4Cats is an art studio which has a number of different workshops! We came here for their pottery clay workshop where we made a love snack plate. It was just a 1hr workshop which included instructions as well. It was $35 per person which I thought was very standard considering this was not a pottery wheel class but a clay pottery class. Our instructor was super nice and took her time to go over everything. She was around in case we had any questions. The class was pretty full considering it was a Saturday afternoon so I would recommend booking them in advance. They always have fun classes depending on the months/season. This was a special one they had for valentine's day. Their space is pretty big and has two floors with multiple classes happening at the same time. They also have special classes for kids and also host kids birthday parties! I would definitely come back to try some of their other workshops. read more

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A friend of mine tried to register her daughter for a kids painting class and was denied access due to her daughter having a disability and needing the support of an aide (who she was happy to coordinate herself); another mom of a kiddo with a disability also had her child denied for the same reason. Your rationale was that it's a "kids only" space, so the fact that they needed the support of a human aide (adult) means they aren't welcome in your kids class. There are all different kinds of aids/aides that people with varying abilities and needs use for support - some are human aides and some are physical aids (like a wheelchair or glasses). When you start to think of a human aide as no different than a physical aid (both support an individual with a specific need to navigate the world) it makes denying someone access to a space or program much harder to justify. Would you deny a kid who requires a wheelchair a spot in your class because it might mean having to move a table or two? Your decision to deny these two access to your kids classes not only violate their human rights (which are protected by BC, Canadian, and International Law) but violate their humanity. It tells them that because they move through the world differently than some of their peers that they aren't as worthy, that they don't deserve to have the same opportunities as their peers or BE with their peers. It also denies their peers (and your staff) the opportunity to share space and an activity with THEM. I only know one of these kiddos personally but when I say this is your (and your other participants) loss please know how very sincerely I mean it. This kid brings a level of joy that I haven't seen matched by anyone else. She's funny, and she's creative, and she's smart, and she's kind, and she's talented, and she's joy-full, and she deserves to spend a few hours doing the thing she loves the very most (painting) with her peers. And the other kids in your class deserve for her to be part of their peer group. Inclusion isn't a favour that "typical" people do for "atypical" people. Inclusion is a right and it benefits all of us. As those of us in Canada sit here and watch in horror as the US government degrades diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to push the narrative that white, able bodied, neurotypical, heterosexual, cisgendered men are the "norm" and the only demographic that doesn't have to prove their worth I can't tell you how unbelievably disappointed and heartsick I was to learn that an art studio in my hometown has opted not to include a nine-year-old girl because she has a disability. Do better. read more

My daughter has been attending classes for over 3 years at this 4cats location. She loves the staff working there and has been so proud of all the work she's done. I really appreciate that they alternate between having male and female feature artists. read more

This was a nice place for a group painting. We had a group of 11 for my friend's bachelorette. The painting chosen for us was the monet style pond. The instructor showed us the basic steps, which allowed room for ample creativity and not one's painting was the same. I liked this style because it encouraged creativity and we were able to finish quickly. It took about an hour or less for me to finish because the painting used the same steps repeatedly. I prefer this over the step by step instruction as it is less stressful and there is less pressure to be perfect. read more

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This is a very fun place to go for a night if Arts and Crafts. There are two levels. The street level is for making pottery items and the basement section is for paint art such as splatter. Tonight we made clay mugs. This is a multi-step process. Night one we made the mug out of raw clay. They bake it for us. Night two we go back and paint the mug. They bake it again for us. Night three we go pick up our mug!! read more

4Cats - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

This is definitely a classy art store. My sister told me about this place and I was like.... "What"??? Yes you can make your own mug. They have classes for $35 for two people and you get to make your mug. I got a chance to walk around and see whey sell. Interesting stuff.... Lots of paint for sale. The person at the front was really nice. Definitely a fun event (workshops) to attend to. Or just a fun shop to browse around read more

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I had my bachelorette painting class and it was AWESOME! What a fun way to spend time with friends and tap into our artistic side. I really had a great time. The instructor was helpful and fun and it made a scary task become so fun and easy as well. The staff were all very nice and I look forward to doing another class with them again. Loved the Monet paintings as I love Monet and have always wanted to try it out. Of course my painting isn't as nice as most of my friends. It was fun to see who was the most competitive, perfectionist and how they all molded together. Loved it and highly recommend it! If you don't have time to do the classes, they were selling little clay figurines that you can make at home as well and those are super cute. read more

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Just attend one class and you'll be hooked! The atmosphere is colourful and fun, great tunes playing and they even serve wine! Get your creative juices flowing and walk away with a handmade piece to put on your shelf at home. So reasonably priced at 2 for $35. Excellent date night but I'll also bring my kids to have a go too. This location is huge and the staff is super friendly. We were given a bag of popcorn on our way out. Ace night! read more

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This is a general comment. On 04 August, I put my grandkids in a day-ong class at your West Vancouver location. They made ceramic cake-boxes and left them behind to be fired. After multiple attempts to pick up the finished product to no avail (the staff there said there was an issue with the firing, but they were correcting it and the cake-boxes would be available at some point), the West Vancouver location shut down. I then attempted to call multiple other locations (because there was no central number) and emailed the address on your general website. I am still waiting for someone to get back to me. This is sketchy way to run a business. CaR read more

I come here often to paint. It's fun, affordable, and they don't judge you for not being skilled. I made this little fairy the last time I came in. It's my go to Thursday afternoon hangout. read more

4Cats - Painting I made - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Unfortunately have to downgrade my good reviews based on their new pandemic cost cutting style of classes. Gone are the days of booking a class with a group, where the person who runs it does a demo let alone has made the project before and you create with people making the same thing! Its now a zillion ipads on the wall, a few stressed underpaid overbooked staff members running around taking care of everyone who are doing any of their current class projects. You sit on a horrible uncomfortable short stool with a one foot deep work surface facing the wall. The clay wheel barely fits on the table surface, theres no room to rolling pin out your clay. The room is full of the audio of 10 different video instructions for projects. Your experience will be varying between who is monitoring your area, we had to ask for the tools to do our project that were used in the demonstration video, our person couldn't help us because they didn't know what the tools were named nor where they were kept we had to wait which wasted our slim time booking, book extra time for the staff to wait and find someone who actually knows where things are kept. When we left, we saw the templates used in our demo video that another couple were using, we weren't given those and our projects don't look nearly as nice as if we had the paper templates for our clay pieces. It was fun, but their new model is a staffing squeeze and audio nightmare. We booked a second session to glaze and because no one was around to help us, it all nearly washed off our pieces they look unfinished. I won't be back, it used to be fun but honestly theres no advantage to going in, buy yourself a diy kit and do it at home. Obviously not the staffs fault, this is a cost cutting corporate problem. read more

Art classes are usually quite pricey and 4Cats made it affordable and fun for people of all ages. They have an online system that is easy to use ( google 4Cats, select and pay). They have a large span of different art pieces you can create. You can go with groups of friends, your significant other or family members. I did the clay cup workshops. They first explained the steps through a 15 minute demonstration. The cup might be too difficult for kids under 11. However, once you've done it once the next time you do it you become much more capable and confident. I feel like I could easily buy clay and make it myself at home if I don't mind the mess since I've had experience. I love how they always encourage people to be creative and to make mistakes so we can create our own unique masterpieces. Tip: Don't forget to ask for drinks (hot coco/ tea) or popcorn. It's a fun affordable date if you have nothing to do. They also give you plenty of time to stay and finish your art pieces so take your time and don't rush! read more

4Cats - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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The refund policy is worse than shopping at Aritzia. They are very stingy and unaccommodating to families who may be operating on a budget but nonetheless fork out the expensive amount of cash required to take a class. They will only give you a credit even if it is 5 minutes after purchasing. If you try to use the credit on your next purchase and it doesn't work, you cannot pay to reserve the spot and get a refund 2 minutes after to use your credit. Your credit will expire and as these credits have an extremely quick expiry date. They are basically nickeling and diming to make a buck - a very short term strategy. We have three kids all of which LOVE art and I got such a bad vibe from this whole experience that I don't want to deal with this studio anymore. We would have loved to regularly do classes here with all of our kids and will definitely try to avoid this place in the future. The classes are cool but it just feels like they are trying to squeeze you and it's stressful. Parents have a lot of stuff going on as it is so to add more stress for something fun for your kids like an activity is just not worth it. Will probably go with Arts Umbrella next time - they are much more reasonable and also the classes are equally good, for those of you who live downtown. I'm sure there are private classes as well that are just as good. read more

Wow, nothing better than being creative at a place that caters to everyone, young and old, experienced or green. Good variety of art to choose from; from pottery to acrylic painting with special techniques added. I had wonderful time exploring a side of myself that rarely gets used alongside girlfriends. Non-intimidating environment, friendly staff. Great winter special, the more people, the cheaper the price up to four people. Open late to accommodate after school and work schedules. Metered and free street parking along Main and side streets. Just need to add wine in there somewhere :D. read more

4Cats - Downstairs - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

tldr: no help with dysfunctional result, extremely slow process, lack of communication, impersonal experience I had high hopes for this place. The decorations are cute and the projects seemed fun, and I was looking forward to doing a clay project with friends. However, I was sorely disappointed. The process of learning how to do the project was very impersonal, as they expected us to learn everything from scrubbing through a video on a computer by ourselves. The groups next to us in both the sculpting and glazing phases were scrubbing through the same video at different points in time, creating an irritating cacophony of the same phrases over and over again. The video lacked precise instructions and time breakdowns, so we ended up having to pay more to have enough time to finish up. Communication was a huge issue for this place. It was very difficult to get a hold of them over the phone. I understand that low staffing may be an issue, but in that case there should be some other way of submitting inquiries about pieces or being notified about their progress -- possibly through email. As it stands, there is no easy way to know about the status of your piece. Our pieces were not ready to be glazed after the time range we were told. It also took almost a full month after glazing for the pieces to be fired and ready for pick-up, despite being told it would take 10-14 days and feeling compelled to call multiple times throughout that period so they would not throw our pieces away. On the final time we called to check if they were ready, they could not find all of our pieces and had misspelled many of our names despite having us make multiple different name tags in the beginning. I had been willing to overlook all of this for the sake of spending time with my friends and having a decent cup at the end, but my resulting piece became the final nail in the coffin. When I showed up to pick it up the first time, they showed some issues with the glaze and a crack in the clay and said they would have to hold on to it for another 10-14 days to fix it up. They assured me that they would be able to fix these issues. From a communication perspective I was a bit bothered that they implied over the phone that the piece was done and I traveled all the way there just to hear that, but on the project side I can definitely understand that glaze can be unpredictable and was willing to wait the extra time and make another trip to have it be fixed. But when I finally picked up the piece, they said they couldn't fix it, and it was chipped all along the sides and had a crack in it, which they said means I can't drink out of it at all. It didn't appear that they had tried to fix the crack at all, despite promising me they would try. I was so disappointed with waiting all that time and spending all that effort just to end up with a mess that isn't even usable. When I called to ask if there was anything that could be done, I was simply told that these mishaps weren't their fault, that the workshop period was over so I couldn't have a redo, and that if I wanted to spend more time there I would have to pay. I would not come here again. read more

Had good times at their clay workshop. We went to North Van location. Their art classes very affordable and open to all ages. It was really fun experience and definitely wanna come back :) read more

4Cats - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

We partook in an afternoon pottery class at 4cats. We arrived to craft tables that had been setup with the supplies we would need. Our instructor did a great job at leading the class and making sure we didn't mess up our pot along the way! It was simple easy fun! If you do some kind of pottery it takes about two weeks for them to kiln it and then you can pick it up. Would recommend this place if you haven't tried anything like it before or miss high school art classes! read more

4Cats - Our masterpiece at 4cats! - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I actually have been to this art studio for many times but I often forget to check in due to the excitement of seeing all the colourful art materials. The staff here are very courteous each time. So many different types of projects that you can do yourself or with your family and friends. This time I am making a mug! Super cute! I still have to come back to paint it. I love how they changed up the schedule of these mini projects to be split into two classes. What a deal! read more

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I went to 4cats last Saturday with my three daughters. We did the unicorn mug class. The instructor was great and very helpful with my 6 year old. We had a great time. However, during the class a staff member moved my daughters coats. They were nowhere to be found. One was found downstairs in a birthday party and the other was missing. This was a very expensive Disney store hoody and my 6 year old was crying over it being gone. I got the feeling they were more annoyed that I suggested someone took it rather then actually saying sorry. It was freezing that day and we had a long walk. I gave them my number and no follow up. It's incredibly disappointing especially since it was their staff who moved it and placed it somewhere, that and the lack of follow up was pretty upsetting. I'm a very reasonable person but it was a horrible end to a great day. Not happy. read more

Is this place primarily marketed towards children? Yes. Is this place so incredibly awesome that it's fun for adults too? Heck Yes. Two words: Splatter. Party. Each member of your party works on their own canvas to take home and then the group works together on a giant canvas for the person being celebrated to take home. The personal canvases are already stretched, the giant one is not but you can upgrade to make it so. I just celebrated my birthday here and had the greatest time. I did not know that flinging paint around would make me so incredibly happy. The staff here are just delightful. The girls that ran the show were so helpful and fun, they really just felt like 2 more pals at the party. They treated us like just the right mix of child and adult. I am currently trying to come up with more things to celebrate just so I can do this again. read more

The only reason I haven't given 5 stars is because I don't know much about art supplies so I can't comment on the quality or selection. Actually, the reason I've been in both times is because I don't know anything about art supplies! I have gone to 4Cats when looking for watercolour pencil crayons, and another time for some crazy product that I would have only used once in my life had I ever found it. Both times that I went to 4Cats on Main Street I was not treated like an idiot when I had no idea what I was talking about. The staff were happy to help me look around the store for something specific and when we didn't find it they recommended other places I could go and even google mapped it for me. They had a huge display in their window for a few months last year that said, "Art is for Everyone" and they do believe that. They have been resourceful and helpful with no outward judgement when helping me find what I needed. Love it! read more

**Not just for Kids; Super fun art classes!!** ok, this place is like seriously super cool and fun. It's like being a kid again and getting to make silly art. Granted they do host a lot of kid birthday parties (probably because they have an awesome paint splatter room which sounds like tons of fun for the kiddies...) but it's also great fun for adults. We came for the panda planter class. They also do many different shaped mug classes, and it's cheaper the more people you have. It was $55 for a group of 4 so me and the hubby double dated with his bestie and my good friend (yes, they are dating... they met at our wedding, lol) Anyways, back to the topic at hand, the panda planter class!!! So much fun!!!! I would totally go back to 4cats again. The instructor was really helpful, patient, and kind.... all good qualities in newbie clay artists like ourselves. He was really good about keeping us on time too since the class is only about an hour. I'm amazed at how much we got packed in during that hour. And in two weeks we get to go back to pick up our finished product cuz they will fire it in the kiln for you. Quick tip for those of you that get hot easily... I guess their kiln is somewhere in the store so I found it to be super warm in there. I usually am quite cold so I found this a bit surprising. Wear short sleeves if you are warm blooded! I loved the fact that our teacher let us choose the paint colour for our panda eyes. The hubby made his blue and I made mine pink. Now I'm looking at the other classes they have to see what else I can take there since it was so much fun! :) read more

4Cats - Some of the supplies for our class - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Such a fun date night! My boyfriend and I did the Chick Mug for their March Mug Class and had so much fun! I'm not very artsy, and I've never really worked with clay but our instructor was super kind and encouraging. Overall a really positive experience for a great price. Also just a note: On their website it states that you're able to pick up your piece after 2 weeks, we weren't able to pick ours up until 4 weeks after. We didn't receive a call or any update so I had to email them to figure out if our mugs were ready for pickup. We just did the Animal Plate Party last weekend and had the same amazing experience!! read more

4Cats - Chicklet Mug for their March Mug Class - Art Classes Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I had my daughter's birthday party here twice. Once it was the splatter paint party and once it was the clay sculpture party. The staff was friendly and the kids had lots of fun. read more

4Cats refuses to give us a refund for our classes. We are no longer able to afford the classes due to the pandemic. They are no longer offering the original product we paid for. I have a small business and had many cancellations for my services. I did not refuse my clients. 4Cats is great for the kids and the teachers are awesome but they suck. read more

I booked a "workshop" today at North Oakville 4cats studio for my daughter and I. The "workshop" turned out to be a rushed 3 minute sloppy demo with us being left alone to figure it out. What a disappointment. I asked for more instruction and was told no, they had to rush through it to make time for other work. No one was at studio. Not a nice experience will not go back. Don't go to 4cats studio to learn, it's more of a self service place. read more

This placed opened up recently a few months ago and it is right next door to the record store that I go to. My best friend actually told me about this place. They had some stuff for Easter at a very reasonable price. They had Peter rabbit stuff = love including cupcake liners, embellishments and party supplies. My only issue is that their hours of public operations are hit and miss as they cater to special parties and classes first and if they can open to the public than they will. I have been on Main a few times and this has been a problem. Staff are very friendly and cheerful. read more

This was so much fun! My friend and I signed up for the "whale hello there" workshop. Fair pricing and overall happy with the experience. The only disappointment was that they were out of the colour everyone expected to be using - blue. So we had very few options to work with colour wise. I wish they would've gave us an option to rebook or a small discount toward our next workshop. read more

Took one of their pottery classes tonight and it was so fun! Went with a friend and we were the only two in the class which was nice. Nicole was our instructor and she was super friendly and helpful with each step of the project. She explained each step very clearly but also gave us complete freedom to do whatever we wanted with our pots, making these workshops great for people at every skill level. I'll definitely come back to try another project! read more

The class and the instructor were both great, it was the service that was lacking. First problem was they posted our project was ready for pick-up when it wasn't. Got to the store to be told of the error and that "we took it down right away" from their website as if this was somehow helpful (were they expecting we'd check the website multiple times after seeing the items were ready?). They had everyone in the class' email address, so why not let everyone know it was a mistake and save people a potential trip? Second problem was when I went back the second time, my project was missing entirely. This time I was told there were problems with glazing, and everyone in the clas would be given a free make-up class, which didn't explain why mine was missing (while my friends were able to pick theirs up). I was given the email address of a person I could contact about the glazing and missing project, but couldn't they have had that person contact me? Given I live in North Van, if I accepted their offer of a free make-up class, I will have had to travel to their shop and back five times for a ceramic whale planter (if the second attempt worked out). It's just not worth the time nor gas for my car. Given that they attach a name tag to each project when it is ready for pick-up, it wouldn't seem too hard to cross-reference with the class list to see if they're all there. I accept that problems with firing - and even breakage - occur, but at least be respectful of your customers' time and make some effort to let people know of a problem. read more

We had such a good time at their winter workshop where we made polar bear mugs. We went to the adult class in the evening, and there were around 10 other people there, so a group of 12 total. Megan was a great instructor and gave very clear instructions and showed both tables the steps if we weren't at the stage yet. We really appreciated how she said that even if we made a mistake (the clay was too thin, couldn't get the base of the mug right, etc.) she could help us fix it - and she did! She helped lots of people patch up their mugs and put on their bases and handles, which was pretty tough for us as first-timers. I think we did a pretty decent job in the end, better than expected! It looked like it would be complicated, but the steps were easy to follow and to do. Afterwards, we were told that it would take 1.5-2 weeks to bake the mugs so we can come back to pick them up when we got an email from them. I would highly recommend getting their 2 for $35 class over the holidays, so many cute things to do. We absolutely enjoyed our night here and will be back! read more

my daughter's birthday there was a bit of a bust, especially considering the price point. we went for the individual paintings and one big painting package deal. the time for the party was tight and the instructions were very step by step, very specific and timed. you needed to draw the head shape, mouth and ears etc... exactly as demonstrated. it happened so fast that some of the girls ( 12 year old girls ) fell behind and did not complete their individual paintings. that being said, 4cats does know how to push out a presentable end product almost guaranteed. the big painting is nice, balanced and the colours are well co-ordinated. the downside is my daughter just doesn't have the feeling that she actually created art. it is more like she followed a pattern and listened to instructions well. so if you want a product that will be guaranteed presentable and you don't mind not choosing your own colours, design or method, consider 4Cats. if you want to feel like you did something original or creative don't go with a 4Cats package, you may feel like you would have rather spent less money on a framed poster, IKEA canvass art or did it for cheap with paint by number at home. read more

Had a great time; Nick was a great instructor; a little disappointed by the late-comers who disrupted the class

I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much to the incredible staff at the 4cats in Kits, on west 10th ave in Vancouver. I wanted to get the whole family together to do something fun for my birthday--none of whom are particularly arts inclined, and including my 96-year old arthritic and wheelchair bound grandmother. The staff (and especially Adi!) were SO wonderful with my grandmother--she was unable to follow all the instructions for the painting we were doing because of her lack of dexterity, and so she just kind of did her own painting, and Adi so kindly helped her and encouraged her and I havent seen my grandmother genuinely have that much fun and be that engrossed in something in a long time. It was so wonderful. It was a bit of a trick getting her electric wheelchair into the studio, but as soon as we arrived, ALL the staff jumped into action to make it possible and were just so kind and wonderful. My grandma rarely wants to leave the house, and shes already talking about wanting to go back to 4cats to do some more painting. Thank you guys!!! read more

A cool idea with incredibly bad follow through. I attended a private group class for a shower, it was a disappointing and simple class, not worth the cost... would not recommend unless it is a party involving young children. Aside from this they completely ruined an article of my clothing. DO NOT bring anything nice to this studio. I thought purses and outdoor gear would be alright, as it can be cold and rainy here. There is no storage area for these items. The group all gave outdoor gear to one of the employees, when I picked up my jacket at the end of class, it was COVERED in black paint. It would have been cleaner if I had worn it the entire time I painted. Staff was not helpful, offered no recompense for the jacket or suggestions of how to get paint out. I wish I had never gone here and would NOT recommend it. Assume everything you wear there will be ruined when you leave, including purses. Try a garbage bag poncho, or better yet, don't go. read more