Shhhhh. It's a secret!…read more Loved this place! Ended up there for Halloween and was so happy to see everyone there in like minded fashion had dressed up in thoughtful and original costumes. No store bought sexy nascar mechanics or purple hatted pimps here. Everything about the place exudes cool, right down the giant doomsday ray in the downstairs lobby.

I've been wanting to check this place out since I read about the Halloween show they put on…read more First, once you find the front door, you must wait for them to come downstairs and unlock the gate and the door for you. Then you're directed down a long hallway, up two flights of stairs, then down a shorter hallway then you're suddenly inside what can only be described as the best makeshift treehouse you can imagine. Your 8-year-old self is in heaven! I was in awe of this place when I walked in. It's small, but they still managed to put so, so much into it! There's a portion of a ship coming out of the wall and a captain's room next to it stuffed with books I've never heard of and many, many comic books with paintings and a roll-top desk. You go a bit further inside, seeing many, many posters and paintings throughout the way, then there's the world's tiniest bar to your left with the 1970's style black and white tile chipping away on the floor in front of it. To your right there will be the world's tiniest skate ramp with another room at the top of it. That's right, in order to get inside that tiny room, you'd have to climb up the skate ramp, like you would a slide that we all attempted to climb up as kids on a playground. In the very back of that room is the stage, and to the right of the stage is, yes, that tree house everyone has talked about. There is just such a vintage feel to this place, like you're going back in time. It's simply beautiful. On this particular night, we all had the enjoyment of listening to oldies from the '50's and the '60's while we all had cheap beer and played Berlin Style ping-pong. Everyone had a blast, whether we were awesome at ping-pong or terrible at it, we all had the time of our lives! I HIGHLY recommend going at least once to check it out. Once you find it, it's worth it! I can't wait until their next event, and it's so close to the 16th and Mission BART station! The Secret Alley should be on everyone's bucket list.

Such a fun and community-oriented studio! I took Paul's handbuilding class twice and then recently…read morebecame a member.

Great studio, clean space. I took a handful of classes here and a couple of workshops. They provide…read moreall the tools you need and the instructors are fairly helpful. Sadly I moved, so I can't continue going here, but I enjoyed the space and the open studio hours!

The SF Night Markets move locations, and this month's was in the Inner Sunset... specifically on…read moreIrving going West from 19th Avenue. I was happy about this one. Big turnout, which felt refreshing even this long after the start of COVID. Good live bands, good selection of food (Gets more reasonable as you go West), and I'm sure the businesses loved the lively volume of foot traffic. The only trick was finding parking... this was the worst it's been for anything I've tried to do in years! But it wasn't hard once I got to MLK in the park.

I elected to come to the Night Market fundraiser on Friday night(8/17/12) at the Alemany Farmers…read moreMarket instead of the Saturday daytime event. Although they ask $25(plus ticket fees) for attendees to attend the Night Market, I was generally happy to donate to La Cocina just for the convenience of not waiting in super big lines on Saturday. I got there a little bit before 6pm, the event's official start time. I had originally treked over to 25th and Fulsom to find a booth where I can redeem my voucher for a passport. Upon getting there, a La Cocina worker told me that the booth was located at the site....uggghhh. Note to self: go straight to the event for future reference. I arrived at the Alemany Farmers Market with parking pass in hand(bought online for around $9) thinking I was early...ummmm nope. The place was already packed full of people! The people who took the shuttles already arrived and they already had a lengthy head start! The food options were aplenty, lots and lots of businesses were there offering everything from sandwiches, soups, tacos, and other tasty treats. My favorite was the Boss Hog provided by the Bone & Gristle Boys and 4505 Meats. This sandwich initially looked like a huge McGriddle but it was way better than that! Between two griddled English Muffins, nestled a serving of corn meal crusted deep-fried pork and slow roasted chili rubbed pork with a jalapeno ranch dressing. Add vermont cheddar, market greens, smoked red onions, and chicharrones for crunch, and it was AMAZING! It literally was a mess to eat with plenty of stuff falling out and juice getting on your hand, but I'll gladly wipe my hands clean as long as I can have another! Other food booths that I tried included the Jim 'N' Nicks whole hog pork with adobo sauce, The Whole Beast's merengez lamb sausage on a bun with peppers as well as their kefta lamb meatballs on a stick with yogurt dipping sauce, Huarache Loco's lamb taco and lamb soup both of which packed a wallop in spicy punch, and lastly, a serving of Locandoa Osteria's grilled short ribs. Hot and spicy soup does wonders for warming up in the chilly conditions! I can't forget about the alcohol...Whole Foods was there with eight selections of beers ranging from IPA and pale ales to cider too. Ryed from the Road were also there doing cocktails like old-fashions too. Note to future attendees: Wristbands are needed to purchase alcohol although this fact may not be conveyed to you when you arrive. I didn't learn of this until I got to the front of the beer line. Also, alcoholic drinks require you to exchange for tokens as well. Each token is $4(1 token for beer, 2 tokens for mixed drinks). Wristbands and token exchange were located near the entrance of the event. Overall, it was a fun event that had a good turnout and lots of communal seating and many portable heaters for warmth. It was super windy and cold on the night we went so bring your hat, scarves, and jackets when attending. I'll likely come back again for the good food and drinks and to support La Cocina and their charitable endeavors. One thing that I absolutely wish I had tried: Endless Summer's Bacon Maple Kettlecorn!

This is such a fun studio!! Christine helped get our large group settled and there were sooo many…read moreceramics to choose from. The wall of color was so helpful to see how the colors would fire and how many coats to achieve the right color we wanted! Lots of brushes and tools to get the design you want! Firing takes a few days so plan to come back and pic up. A perfect Saturday with Terra Mia:)

Usually I am not the one to leave bad reviews but our experience here was unacceptable to the point…read morewhere I had to. Initially, we had a great experience! We came here last month to paint 2 bowls which cost us only ~$76 total for the studio time and bowls themselves. And, before anyone says anything and blames us, YES we did a double coat of paint! Then, we came a week later to pick them up and in the moment, they looked good! Then once we got home, we realized that there was a little paint chip on one of the bowls, making it no longer food safe. Granted, we probably should have noticed this ourselves when we picked up the bowls but we believe it is also the employees' responsibility to perform a quality check before giving a product to a paying customer?! Instead, they didn't say a word when we picked it up the first time so we had to notice the defect ourselves and drive all the way back from the east bay to get it fixed. After coming back to get it fixed, we came back yet another time to pick up the fixed bowl, believing that the bowl's paint chip would be fixed this time. However, to our surprise, the bowl was not fixed. Rather, the paint chips were even worse this time...going from a single small paint chip to SEVERAL large paint chips along the outer edge of the bowl. Again, the employee didn't say anything to us when they gave us the bowl until we pointed out how the paint chips were even WORSE this time. In response, they blamed the worsened condition of the bowl on their "finicky burner" and offered us either a $36 refund or store credit. They didn't even apologize for their mistake or wasting our time yet again. Of course, we took the refund because why would we take another chance here... Personally, I am grateful that they gave us a refund but I feel this experience was a huge waste of time and money. We had to make 4 separate trips from the east bay to SF and what did we get out of it? A bowl with a shitty paint job that somehow got worse with each "fix". A $36 refund doesn't even cover the cost of tolls to cross the bay bridge and come back this many times, not mention the cost of the time and GAS we spent coming back so many times. Overall, I hope Terra Mia Ceramic Studios takes this as a learning lesson to perform more rigorous quality inspections before giving the finished product to paying customers as prevent their customers from wasting time and money coming back to get it fixed. After all, after we finish painting, everything else is in the hands of the employees (glazing, firing, quality check, etc), all we do is come back to pick up the finished product. I feel as though this all could have been avoided, especially since it's just a simple bowl...there are so many more intricate complicated objects that people paint at the studio... Painting the bowls was a great fun experience but we are not happy about coming back 3 additional times to get it fixed only for it to get worse each successive time.

York Street Collective is a great new space for special events and pop ups. Recently I visited to…read morecheck out Kope, a coffee pop up and grab pastries from a few local bakers who set up a stand in the space. Loved loved Kope with their unique lattes (their house latte with gochujang caramel was amazing) and the pastries were such a great treat with super seasonal flavors (my favorite was a persimmon and coffee kouign aman). Really cool space with a few round tables and bar seating, making it possible to stay for a while. Excited to see what else may pop up here!

NA bar championing some impressive mocktails that make you question whether liquor was ever really…read moreneeded in your life. The strawberry fields drink balanced nutty chocolate, sichuan heat, and strawberry sweetness all in a cohesive, delicious blend. The pandan in paradise is another winner here as well. They're only in this Valencia St pop up space until Dec 22, but I'm excited to see where they go next!

Mike (the Master Yoda) of bubbles is a MUST to have at your next event. I've watched amateurs on…read moreOcean Beach mimic what Mike does, and none can compare to his artistic genius with water and soap! He was at CANVAS SF this weekend 03/30/2024 in the San Francisco presidio, and to capture what he does in a photo doesn't do it justice (pics coming soon) He will grab the attention of little ones to full grown adults, and will show you the way of his artistic expertise. If you don't book him for your next event, you will miss out. He is professional, clean with his work, looks out for the safety of bubbles going towards kids and adults, and importantly brings priceless moments to be captured in your minds rent free! Mike, THANK YOU!

Bubble man is AMAZING! Not only are the bubbles super fun but he is a great entertainer who is so…read moreinteractive and incredibly great with kids! Would highly recommend Mike the bubble man. Thanks for a great show, Mike.

Live band! Great local neighborhood vibe. Little market summer event, few weekends in the summer…read more There's a children's painting activity booth Few booths of vendors: apparel, dog clothes, figures, jewelry, earrings, jams, and more There was only one food vendor and one beverage vendor. would be great to have more choices for a full meal

Took a beginning intro to throwing on the wheel class last Friday, and I am still glowing from the…read morefun! Jason was the teacher and he made things very welcoming and accessible, even for a first time pottery student. Such fun that I am signing up for a 6-week course as soon as possible!

Kaytea was awesome! Yesterday I took my team to a private pottery wheel throwing class and everyone…read moretold me how much fun they had. Kaytea is very knowledgeable, funny, and helpful. Me and most of the team have personally never done this before and we appreciated her patience, humor, and story telling. I've always been interested in wheel pottery as a personal hobby and I'm leaning towards coming back here on my own time :) plus the studio is super cute!

I've taken a weekend intensive with Stewart Cubley and Erika Jenssen as well as a 4-week (8…read morecalendar weeks, on/off every other week) intuitive painting class. Prior to picking up the brush here, I had dabbled in a paint and sip here and there, a doodle once in a while, but it had been a while since I had really sat down and committed myself to making a piece of art. Sitting down in front of a blank canvas with no prompt, subject, or directions to go off was intimidating, and vastly rewarding. I've learned to trust my first impulse, let go of worrying if something looks "right" (hint: it never does, no matter how hard I try :^) ), and ultimately embrace whatever's coming up. Of course, something new happens every class - every stroke, even - and the process continues. I'm grateful to have the structured series plus the option to drop in on an adhoc basis to continue my work. Thanks Stewart, Erika, and CCE! :)

I just completed a 4 week intuitive painting course with Claudia yesterday & it's been interesting…read more& powerful experience. I initially found the center through an instagram ad that was advertising their free open studio & decided to check it out. The intuitive painting course is not your typical course. The focus is being in community, learning to listen in & lean into your own intuition & creativity. There's no formal technique, no critiques or comments, but there is a lot of guidance & prompts to help you tap into your creative spirit. The goal is to create a painting from within & quiet the inner critic. It's about the process of letting go of "perfection" & to be create whatever comes up. It may sound a little woo-woo but the beauty of this process is that there's no right or wrong or good or bad painting - it's about your experience. If you're still unsure, I'd recommend dropping into a class to see what it's about. I definitely plan to take more classes in the new year.

Without question, engaging Scott was the most valuable educational investment I made to support my…read morechild. It's not cheap, but the outcome is extraordinary. The impact Scott had on my son went well beyond college essay preparation/production. Pre-Scott, my son could barely write a coherent sentence and through the magic of Scott's teaching methodology and in a relatively short timeframe, the improvement was dramatic. The counsel, candid discussions, and direction Scott provided paid huge dividends in the classroom and in daily written communication (emails, texts). My son became a more confident writer and student which of course, carried over to everyday life. As he heads-off to college in the fall (UCLA), I'm forever grateful to Scott for the life-changing role he played in preparing my son for the next chapter and beyond.

Scott worked with my daughter during her senior year to help with her college applications and…read moreessays. He guided us through the entire process and went above and beyond on the deadline days. Scott helped my daughter think through her experiences and interests and figure out how to apply them to all the different application prompts and questions. He was dependable and present in all of their sessions to make sure the work got done. My daughter really struggles with deadlines and time management and Scott was really patient and gave a lot of good advice and guidance. In the end she was admitted to her top choice. We were very happy to work with Scott and would be happy to work with him again in the future.