Playful potter is much more than just a place to paint pottery. They have an amazing selection of pottery to paint but they also offer classes and camps for kids. I just took the Halloween Tree resin class and the teacher was clear and very helpful. They offer classes in actual pottery work, including making a cow butter dish, a pumpkin, and a witch's hat. The atmosphere is peaceful and there is no rush to finish your piece. This is a great place to go with a friend and have fun. I have signed up for several more classes and look forward to visiting again. read more

Playful Potter - Examples of resin classes - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

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Location is good, staff was fine. Went during the week with grandkids. No problem finding a spot as a walk in. I've been to similar places, like Color Me Mine, and this one was less organized. Many colors were sitting on other tables. People should have to return colors after putting on their plates. The small colors with tips, most of the tips were clogged and useable. The pottery picks were very expensive. $30 for a mushroom with a kuala bear hugging it. It wasn't a large piece. I'd give 2.5 but not an option. read more

Playful Potter - $30??? Seems pricey. - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

This was our first time here and we came for a fun activity for my daughter's birthday. The employees were kind and great at explaining how the process works and had tons of paints to choose from. The prices on some of the pottery can be high but they also have others in lower price ranges. The paints, and bathrooms were stocked well. I wish there was a tad bit more selection on mushrooms, gnomes and axolotl's as they are my daughter's favorites but the employee informed me that we can place a hold on items or request which was reassuring for next time! The studio fee is $5 per child and $8 per adult plus you pay per piece. You then wait a week to pick up your pottery. All in all we had a great time and hope to be back soon! read more

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I've been to three events at Playful Potter in the past two months, and each one was such a fun and memorable experience! The vibe here is always upbeat and welcoming--with a kicking playlist running every visit and super friendly, helpful staff. Our first event was a 420 adults-only night that my husband and I attended with friends--so much fun! Then I came back for two family-friendly events: a clay monster-making session and a "Paint with a Princess" day. Both were amazing quality time with my daughter--she had a blast, got creative, and is already asking when we can go again. The only thing to note is that finished pieces take a few weeks to be ready, whether you're painting or working with clay. Totally understandable, though--it's a busy place and clearly very popular! If you're looking for a creative, relaxing, and fun outing--whether with friends or kids--Playful Potter is a fantastic spot. Can't wait to come back for more events! read more

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Yikes, not sure how I missed this one! My daughter and I came to Playful Potter in Feb. '24 for their themed Wonka event. This was our first time here. The shop was decorated and there was tons of candy! The event was ticketed and that included sweet treats & soft drinks. There was a backdrop for photos. It was open seating, and I'm glad we arrived early because large groups that seemed very familiar with the business quickly took over whole tables. Someone tried to swipe the seats my daughter and I had our items & my purse at, but I shut that down! While it was clear many participants were experienced painters, for newbies like us, a little extra instructions would have been helpful, but we managed to get going on painting OK. There were shelves of bisque ceramics, in a range of sizes and prices to choose from. It would be very easy to spend a lot of $$$ here! It's pretty beginner friendly but something you'd definitely get better at after the first attempt like us! My daughter and I started very small, a trinket plate & a small gnome. If I recall correctly, those 2 items came to $40! You paint and they fire for you, and you return in a few weeks to pick up your finished pieces. Overall, a fun themed event, it was a little crowded and chaotic with the added excitement of unlimited candy! Our pieces came out OK, and we had a nice time. This would be fun for a girls night out, bachelorette or bridal shower, or kids' bdays. read more

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Such an adorable place! Plenty of parking outside and snacks and non alcoholic beverages for sale. They do BYOB for some events just check ahead. So many special events. We attended the 90s bingo. So much fun and great selection of pottery. Do not miss the bathroom. Yes I took a pic of the toilet you cannot miss the symbolism. Check their socials or website for upcoming events. Very family friendly. read more

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This seemed like such a fun date night idea! My partner and I went in and were told it was bingo night, but the sweet lady (the owner, I believe) kindly set us up in a corner so we could still enjoy ourselves while joining in on the fun. They checked in on us often, gave us tools, and even recommended some of their upcoming classes. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and I genuinely enjoyed the experience even though it wasn't what I had fully expected. We were told we'd need to leave our items to be fired and could pick them up in about two weeks. We paid a little over $70 and were told we'd get a call when they were ready. Unfortunately, I never received a call and, admittedly, I forgot to follow up right away. When I did call about a month later, the person I spoke with was very kind and said they'd look into it and call me back -- but I didn't get a return call. I completely understand small businesses get busy, and I may have called at bad times, but it's disappointing not to have received our finished pieces after such a memorable night. I'm honestly more sad about losing the items we created than being out the money. I still think this is a lovely spot with kind people and great potential -- just wish communication and follow-up had been a bit stronger. read more

Decided to try again, adults only painting on February 1st went a LOT better. When they get busy, things will sell out fair warning, but easy to paint freely, then pay and my mug was ready 6 days later. Happier with this experience! read more

Playful Potter - My mug/ pencil holder after being baked; I chose for the colors to stay light. Happy with it! - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

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I am rating this based on their Mother's Day brunch event. We got tickets in advance and for 4 of us it was 60$ which included a rose for moms, our own decorated table, ample breakfast foods and sitting fees (for glaze and firing). We just picked out and purchased whatever premade ceramic we wanted to purchase to decorate. I have a long standing tradition with my kids to do a plate for Mother's Day. Now that they are 11 they get to work together to decorate it however they want. I'm excited to see the result. As a single mom I felt this was a great new Mother's Day tradition for us to do year after year, since I'm left planning my own things for Mother's Day. The owner went above and beyond and accommodated me when I wanted a speckled stoneware look, which was not what others were doing. She even offered to run to her house to get some special glaze. We will return year after year for this fun family tradition. And best of all, I have an entire set of custom Mother's Day dishes to use on Mother's Day at home. (We do the same thing for Xmas!) read more

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I participated in the paint your pet event and I was super excited. My dog was 16 and sick at the time, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to paint my beautiful senior pup. I sent my photo in a week before the event and was so disappointed when I walked in. The artists took the photo we sent in and drew a "map" of their picture outlining their faces and highlighting any markings. Some of the pictures were outlined beautifully. The detail was amazing and vivid. Others were just terrible. Unfortunately, mine fell in the terrible portraits. When I mean terrible, I mean no detail, erase marks from pencil, weird circles drawn on her body saying they are her "marking" (shes strawberry blonde with a gray face), her lips looked cartoon or she just underwent lip injections, her eyes were just circles. It was so frustrating. It was almost like they made up random spots to show some sort of detail as compared to the ones with 100x more detail that reflected more of a life like depiction of their pet. I paid the same amount as everyone else and did not get the same experience. When the instructor walked by I asked why some portraits were so beautifully detailed and some look as though they were thrown together last minute, she said... "different artists" and attempted to fix my drawing. I wish I would've taken photos of the one artists drawings to show the difference, but I didnt feel comfortable taking pictures of others drawings as they could see mine did not hit the mark by even a little. It ruined the entire experience. To see someone sitting next to me excited to paint their pet that you could tell the artist took extra care in preparing vs mine that looked half completed and drawn by someone blindfolded. If they're going to have this event in the future, they need to have artists with the SAME skill level or one artist needs to draw all of them. For them to think that's ok is terrible and not thoughtful at all. The girl sitting next to me felt the same way and got a whole new canvas and drew her dog herself, because all she got was an outline with spots. I shouldn't have even paid honestly. The finished painting is just a reminder of how terrible this experience was and that I wouldn't recommend coming back. read more

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This place is awesome! It's a family owned business and the family that runs it treat you like they have known you for years. They care about their customers and the classes are reasonable and fun! read more

Second trip here this month! Went today for their kids workshop, I think this is amazing they do this for the community! Erin was the teacher and she was so fun and so silly, my son really had so much fun building his pinch pot clay monster. read more

Playful Potter - Clay pinch pots - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

Went here for my Granddaughter's birthday with family and her BF. I was a little late so missed the instructions that were given so had to catch up with the help of my family. I hadn't been there for many years so it was a bit challenging choosing what to do! I decided on a smaller plate since that seemed easy enough lol. Everything is supplied you just have to figure out what you want, color choices, stencils or freehand. Once I got that decided I settled in to complete my project. It was fun watching everyone else's creativity showing up. I was a little disappointed no one ever came to our table to see how we were doing or if we needed any help. Luckily my kids all gave me advice. :) Once done you pay and they give you a pickup date which for us was about a week. It'll be fun to see how our projects all turn out! I think it's pretty pricey but I'm sure the overhead and materials cost factor in. For our five projects it was $188!! That included seating fees. Overall a fun experience! read more

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If I could give this place a negative start review I would! It's cute and cool but my problem is the workers!!! The first problem I had was I had set up an appointment for a clay molding on a certain day and time they agreed took my name and that was it no information on me or anything ... at the moment I didn't think too much on it but later down the road as the date was approaching I called them to confirm the appointment. Which I was informed they didn't have me in the schedule!! I was pretty livid about it but I completely understood people make mistakes so I just set another appointment and that was that. Next we showed up for the appointment, did the project and left. They said they will call me within 2 weeks once the clay has dried. Fast forward OVER 2 weeks I CALLED THEM! Because I never got a call or anything they told me they found my piece and it needed to be fired which would be another 2 days and after that they would call me to come in and paint the rest of it. This conversation has been well over 2 more weeks ago! At this point I'm so frustrated and annoyed with this place. There is no communication with their customers and that is completely unacceptable for someone who has been more than patient and understanding. Normally I try not to complain about this type of stuff because I've always worked with people (clients) all my life so I understand mistakes I understand people can be unreasonable, but this project included my child of course I'm not happy with this place! Please stay away read more

When our Kidlet was in town, I was trying to think of activities that we could do as a family. On to Playful Potter in Sparks. This place is a DIY ceramic studio. You pay a studio fee per person which covers the cost of paint, and then also pay for the piece you want to paint. Each piece has a price tag, so there isn't any surprise. There are also stencils for use and a few different odds and ends. The employee gave us instructions and away we went. Two and a half hour later and our master pieces were completed. We went to pay, and our pieces will be ready to pick up this week. I found this to be a fun and relaxing activity, as I enjoy painting. We all chose to paint coffee mugs, so we will also be able to use our art work daily. This studio also provides teen paint nights, and offers different types of art mediums. This is a large studio and they also offer birthday and party type deals. If you get hungry they also sell snacks and candy here. The one thing to keep in mind is that this is quite expensive. After studio fee, cost per item 18.00- 20.00 per mug and tax, we were just under 90.00 for the three of us. read more

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Great idea but terrible execution. The teacher needs to bone up on teaching and guiding skills. We sat through long periods of wondering what to do. It was an unorganized class. We left our resin projects for a few days so the teacher could sand down extra drops and poke holes in air bubbles. None of this was done as promised. The whole class was a disappointment and waste of money. read more

I have been coming here for so many years, & it is a joy that I went from having my birthday parties here, to taking my own kids! This establishment is always a fun time for all ages. My kids love it, as well my husband and I have gone on a date here. Staff is always super friendly and helpful, ready to help and answer all questions. The turnaround time isn't bad at all, I don't believe I have ever waited more than a week for my piece to be ready for pickup. The only downfall (why only 4 stars) is because the pieces are pretty pricy. Definitely a place to check out and have a beautiful souvenir to remember it all! read more

I was disappointed in the selection and customer service. I will find another place to take my grandchildren to paint

This place is Amazing! Classes for kids, take home projects for holidays, and custom made piece's. I so happy we found Playful Potter as we have made hand prints and foot prints of my granddaughter. Life long treasures! read more

Playful Potter - Baby foot print - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

Rounding up because they are a locally owned business. This review is strictly from the perspective of an activity with young children, my assessment would likely be different for a girl's night out or an adult activity. I took my 3yr old here for a mommy date as he's very creative and it seemed fun. We went on a quiet day and were the only clients for most of our time there. The girl staffing was nice, allowed us time to browse without any pressure and my toddler spent a lot of time browsing the bisqueware. It took a while to settle on an item to glaze. He really wanted to paint a big jet, but it was $35+ and I'm cheap so I didn't want to spend $50 with fees for a ceramic plane he would likely break since it's not a toy. He was drawn the the selection of small cute kids items, but they were only available for private bday parties. There wasn't much in terms of smaller (under $30 items) suitable for kids, aside from seasonal holiday items. We settled on a small dessert plate, between 6-7inches across. The space is clean and the set up is that you pay a flat fee ($8) to paint, you don't pay by the color. Their color selection of glazes is pretty limited and also basic. No fancy finishes or sparkle or metallic glazes, I think the only fancy finish they had was a speckle glaze. They do have some glaze pens with a fine tip and tables are set up with a cup of brushes and water. They have stencils and sponges available, along with binders of ideas for inspiration along with lots of finished examples decorating the walls. However, as far as assisting they were pretty hands off too. The stencils were somewhat poorly organized so it was hard to find specific types. We had a good time and were not rushed. We paid up front for the fee and the finished item and were given a receipt with a stamped date for pickup (about 5-7 days). It was just over $30 for the small plate. A little over a week later I went to pickup the fired plate. It turned out nice but had a small chip on the finished plate. Apparently some items fell on top of our plate and it chipped (they said the other item had broken so we were lucky) eh. I understand things happen with firing, but some of that is the responsibility of the person loading the kiln. No discount was offered, and come to think of it they didn't even verify that I was the owner of the plate before letting me take it. My kid had fun and I will cherish his messy little masterpiece, so we are happy. read more

I want to come here at least once a month! My daughter and I love this place! The staff is very helpful and nice. I love all the pieces they have to paint, it could get pretty expensive but it's worth it! I recommend this place for a little family time or even a little alone time! read more

Playful Potter - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

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This was our second time here and both times have been a wonderful experience! The staff was super helpful and came by often to tell my 3 year old what a great job she was doing. Great selection of pottery, paints, stencils, techniques, and more! We will definitely go back to make more :) read more

Playful Potter - My daughter loved painting mugs for her grandparents - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

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What a fun glass class!! It's easy and appropriate for all ages. I will be back! I feel like I have just gotten started. I'd love to come back with my friends and each make a pendant for each other. That would be a blast! read more

Playful Potter - Making gifts for Burning man! - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

Our first time here, nice location the place was pretty much to ourselves. It was clean and each table was nicely set up. They have a good selection of ceramic and paint. The attendant was really nice and helpful. Before we were done with our works of art the place started getting a little busy. Overall very happy with our experience will be back:) read more

I have been visiting Playful Potter since my daughter was an infant (she is 13 now). They are the most reasonably priced ceramics painting studio that I have found. The associated are ALWAYS super friendly and knowledgable about different techniques and such. Last week, I visited with aforementioned teen daughter, yet again an AMAZING experience. There were 2 other families painting. My daughter and I are familiar with the routine and didnt require much guidance. The other families included children ranging from 4-8 years old. Hannah, the playful potter employee, was talking the kids through their techniques, providing lots of positive complements, encouraging them to try certain things, and engaging in some rather adorable conversations with the chatty kiddos. She was everything that I appreciated when my kiddo was younger, by making it a truly fun and engaging experience with the kids and giving me an opportunity to paint myself as well without having to stop every 2 minutes to help the kids. She was empowering the kids to do things on their own and talking to them about how great their pieces were. I have never had even a sub-par experience here, in fact quite the opposite! Always friendly, helpful, and awesome! read more

Playful Potter - Easy to navigate & great atmosphere! - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Sparks, Nevada

Playful Potter is a really cute store and lots of fun for private parties! My friend hosted her 35th birthday party here and it was great to get together for a ladies night out! We opted to paint canvases instead of pottery, something that they offer a few nights per week. Denise, the owner, was a wonderful host/instructor, lots of fun, and very helpful in organizing the group and providing tips and suggestions. They do their paintings a little different than some other places that I've been to - you actually start with a template and trace the pattern onto a canvas and then paint from there. Personally, I prefer to freestyle, but I suppose it does make things a little more uniform for those that are concerned about their inner artist. The party was flawless and everyone enjoyed themselves! Best part about Playful Potter is that you can bring your own food and drinks. Painting is always more fun when the wine and champagne are flowing! read more

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We had a birthday party for our 2 daughters with 8 kids and 4 adults. The staff at The Playful Potter did so amazing! They took over and helped each kid with their painting, helping with stencils and different colors. Everyone was so nice and we will definitely be back! read more

I came here with a friend to do their "canvas and cocktails" and I am so happy we did! We came on a Wednesday expecting a big class and it was just the two of us. They started us right away, even though we were fairly early. You actually trace your picture onto the canvas but it makes it so easy and works great for people like myself who aren't artistic. The "teacher" helping us was so nice and chatted with us the whole time and made sure we knew what we were doing and felt comfortable doing it. I'm so happy with how they turned out. We want to come back really soon to do some more! We did not look at any of the pottery you paint or anything like that, so i can't speak for those items. I'd highly recommenced this place. read more

One of my favorite places. So nice to bring some wine or mimosas to this. Have some Sips and paint away. Making pottery is so relaxing to me. The prices vary and there is something paint for all walks. If you want you can also book it for parties and such. They are open all week which is nice. They have to fire your pottery which takes a couple days but then yo just go back in and pick it up. Overall great place for kids or kids at heart. read more

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I can't even begin to describe just how happy I am with the customer service that I received from Bailey. She was able to balance the needs of our group, the other customers and assist me in printing footprints for 5 projects with my no so cooperative infant son. I'm certain she was stressed at some points during the evening, but you really couldn't tell. She smiled all night long, made small talk with everyone and regularly complimented us on our pieces, encouraged us and offered to teach us different techniques. Playful Potter is very lucky to have such an employee as Bailey. We will definitely be coming back when visiting the Reno/Sparks area. read more

I love this place! So many things to do and pieces to paint! Where do I start?!? :) read more

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My sister decided to have my niece's birthday party at this place. Cute idea and we had fun painting our items although I was forced to paint a cupcake since you had to purchase 6 of them as part of the birthday package. It was cute but for the $12.50 I paid for it plus the $5 studio fee that my sister covered it was kind of a rip off. Come to find out, my sister was forced to pay a $5 studio fee for her husband and our dad and stepdad just because they were there and they left the party after the storytime ended! My stepdad was there for maybe 15 minutes and she got charged for his presence! While this is a cute environment (even though it's in a wierd strip behind a tire store) and had plenty of paint and stencils, I wouldn't recommend this place for an organized birthday party unless you enjoy being charged to watch your kid paint something that you are already paying for. To the owner - this is not the way to gain repeat business and word of mouth goes a long way these days. I would reconsider your random policies just to nickel and dime the customer. read more

Had fun with the family. Denise took really good care of us. Looking forward to the finished product. It is a great place for kids to get creative. A little expensive for some of the ceramic items, but worth the money for the fun with our son. read more

This is the coolest place!!! The staff is so helpful and friendly, and they have a lot to choose from. I will try the glass fusing next time. I come to Reno often to visit family and friends. I will recommend to all of them! Denise and her staff are really great!! read more

We had our daughter's sixth birthday party here. It was super easy to book online. Staff answered all questions before hand and returned messages promptly, super professional! The day of the party we had a staff person assigned to the party and she was super helpful and wonderful with the children. After the party the pieces were all individually wrapped and labeled which made delivering it a breeze. Would highly recommend! read more

I brought my son here for glass fusing, since pottery painting is for girls! The staff was not too helpful in explaining the process, or showing us where the bins of tools were or telling us that we had to "glue" our pieces on as we go. If you don't know what your doing, you will end up setting up your glass pieces twice like we did... The positives - the selection of pre-cut glass was abundant and there was no one else at the table so we had lots of room! They have gloves available so children don't cut their hands. When I picked up our pieces, some clay had dropped onto my glass plate so it didn't have a smooth finish and the foiled glass 'puckered" making it look odd. The cost for two small squares of glass and the sitting fee was $48. If we would have had help in the beginning (and not had to ask for help three times) and my piece hadn't been damaged by someone elses clay project, this would have been five-star glass fusing fun! read more

I absolutely DESPISE anything artsy, however, my daughter is more than obsessed with artsy stuff. I reluctantly agreed to take her to the Playful Potter because of this. I had the time of my life. Seriously! I growled under my breath the first 15 minutes because I had to pick artsy supplies and do something artsy, but HANNAH made my experience worth going. She helped all along the way. My daughter was a pro and me, well, not so much. Every lame and annoying question I had or advice needed about how to create "my masterpieces" she helped with a smile and loved to answer every and all questions we had. I was so relaxed and loved being here. I had so much fun as well as my daughter. She didn't want us to clean up after ourselves and she just wanted to do everything herself. Which was a nice change being a mother of many kids. I am so grateful that we went. I will be going back for sure many, many more times. I can't wait to go back to Playful Potter. Thanks for such an amazing experience. Hannah made my experience amazing and now I'm more of an artsy mom. You guys are amazing!! read more

I called a few days before Mother's Day to verify hours and ask if we could do glass fusing on Mother's Day. They said yes but when my daughter and I arrived close to noon we were told that we couldn't do it until 3 pm. My sister was coming in from out of town at 3:30 so no, we could not do it at three. No one mentioned the time restriction when I called and asked about glass fusing on Sunday. Guess what, went to Create and Take on Baring near Smith's Grocery shopping and did acrylic pouring! May never go back to Playful Potter, acrylic pouring was so neat. read more

I highly recommend having a birthday party at Playful Potter. My 5 year old had so much fun and so did all of her friends. The staff was excellent and super helpful throughout the entire party. There is an outside area that is perfect for a party. We will be back again soon. read more

This place is so fun for any age. I take the children I nanny for here all the time And my husband and I came in last week for a date and it was just as much fun. Super colorful and friendly staff. Check out the bathroom too, talk about artistic inspiration! read more