My friend and I had a great time and were both pleased with our masks. But, both of us are artsy and don't need a lot of instruction. On the whole, I like this place. But I think the business model is a bit confused and I doubt it will be around long.
The space is beautiful. Way too beautiful to be spilling paint, glitter, glue, etc. all over the wood floors. Around the walls there are decorated Venetian masks for inspiration (and for sale), as well as multiple Venetian decanter sets (also for sale). The room is filled with sturdy wooden tables and looks more like a fine dining establishment than a crafting space. This is part of what I mean about the business model confusion. Along with your "class" to paint a mask, you can also order tapas or dinner. But, I'm not sure how one can reasonably eat while creating. Friend and I ordered some bruschetta, but it was tricky eating them with paint on my hands. Apparently the afternoon class was also having a tasting menu. How do you make that work without getting paint in your food? Or maybe I'm just messy.
The class was odd. They offer classes at 11, 2, and I think 5 each day. My friend and I were the only people there for the early morning time slot on a Sunday. Unlike a Canvas and Cocktails where you sign up for a class and they walk you through how to create a specific painting, this is more free-form. You can pick whatever blank mask you'd like to paint and then the instructor will give you tips and techniques. This worked for us, but like I said, we're artsy. I really don't know how it would work if the class was full of people who are not as artfully inclined. The instructor also tried to get us to commit to a color scheme before we started painting and started us off with 2-3 colors. Upon looking at their supplies, I understand why. They are using really expensive nice paint at this place. I think it would make more sense to use less expensive, yet still adequate, supplies and allow the customer more freedom and choice of paint. I'm the type of person who figures it out as I go along and the restriction at the beginning was a little disarming. Along with paint, they have paper that you can use/glue on your mask, as well as glitter and feathers. They also have some stencils. Friend and I were talking after, and it would make sense if they had more stencils for common patterns one would want to do on a mask (swirls, flowers, argyle diamonds, etc.). That could help less experienced painters. It would also be nice if they had classes that focused on maybe two or three designs on a particular mask shape. For example - today we're focusing on the cat mask and we'll walk you through how to do either this checkerboard design or this swirly design.
It seems like this place is trying to be too much, rather than focusing on one thing and doing that well. I just don't see how it can survive, especially in the Creek (you know rent must be outrageous), but maybe I'll end up being pleasantly surprised.
Oh, and if it does survive, I hope they will rethink their wine selection. It is possible to get inexpensive wine that tastes good. Sadly, neither the white nor red options we tried was enjoyable.
I'm glad that thanks to an Amazon Local deal we tried this place out (they mentioned they also have Living Social and Groupon deals out there if you're interested). And, I would go again. It's definitely something different. read more