I had a birthday party for my 8 year old son here over the weekend. The group was split about half boys and half girls from his second grade class, 13 kids total. Having worked in the event business for some time now, I feel it is important to share my experience. We arrived at 12:40 for a 1 pm party and they looked surprised to see us. The room was not ready and the non verbal communication from the staff was not welcoming in the least. Our guests arrived at around 1pm and our instructor started with the painting instruction shortly after that. I found her to be a bit brash for a children's group and she barely cracked a smile with the kids saying things like " pay attention or you'll do it wrong". She did not engage the kids and moved rather slowly frequently losing their attention and then getting frustrated when they acted out from boredom. By the time that the painting was completed, the kids had about 20 minutes to have some cake before they were kicking us out for the next party. The parents that I had who stayed to help were all commenting on how uncomfortable the instructor was and it was embarrassing. They frequently interrupted me while my son was opening gifts trying to get us to leave for the next event. Come to find out, they just started doing these canvas parties. I did not appreciate being the "trial run" for these events at all. Total cost of the event was $220 for 13 kids to paint an owl.
What stands out most is the general lack of friendly customer service, the clear inexperience of the instructor with children, and the lack of preparation on the part of the studio resulting in me, my son, and our guests practically being thrown out at the end of what was supposed to be a happy event. I'd give this company a good couple years in the industry before trying it again. read more