist@live.com and www.outsideartist-inside2.com. I also uploaded a pic of the framed metal woman's head to encourage you to check them out!

I appreciate that they offer scholarships and have a supportive community for addressing questions…read moreand concerns. They seem to value the understanding and practice of herbalism.

There are not many herb schools in the country that cover the amazing depth and breadth of material…read morefound in the advanced course of study, modeled on Paul Bergner's teachings. If you're serious about studying herbs and you're located in the northeast or looking to move here, this school provides a rigorous practical background in the techniques and practices of traditional western herbalism. As a graduate of the apprenticeship and the two year advanced studies program, I highly recommend this school. When I moved to the northeast a quality herb school was high on my priority list, and I had completed an herbal apprenticeship elsewhere. I wanted to jump straight into the advanced program but was convinced by Katja to start with the apprenticeship and I'm so glad I did, because there was almost no overlap with my previous program. My knowledge of herbal energetics, actions and preparations, body systems, physiology and traditional food ways grew by leaps and bounds (before this I had a solid biology background). The vitalist principles foundational to holistic health; including sleep, movement, diet and stress management, are instilled throughout the coursework and laid the groundwork for my current practice. The apprenticeship is for all kinds of folks who want a foundation in herbal studies for personal education. The advanced program is great for anyone wanting to dive deeper, especially if they have questions about how to set up an herbal business. The advanced program includes training for the sorts of issues you are likely to encounter as an herbalist working in an urban setting. I find the staff knowledgeable and committed to excellence. Great if you want to really sink your teeth into the material. Substantial.

We took a two hour class on cheese, chocolate and wine pairings and it was absolutely amazing! The…read moreinstructor had an amazing ability to blend facts, humor, history, geography and culinary knowledge into an absolutely interesting and insightful and riveting adventure. The wines were a mix of French, Italian, Portuguese the chocolate was a mix of Italian, American and Dutch. The cheeses were French, American, Dutch, in Spanish. I will be looking for the next class the instructor teaches at Formaggio cheese shop and I'm actually going there today because he inspired us! If you have ever wanted a cheese and wine class, don't hesitate, take one of these!

We had a great time at our 2 hour wine tasting class. We enjoyed sniffing the different bottles of…read morescents trying to guess what scent it was. I just wish the educator was a bit more informative and educational. When we were guessing the flavors and scents of each wine it seemed she agreed that every fruit/tastes that we each tasted was present in the wine. I wish she would've been more direct in what she tasted and what we should be tasting to better direct our senses of taste instead of agreeing that we taste everything. I liked the wine tasting chart that they gave us, we took them home with us in hopes to use them in our future when we try more wines. Fun date night and entrance class into wine tasting!

I took the Product Management Cohort at the Product School Jan-March. Steve Yonchak was our…read moreinstructor. Steve was great and he made sure that the class was interactive and meaningful for each one of us. Every session, we had fun group assignments which helped us work as a team and build our skill set on that. He made sure that the groups were divided fairly based on our backgrounds. He made sure that all our questions and concerns were answered. All his answers were practical and it gave us a good insight on how things are run product wise in a technical organization. It helped me a lot during my interview process. During the later half of the course, I was offered a job in Product management and I am glad to say that the classes which I took with Steve really helped me during the interview process. Thanks to him and Product School. I also liked the course material and how it was structured. It's quite relevant to the industry. One recommendation I have for Product School is to include more Agile specific material and get rid of Waterfall material as it's getting obscure nowadays. I would highly recommend this course to individuals looking to pivot to Product Management. It was worth the buck.

It was a really amazing experience to take Product Management class!…read moreSteve Yonchak has superior knowledge, experience and ability to deliver the material in a concise, clean manner. He was always available before/after class and through Slack to address any confusion and answer questions with clarity and gives you the most thoughtful feedback for your submissions. He made discussions interesting and meaningful so all students with different background levels feel interested to engage in the activity. Steve was always passionate about the business and truly helpful with related career advice.