Added photos after pickup! Love the mug and platter; they came out great. They did a great job with…read morefinishing. It is nice and glossy and it effectively removed that creepy unfinished clay like chalkboard feeling. They said it is dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe so excited to get it in rotation! They have a pretty quick turnaround time (3-5 days) and are very generous with their hold times. I embarrassingly will admit it took me a few months to get back to pick them up, and thankfully they still had them waiting in the back. Also, the garage DOES go through to the back of the building where The Painting Place is - so the directions are correct. It was much easier to get there this time when I realized it was a pull-through garage under the building lol.... I will definitely keep The Painting Place on my list for pottery crafts in the future!!

Staff here is very welcoming and friendly. Explained the process thoroughly…read more The setup is very similar to other pottery painting places I've been to. They even had pre-made paint palettes as an option. They also have some pottery pieces and things you can paint and take home the same day, but you can't eat from those items as they don't go thru the kiln. There wasn't a ton of variety in the pottery pieces to choose from, and the prices were a bit high compared to what I've seen in the past. We enjoyed our time. There were only two other parties there so it was very quiet and peaceful. Tip: if you use GPS for directions, it'll point you to the building across from theirs. They're right across from the Russian School. Their sign is a bit hidden. They do have a free parking lot.

Took a glass arts class with Eric with my best friend. This was the most amazing arts class I have…read moreever took. Not only did we get to do almost 100% of the work ourselves, we both ended the class with 3 pieces!! Eric is so patient and his customer service cannot beat. Truly an amazing teacher and guy. Definitely worth the money as it is a fully private 3 hour long class. Great options of what to make. HIGHLY recommend.

My partner and I did a private 3 hour glass working lesson with Eric and it was the best…read moreexperience! Eric is a great teacher and by the end of the lesson I felt as if I had really gotten the hang of it. His lessons are a hidden gem of Boston and I totally recommend them to others who want to learn to make glass art. Eric doesn't work with full-scale furnaces but with pretty intense mounted torches. However i think this was just as cool and I would absolutely come back again.

I have taken two classes at Metalwerx and I can't say enough good things. Fantastic teachers, a…read moregreat studio that is run thoughtfully! Safety and care of tools is always communicated. Easy to park, easy to grab lunch up the street at the sandwich shop. Take a class and you will love it!! Great for beginners or more advanced jewelers (I wrote a book about jewelry making and I learn something every time I'm here )

I always wanted to take a jewelry making class and finally enrolled in an evening class here. I…read morewas hopeless at jewelry making, but I really tried. This class helped me realize that I am a 2-D person -- sawing and soldering are not my think. That being said, I really tried hard and was very motivated to make something. I melted a few bezels. The teacher barely gave me the time of day, but the teaching assistant took pity on me and gave me some extra help. They never asked for feedback on the experience. I haven't been back since, but for the right person it might be an amazing experience.

Eli Portman is a terrific teacher! And both the Eliot street and amory street locations are very…read morecomfortable, with easy parking.,,

It makes me sad to write this review, especially since I felt the possibilities of a community…read moreatmosphere at the Eliot school, but I was really disturbed by the use of the words, to me in the last email by the Assistant Director, Jean - "At this point, I think we just need to part ways." (when someone who's providing a service to you says that - HUGE RED FLAG!) So, I signed up for private lessons with Joe for $65/hour. This was expensive for me, but I really needed to get a project done for a deadline. I was clear about what I wanted a small model of a house, with all mitered joints, because I was going to use it to cast a model. I even brought paper patterns. Joe met with me and said it was do-able. We did the first session of three hours, one of which he gave me an hour free, it seemed to go well. (I got the hour free - because the the machines here aren't so good - so its not your fault, his words) We didn't finish so I suggest we meet again. An hour into the next session, Joe proclaimed that the project was not do-able and too complicated, because there isn't a left-handed table saw. He even took my piece and attempting to go forward, took it the sander and wanted to sand it down to 45 degrees (yikes). Anyhow, so I decided to cut my losses and say, okay let's stop. He decided not to charge me for this hour. So I left with a pile of wood, and also broken-hearted, because I had really wanted to complete this piece. So, I wrote Jean, asking if I could get my money back, because I was clear about what I wanted in my project and felt like I should have been told that my project was not do-able from the beginning or at minimum, warned. Not have my project unfinished, after I had spent $130, 4 hours of time, and $30 on materials. And on top of it, I now need to find and pay someone to build this model. It wasn't anything personal against Joe, he was a nice guy, but more about professionalism. For example, if you had a contractor who said they could do something, they wouldn't walk away midway through the project and say it was too hard, leaving you hanging. Same concept. But instead, I got an email that from Jean that said, we are NOT refunding you, but (as if I had won a prize) we aren't charging you for the extra two hours Joe gave you, and "at this point, I think we just need to part ways."

My husband and I had a fantastic time making pottery for the first time with Andrew! We took the…read morecouples class (was given to us as a gift from a family member- so fun!) and were able to make beautiful, unique bowls in just one session. Andrew was helpful and so talented. Highly recommend for a fun date night!

Me and my girlfriend had a lesson with Andrew and we both loved it! He was very personable and a…read moregreat demonstrator for beginners like ourselves. I would recommend this to anyone looking to get into pottery or looking for something cool to do!

Maya and Margaux are truly so sweet and wonderful to work with and see the work they are doing and…read morebe inspired. The guidance through the process, tips on how to achieve the final piece I imagined, and the friendliness. Amazing!! - written by my husband. Thank you so much especially to Maya for her patience and teaching! So happy to have a second class with her!

We had so so so much fun learning basic pottery from Phie…read more Coming in with very low, humble expectations of ourselves was the way to go, because imagine our delight when we actually created two very useful & decent pieces of pottery! Definitely mostly due to Phie's incredible teaching & patience. They absolutely have a knack for teaching. The clarity with which they explained every step, paired with visual examples & lots of cute encouragement ... It was a masterclass in teaching, as well as pottery. Cool spot for a studio too - right on Newbury Street. I can't wait to come back for our pieces after they've been fired. Maybe we'll try our hands at another class again, too.

They sold a me a gift card then went out of business and never refunded the money. Don't trust…read morethem. Ever!

Something got me interested in glass blowing. I know myself, and I knew I probably wouldn't have…read moreheaps of fun... but it is something I wanted to experience for myself. After reading the reviews, I decided to go here. I took the glassblowing sampler, which serves as an introduction to the art. My two instructors were Matt and Pat. The first thing we did was go through the shop, and see what kinds of things they do. There were no visible sales tactics involved, more like a "this is what we do". Then we got to the room where the melted glass actually lives... now folks... they tell you to bring a bottle of water, bring one. Molten glass is incredibly hot, and therefore the room is too. They go over what we will be making, and how we will be making it, as well as things that could go wrong. In this glass we make paperweights. Then we go over safety and practice three times to make sure we got everything down. Yes, burns do happen, but they do everything they can to minimize the risk. When it is your turn, one of the instructors will be working with you one on one to guide you through the process, and ensure you don't get a burn from glass whose temperate well exceeds 1,000 degrees. However, this is where this place lost some stars. When it was my turn, Pat was the person working with me. While I appreciate his help, he did many things that were extra, and unrelated to safety, such as spinning the rod. While minor, and while I was the one manipulating the glass, I still felt it took away from the experience. It was more like me assisting him than him assisting me. You don't get the opportunity to "blow" into the glass in this class, but it was demonstrated to us at the end. Some more notes: Instructors were fairly chill, but no-nonsense dudes. When you have molten glass, joking around is very dangerous. The owner has a great sense of humor! And finally, molten glass is very viscous. It is not as easy to manipulate as it looks. In conclusion: if I had enjoyed glass blowing, I would return here. But, alas, I found it was not for me. Definitely worth it for the experience though!

I had a great time here: it was my first time rug tufting and the staff were very friendly and…read morecomprehensive, first showing us how to use the tufting guns with the yarn, and then letting us practice. I liked that you can choose your own image to work with, here I chose my partner's orange cat :) Highly recommend!

Employees were very attentive and came over immediately if you had any questions or need…read moreassistance. They had you practice a few methods prior to starting. We went with the rug tufting activity, which was fun and I learned I don't quite have the patience for it. However, I'd try it again now that I've made one rug. It definitely can be tiring on the hands and takes a few hours so not something that can be rushed. You can choose any design you'd like as long as you have a photo and they can project it from your phone to outline. At the end they put a non-slip backing. They offer other activities too, great place to go on a rainy or cold day or whenever one is feeling crafty!