This place is the cutest. It's a pottery painting studio that's also a coffee shop. So you can…read morevisit just to grab a coffee or hot chocolate or tea, or you can visit to paint some pottery, or both! I highly recommend doing both.
You should know, though: This place seems to get very busy on the weekends, and they do not take reservations. So if you want to beat the crowds, your best bet is to get there right when they open. If all of the painting tables are full, you will need to wait outside until someone leaves. That could be 10 minutes, which is what it was for us. Or, like the nice man who works there pointed out, it could be 30 minutes or more, because there is no time limit once you're at the painting tables, because the creative process can't be rushed. Fair enough.
Once we got a table, we walked around the store and looked at all of the pottery options. They had bowls, plates, piggy banks, coasters, planters, trinkets and ornaments (these are seasonal). My kids picked out a truck piggy bank and a kitty ornament. Pottery pieces vary in price -- the ornament cost around $12, and the piggy bank cost $35.
Next we made our way to the painting station, where we loaded up our pallets with paint. They recommend using three coats of paint for the brightest finish, but my kids, who are impatient like all children, only did one coat of paint and their pieces came out really well.
After you're done painting, you leave your pieces on the table, pay for them at the register, and then Art & Clay on Main fires them and glosses them, and you pick them up about a week later. It is so cool to finally get your finished pieces. Ours really looked professionally done!
While we were painting, we ordered some hot chocolate with whipped cream, and drank and painted at a leisurely pace. It was a nice and relaxing family activity, and my kids were really into it. I highly recommend dropping by Art & Clay on Main if you're in downtown Lancaster if you're looking for a fun and relaxing activity with your kids.
