Great art supply store! Excellent selection, friendly staff. Came down from Port Orchard and was…read morenot disappointed.

I love the gift section at the entrance to the store. I always end up buying 5 to 10 items to send…read moreoff as goofy gifts. It's just a great space in that way. They have an adequate supply of art products but I wish they went deeper on watercolor merchandising, and especially on watercolor paper and journals. The staff is very friendly and helpful . The downside for me is the concrete floors, and the loud talking of the staff-I get sensory overload and really stressed in the space .

My friends and I have been here multiple times. We always have a great time. Cora is a terrific…read moreinstructor. She's very patient and encouraging. You leave class with a finished product. You will be a successful crafter in one of Cora's classes. I've taken a macrame rainbow wall hanging class, a needle felting class and a coiled bowl class. All were excellent and I highly recommend any of her classes.

I've been to Craftopia a couple different times now, but the girls and myself went to her new…read morelocation for the first time the other day for her candle making class. It was great. The place is really big, easy to find with a nice big sign right on the building and parking right in front. Has a lot of different rooms and a lot of art displayed in each. I loved walking around everywhere and looking at it, it was definitely encouraging us to want to come back and partake in even more classes she has to offer! Cora was even nice enough to give us one of the pieces that she had done that the three of us liked the best. Definitely recommend this place and we'll be back soon! Thanks Cora!

The name drew me in! And so glad it did. I was on 6th Avenue for lunch, so decided to walk around…read moreand check out all the nearby businesses, which is when I spotted a huge, colorful sign with a narwhal wearing sunglasses. It was The Nearsighted Narwhal! Of course I had to check it out. The shop is small, but has a ton of fun and witty gifts and items, from local zines to buttons to prints. I spent a good amount of time, checking out all the different and detailed items. Specifically, I really liked the magnets they sell here, as they have clever sayings with a colorful background. In fact, when I was checking out, I asked the owner if there were any more and she mentioned that she was making more magnets and to stop by again for different sayings. One that I bought says, "Not today motherfucker." Now who wouldn't want that hanging at their office? The Nearsighted Narwhal is a great store to browse and shop local. If in the area, definitely pay this shop a visit and support the local artists that sell their work here here. Plus, ya gotta love the Tacoma pride found, as they sell many items from tees to magnets, expressing Tacoma is cool and Seattle drools. Hah!

Cute shop! We popped in twice while in town to have lunch at nearby Shakabrah. The owner arrived as…read morewe were admiring the cute vinyl decals through the window. She let us in and was very pleasant and helpful as we shopped for t-shirts, lotions and decals. The jewelry was amazing-very bold and wearable. Loved that the t-shirts were high-quality, soft, amazing colors, and in all sizes, not just small and mediums. We each bought a t-shirt and I got a pepper lotion to use on sore muscles- whoa, its very potent! But I think I like it. The book and zine section was cool. I wish I had more time to browse that section.

Kindergarten craft table, but for adults!... and kids.... But ADULTS!…read moreLike a an organized junk drawer... Which itself is a contradiction in terms. Like your grandparents craft room, and your parents retirement box. Best description... Tacoma's DIY Archie McPhee.

Genuinely bless this place. Walking into Tinkertopia legitimately brings me back to a different…read moretime. I love how everything is reused, and feels so intentional. Everything there has history. Idc if that sounds dramatic. I also love the maker space area at the back. It's such a wonderful third space. Thank you so much this wonderful gem of a place.

We absolutely love it here! A lot of pieces to choose from, easy instructions, great and quick…read moreservice when needing supplies. We have been back twice!

A fun and relaxing place to spend an afternoon. The employees were nice and professional, and there…read morewas a wide variety of pottery to paint, with a wide variety of colors. The one criticism I have of the cozy atmosphere is that the building it's in isn't super wheelchair accessible. Bring a friend and have fun! Will definitely be coming back in the future!

Although I wasn't part of the experience, my daughter went to a birthday party here yesterday. She…read moresaid it was fantastic and she would love to have her own party there. There was an instructional portion for the ceramics and then the kids were allowed to make their own items. She made a bowl and a cat. The family was also able to bring pizza and cupcakes in. She had such a great time that we have been checking out other classes that are held here. Very neat spot.

Open Arts is a studio offering classes in drawing, pottery, sewing, voice, piano and guitar. Most…read moreclasses are for children/teens, but they do have a fair set of classes for adults as well. John, the director of Open Arts Studio, is a dynamic guy who is so charismatic...it's easy to envision him sitting at a piano, leading a bunch of people in song around a piano a la Cole Porter. He's the voice teacher and drawing teacher and he's great at both. Home schoolers note: they offer classes during the day for home school students! For me, one caveat is the price. It's not astronomical, but most classes are about $125 for a session, about 5 classes, and it adds up. I believe it's because of this that some classes aren't very full. On the up side, if you take more than one class, or have multiple children enrolled, you get a 10% discount. They hope to add cooking classes somewhere down the line. We are looking forward to the addition as I know my daughter would learn a lot because they are both organized and inspiring at Open Arts!

I have been going to Michael's for years. But out of a given year I go about once or twice. I'm…read moredefinitely not what you call a regular customer but more of an annual one. The reason why I go to Michael's is to stock up on Halloween decor on my annual Halloween shopping spree the third week of September every year. What I love about Michael's is their Lemax Halloween houses that they have up every year. They always make a really fun display and I usually find at least one house that I fall madly in love with. It has become an annual tradition to get one house each year to my own growing Lemax Halloween village. The Lemax brand always has new houses and concepts each year so I have to make a decision as to what I like best. It's not out of the realm of possibility that a second runner up is ruled out forever but I would probably need to go to Ebay or Amazon and do some real hunting for ones from the previous years. I have gotten my Halloween shopping spree down to a fine art. Michael's is one of the first stores in my area to put up Halloween decor. This is roughly around mid-summer. By the time the third week of September rolls around the Lemax Halloween houses are on clearance which is usually around 40% off. This is an excellent deal because the houses at full price can be pretty spendy. As long as Michael's continues with these Halloween houses each year I will continue the tradition of adding one house to my ever growing town of ghosts and goblins.

I was a JoAnn's fan but since it has closed I thought that I would give it a try! I was definitely…read moremotivated when I went to Walmart and tried to buy yarn with a crocheting friend. Yeah we unwind the day literally with crocheting projects. This place was literally a candy store for people needing yarn and material for sewing. I bought a pretty sparkling blue and a spring time color. I am uncertain what I may make but I am excited. Probably a pretty throw! Customer service has changed. There are three self checkouts. Two of them take cards but only one take cash. Then there is two regular cashier stands. My friend and I realize that we need to come here for crocheting/knitting and sewing projects. Plus side is there is a sewing machine shop nearby too. In the meantime I will enjoy my goodies.

Steve and I were on 6th Ave a few weeks ago and came across Grit City Books purely by accident. We…read moredidn't know of it's existence but it was a very pleasant surprise to come across. The bookstore is sleek, clean and very well organized with a good selection of books. The staff member was very friendly and eager to assist me in getting a special order started for a book I was looking for. The special order came in a few days ago which is going to prompt a return visit and perhaps even additional books to purchase. Looking forward to continuing being a customer at this lovely bookstore!

This is a really cute local-owned bookstore. When I visited yesterday, I was pleased to see how…read morecozy and well-organized the store was. I appreciated that the different staff members had various books that they recommended highlighted throughout the shop. Service was great as I was greeted immediately and offered help while I was there (but not in a pushy/annoying way). The two paperback best seller's I purchased came out to just under $40 after taxes which seemed to be on par with/ slightly more than the big book chains, but spending a few extra dollars was worth it to me to support a local shop.

I interviewed for a postion as a teaching instructor with this studio and was really fristrated…read morewith the entire process. Here is what happened: One of the first interview questions that was asked was around kicking people out that didnt agree with their political opinions. Next, the white women discussed blood/moon rituals, and was scolded by the other owner to stop. It was unprofessional and did not highlight their dynamic in a positive light. I was then asked to teach someone who had never thrown before, the owner, which I wasnt Informed of, or I would have prepared. The expectation to teach a surprise lesson was incredibly inequitable and a horrible interview practice. The fact that she didnt know how to pull was shocking, as this is a basic technique in ceramics. She didnt inform me that this was a skill she needed to be taught. Unfortunately, all the owners now how to do is turn a kiln off and on. Everyone who purchases a peice is lucky that the glazes stick. I went home feeling pretty terrible about the experience. When I called to ask about the status of the position I was told that they chose someone with more experience and a degree. Y'all i have a masters degree in ceramics and have taught high school ceramics for 10 years. Linda then admitted she didnt really know why they went with another canidate and offered a sales position which i declined. Overall incredibly disrespectful, inequitable, and unprofessional.

This is a great place to do a gathering or solo activity. You pick your own pottery to paint, paint…read moreit and they fire and glaze it for you. Prices are very reasonable and the staff is kind and helpful.

My friend and I traveled to the area for other reasons, and decided to fit in a little yarn…read moreshopping. Unfortunately, the hours posted on Google were not correct, and when we arrived, the store was officially closed, although a class was going on. Win, whom I am assuming was not just sales but perhaps the manager, was extremely apologetic. Rather than turn us away, she let us browse , saying that she was teaching the class but wouldn't have time to help us in real time. She let us know that we could flag her down if we had questions. We really enjoyed ourselves. The store is much larger than any local yarn store I have been to previously, and there are many unique and different yarns. Win came to help us after her class, and could not have been more wonderful. What started out as a browse, turned into some nice purchases. It's a gem of a store, and I look forward to going back on my next trip up north.

Great yarn store. They cater to all kinds of fiber arts. The selection is fantastic - you've got…read moreyour staples (Noro, Malabrigo, Manos del Uruguay etc) as well as the fanciful and rare, in all weights, fibers and types, and neatly organized too. It's located in an old industrial space. Light industrial brickwork. The sign is a little small and hard to spot. You enter through a small door and go up a few stairs, and voilà - Alibaba's cave. The staff is helpful, friendly, and very knowledgeable. They'll help you as much as you want them to, without being pushy. In my case, there were some yarns that I liked, and they found the right projects for my taste and skill level, made sure I was kitted out, and taught me the techniques I'd need. In case you need patterns, they've got them. There's a full room dedicated to books. Don't miss the clearance section! They also do knitting workshops during week days by reservation, for a very modest fee. They also have classes, though they do fill out fast!