I had a wildly bizarre interaction with Purple Twig owner Samara. We missed the first class in a new series due to incorrect communication about start dates from the studio; I asked for a make-up class or refund, she refused (citing studio policy), and I said fine, but that that seemed like poor customer service given the error on her part. We had attended the second class (thinking it was the first), and at that class the teacher clearly stated that only three students showed up at class one; I also heard another parent say she didn't know the session had started the previous week, either. Yet then, Samara apparently discussed this with the teacher, then came back to me via email and wrote: "I was disappointed that you knowingly and falsely implied that other families were also misled in the start date so you could get a refund." She continued on to say that my family was not a good fit for her studio, and essentially booted us from classes. Is this not an insane way to do business? I had already told her that I would accept no refund or make-up class, and yet she pushed the issue, all over email. She must hide behind some really nice teachers. I will not be recommending her studio to anyone. read more

For my daughter's 8th birthday party, we wanted to do something safe, but also wanted to celebrate after such a long time at home. We asked purple twig to help come up with an activity to keep 7 kids entertained in the backyard. Samara suggested a build your own fairy garden pack. Which was perfect for 7/8 yr old girls (my 6 yr old boy also loved it). She supplied really helpful instructions which ensured the activity lasted for over an hour and the girls were all super focused - and very proud of their creations. A great birthday party. Thanks! read more

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Great my child has been working art projects since he was 3. Worth it. Check it out!

We LOVE Purple Twig! Out of all the summer camps my 5 yo daughter has been to, Purple Twig is easily her favorite. They play and explore with art all day from painting to ceramics to collage. Samara (the owner) is one of the kindest people I've met and her staff is so wonderful. If you can get a group of kids together, they'll create a private one day or week long class (perfect for those random days off from school!). Their camps fill up quickly so get on the mailing list! read more

Samara is the best. Her staff is super kind hearted. Our daughter's been coming here for years and now that we are moving I'm thinking about how much I'm going to miss it. Absolutely recommend. The kids make amazing things with weird (environmentally conscious) materials. Love it! read more

Terrific place for a BIRTHDAY PARTY! What a wonderful party we had recently for our 7 year old daughter. The owner was quick to respond to our request and made several wonderful suggestions for projects that fit our theme. Creating Unicorn Lands / Fairy Gardens using Clay, painting cardboard rainbows, GLITTER.... the children were all very excited about this project and they turned out so beautifully. Jillian was our wonderful teacher for the day, and she handled the entire event so calmly and professionally - a lot of fun! Setting up for the party was easy, with a large table in the back of the room for bringing in our own food/drinks and a place for the grown-ups to hang out! LOVED this!! We have also popped in on the Open Studio days and really enjoyed. read more

Purple Twig - 7 year olds birthday craft - Art Classes Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Is there anything better than spending an afternoon in a dream art studio with the COOLEST of artistic masterminds creating side by side with your child? Nope. Here, at Purple Twig, you get to relive all those happy memories of just making art, and so do you children. I love the way that Samara leads the sessions. Such positive energy and so supportive of the artistic process. The materials are innovative and plentiful. No pre-fab here. Just individualist expression. We also signed up for the Creative Kids Summer Camp this year, which our daughter has loved and begged us to go each week for the rest of the Summer. The camp partners with Bloom School of Music just a few doors down. The campers get a well rounded week of art, music, creative storytelling/drama and dance each day. It is as close to going up to Idylwild as you can get without leaving LA! read more

This is THE place for grownup parties! I was looking for a unique place to have my 40th birthday and this was an incredibly memorable experience. Samara, the owner/artist, could not have been kinder. I am not an artist myself, but I have been know to hot glue a thing or too, and I wanted to have a place where I could take a few artistic baby steps. Samara offered a handful of projects our group could make and I finally decided on a collage. I had some food catered from Spring Street Smokehouse downtown, got some wine from the Colorado Wine Company and a stunning Raw vegan cheesecake from Four Cafe. We ate a bit of food, relaxed and then Samara took a few minutes to introduce us to the materials and a few techniques. The 12 of us spent the next two hours creating our butts off. It was a diverse group of people and, without exception, each person got in touch with me in the next few days to say what a great time they had. A great experience all around. I highly recommend it! read more

I had my son attend this arts class few months ago and there wasn't much instruction or interaction involved in the class. The kids were given the items and were just let to do things on their own. I expected more interactive and engaging class since it was 25$ per class. Also I noticed that the teacher wasn't that friendly to me or my son, she was kind of cold and didnt smile much either. When I take my son to a class I expect the teacher to be encouraging, welcoming, interactive and boosting lot of enthusiasm which I did not see here. Maybe it's good for older kids but my son was only 2 at that time so wasn't for him. read more

I took my 10-year-old friend to Purple Twig and we had a GREAT time. The woman who runs the place is really great, encouraging and helpful, they have tons of fun supplies and interesting projects. I will go here again. I can't wait for my one-year-old to participate! Purple Twig is perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon and great addition to the neighborhood. read more

Awesome. Just finished their art camp this past week and my daughter loved it. Will definitely be coming back. Thank you!!

I brought my 6 year old daughter and my 4 year old son to an open studio class. They LOVED it. Jillian was amazing with all the kids that were in the class. She remembered each of their names. My daughter is outgoing and loves arts and crafts so I knew she would enjoy it right away. My son, on the other hand, is shy and timid, and it takes him time to try new things, but she made him feel so comfortable from the beginning that he jumped into the projects! They started off making these beautiful watercolor banners (on fabric). Next, Jillian introduced them to watercolor, but on paper with salt, to see the different textures that would appear. Jillian suggested crowns, but my son was so insistent on having a mask. instead of insisting that the project wasn't about mask, she thought of a way quickly to use the materials they already had to make a fun mask. My kids had the best Saturday and I can't wait to go again when they are open in the fall. read more

We love everything about Purple Twig! The classes and workshops are top notch, original, creative, and non competitive. The space is beautiful and cozy- comfortable for children and adults. Samara, the owner/teacher is wonderful with all kinds of kids. She gently guides them to their own artistic path, without being patronizing or controlling. They have print making, painting, collage, ceramics, but all with a unique twist that taps into your child's pure creative brain. We took an 8 week "Mail Art" class. At the end of every class, Samara would lead the children, like a goddess Pied Piper, to the mail box across the street, where the children would mail out their weekly objects d'art to surprised and delighted recipients all over the country. She said on the first day, with enough postage, you can mail pretty much anything! We also do the drop in Saturday workshops/open studio where Samara has a variety of projects to choose from, or she'll set up your child with a project of their choice. We also did the Bloom School of Music/Purple Twig camp this summer for a week. The theme was "Robots" which my child loved. I highly recommend you check out this place with your children. You can stay and work with them or drop them off, but if you stay, you will be rewarded with a wonderful environment and leave inspired to continue creating art at home and see art everywhere you look. read more

A year ago or so, near Halloween, I signed my son up for a workshop. I then stupidly got the time wrong and showed up just as the workshop was ending. I asked the owner if we could have a credit. She said, 'we don't do that' and was so so cold and unfeeling about it it blew my mind. I had my five year old with me! We had done two other workshops there as well as two open studio sessions, but she looked at me like she'd never seen me before in her life. I asked if we could take some of the materials home so we could do the project at home and she allowed us to do that. We have friends who send their kids to workshops and I would love to send my son. But she was so unkind and rude that I just can't. read more

They are very friendly , inviting and warm with the kids. Inspire children to be creative by speaking with them with expression . I was every impressed with the environments cleanliness . It's hard to find a place where you can allow your child to be self creative , this place offers a lot of imaginative creativity . 5 stars all the way!!!! read more

Recently did a drop-in session here with our 4 YO twins and two of their cousins (approx 9 and 4 YO). As others have said, it's a pretty cool place, and their use of recycled materials really inspires creativity. Two specific things I'd like to highlight: 1. The kids were able to make as many puppets (activity for the day) as they wanted. We've done similar things at Skirball (another wonderful place), but there, they only make a single item due to the crowds. There really is something to be said for making multiple items, and the kids iterate and learn in real-time. Never thought about this before. 2. Originally, I thought that the staff member (Jillian) was there simply to supervise, but she got in and helped the children. And she actually remembered all the children's names (our first visit). This may sound minor, but it's not, as it actually helps warm the children up and gets them comfortable so that they can ask her for help and further expand their creations. Big thumbs up to Jillian! read more

My son and I just participated in one of their raptor workshops. I was nervous because I don't know a thing about drawing. The owner assured me that all artistic abilities were welcome, and it was true. It was a relaxed environment and I was able to really get into trying to find my inner artist lol. It was also so fun to just stare at a raptor for an hour. I would recommend one of these workshops to anyone who is looking for something different to do with their child on a Saturday afternoon. read more

My son has been attending a toddler art class here every Thursday. We absolutely love the creative projects Purple Twig comes up with - and we have so many treasured art creations as a result of their creativity! We highly recommend! read more

if you are about respecting everyone, don't forget to respect the one calling you out for something that is clearly wrong about your system. if you have one parent constantly speaking and taking time away from the 45min camp session, you are not doing enough to monitor the behaviors of adults who have no business interrupting the camp. I especially don't care to see the said parent discussing that she will have her child use her feminine pad as a prop and displaying across the zoom session. if you did your job and clearly outlined what is acceptable and what isn't maybe people would think otherwise before signing up. read more

This place is a blast! I walked by and it was packed at 4 on a Friday. They support the local animal shelter and are so kind! Please give back and love this company, WE DO! Thank you! read more

My daughter and I have been taking parent and me classes with Samara for a little over two years and we've loved every moment of it! Each class starts out with a story which reveals a little bit about what kind of project the children will be creating. There's a variety of materials and projects. My daughter has worked with clay, markers, pastels, charcoal, scissors, glue, paint, wood and even shaving cream (just to name a few)! Samara is infinitely patient with the little ones and encourages them to do their own thing! I have never come across an art class for children that gives them so much freedom with so many mediums. I highly recommend Samara and Purple Twig! read more

We LOVE Purple Twig! Samara (the owner and teacher) is incredibly creative and has a true gift for working with children. She uses stories, pictures and other activities to bring each project to life. She demonstrates and explains artistic techniques so that even small children can do things themselves. She encourages the children to talk about their ideas and pursue their own unique vision for each project. The classes are so much more than a typical art class: When my son's class built Mayan pyramids, they read a book about the ancient Mayans, found where they lived on a globe, and looked at pictures of different kinds of pyramids. Then the children drew a plan for their pyramids on paper. They built a hut for the workers out of sticks, clay and fabric. And finally they built the actual Mayan pyramids--beautiful two foot tall structures--out of toilet paper tubes, cereal boxes and other recycled materials. They painted them, then adorned them with jewels and folded paper staircases. Unbelievable! My five year-old son wasn't especially interested in art, but I signed him up for classes at Purple Twig to improve his fine motor skills. He has gained so much confidence from making amazing projects each week (almost) all by himself. Now, he grabs things from the recycling bin and invents his own art projects! And he wants to do things himself rather than asking me for help--yay! I can't recommend Purple Twig highly enough. read more

Los Angelenos with children: You MUST go to Purple Twig in Eagle Rock. Without question, Samara should be the person to introduce and guide your children into exploring and creating. Seriously, this woman is a witch, a guru, a goddess, and a effing genius. And she'll make your kid one too. How's that for a recommendation? Once your child has taken a class with Samara, you will see his or her creativity and confidence explode. It may not happen in a single class, but my child worked with Samara over the course of a year, and I saw him go from scribbling for a couple of minutes to spending over an hour on a single piece. He understands color, contour, depth -- and he had NO IDEA that he was learning it! Samara is simply the best art teacher you can imagine. I can't do her justice-- you must take the kids and experience. And stick with it; in a year, you will see the beneficial effects of art education on other areas of your child's growth. I attribute my five year old child's increased concentration, his commitment to finish something he starts, and his patience and his ability to fail and try again to taking these art classes. Try it and see for yourself. read more

My 4 year old has been taking classes from Samara at the purple twig since he was two years old and I recommend the classes here as the best. I have a background in developmental psychology and the process oriented classes not only produce amazing art work but also develop life long artists. Teachers and other parents frequently comment on my sons artistic talents and I credit Samara as the person who fostered this talent. We haven't been able too take classes for a few months because we have been traveling and my son is always asking when he can take a class again. He loves the classes so much. If you are on the fence about signing your child up for classes here, do it. You will not regret it for a moment. read more

I wish I could give Purple Twig even more stars! This place is AWESOME!!! I have been taking my 2 year old daughter here since she first turned 2 in December. The place was recommended by a neighbor who has tried all of the art places around and couldn't stop raving about this one. My daughter (and I and sometimes my husband when he can join us) LOVE IT! Every week we look forward to seeing Samara and finding out what type of super creative project she has in store for us. It is a small group setting and the other parents are wonderful, too. I am not an "artsy" type of person, but Samara makes everyone feel comfortable...there is no "right" way to do anything. The kids always have fun and my daughter has learned so much. She always gets excited when I tell her we are going to art class. Every week they play with a different media, clay, paint, etc. and a lot of natural materials are used in the projects. They are all becoming beautiful keepsakes in our home. This is a wonderful studio - HIGHLY recommend it to all of my friends. Even though we are moving around 30 minutes away, we will still be making the drive because we love the studio that much! read more

I just finished a family ceramics class here with my two kids and we all had a great time. We also each learned and developed confidence because Samara the owner/teacher is so knowledgeable and supportive of what everyone makes. She really makes hard things (like ceramics) fun. I would sign up for this class again. read more

My 4 year old daughter and I just did the Valentines day workshop a couple of weekends ago. I had never been to a kids workshop at Purple Twig or anywhere else for that matter. The space is beautiful and so are the past fanciful art projects decorating the space. It is a dream art school. We had a lot of Valentines we had to crank out for her preschool. The method of creating these valentines was easy to do with a very satisfying and sophisticated result! We were using beautiful traditional printmaking technique with ink and plates, our plates being very easy to carve into Styrofoam. The palettes of both card stock and ink we were provided with lended every child's individual expression a very aesthetic polish. I was floored by the beauty of everyone's results and how fun it was creating these results as a team with my daughter. When she got tired of rolling out the cards, she got into the decoration of them with glitter and I took care of the printing. We both experienced the joy of the art making process together! Samara is so mellow and sweet and obviously a talented and educated artist herself. We can't wait for Camp Flaming Arrow during Spring Break. What a fun artistic gem we have found here in Eagle Rock! read more

My daughter's school visited The Purple Twig Thursday for a field trip and she brought me home the best little treasure. A bird's nest made of all kids of goodies. Thank you! read more

My son, who is 4yrs old, just did the Spring Break Camp at Purple Twig. He LOVED it. He liked it so much he didn't want to go back to his pre-school. He was engaged and enthusiastic about camp. He came home with stories of camping and creating and fun. He has also done some workshops and enjoyed those as well. We will definitely be back for more. read more

Went to first class with our 2 year old today. The teacher was creative and very patient and friendly with our little one, who really enjoyed himself. There was both art and story time in a one hour period. The class had a structure with activities moving from drawing to a story, to a simple but more involved art project (which involved shaving cream, ink and paper) and ended with a song. I was a little worried 2 was too young for our child to pay aftention and become engrossed in the class, but it went pretty well. Our child did mess around with the child-level sinks/water more than I would have liked (for which I initially felt some "parent embarrassment") but the teacher was very cool and easy going and didn't seem to mind. The space is very nice, and there were all kinds of supplies, suggesting a variety of projects. I'm no artist, but I liked my child getting exposed to something new beyond our weekly music sing a long class. This class will go into the rotation. read more

We liked the open art studio and the fact that we got to stay as long as we wanted. However, one suggestion I would have for the owners is to install some more lights in the front room. It is very dark and gloomy compared to other studios. read more

My 3 year old son took an art class series (Into the Jungle) here and it was a wonderful experience. We are so thrilled to have Purple Twig in our community and can't wait to take more classes. read more

I'm a local Girl Scout Troop leader and I was looking for some help with our Brownie Painting Badge. I contacted the studio and Samara was happy to help! Together, we planned a one hour workshop for my girls (ages 6-9) that included almost all the badge requirements! The highlight was taking home a canvas "self-portrait". The cost per girl was extremely reasonable and Jillian was great with the girls (all 17 of them!). I am so pleased with the experience and I hope other groups check this place out! It's fantastic for private events and parties. read more

we love Purple Twig! Our daughters have loved the summer camp and begged to go extra weeks this year. They have made great holiday projects - a menorah one year and beautiful ceramic christmas decorations for our tree last year. They just have a great time there. I feel so lucky to have found it. read more

It doesn't get any better than this for inspiring art classes for youth. My daughter is 7 has been taking classes and summer camp here since she turned 3. It is like a home away from home for her. Samara and her staff are off the charts in terms of empowering the students. I credit them with much of my daughters ability to approach any project from beginning to end with patience and creativity and feel proud of it. read more

So much more than a children's art class! Recently I signed my 6 year old daughter up for the "Little Architects" class; assuming that her experience would involve building different kinds of simple structures out of the usual kids art supplies. In actuality, my daughter was treated to a beautiful art/culture/community/fun experience! Each session began with a discussion of an exciting and different type of structure; roller coasters, pyramids, sky scrapers, fortresses! Each child was then encouraged to share their experiences and imaginings of the structures in question. This lively discussion, often including a touch of history or a story, was followed by a brief planning session wherein each child planned/designed their proposed structure in their very own drawing book: the wonderful teacher, Samara, all along asking gently evocative questions of each child in particular to help them to define their OWN vision. After planning came wonderful and surprising supplies; clays, plasters, fabrics, bendy straws, glitter, wood, buttons, paint, glue and more! The atmosphere that Samara fosters encouraged the children to work together, commenting on each others work and ultimately as part of the class, building a city together! The class culminated in a presentation to the parents. One by one the children stood in front of the parent "audience" and presented one of the many structures that they had created over the course of the 10 week session. My daughter, usually too shy to raise her hand in class, eagerly shared her creation. All in all, I was surprised both by the real depth and creativity of this class and of the pride and excitement that my daughter found in creating and sharing her projects. The Purple twig is a real gem for everyone looking for something well beyond the ordinary. read more