Crafts and drinks, who could ask for more?! I was in Portland for a work trip and we booked DIY Bar…read morefor our team of 27 as a fun hands-on bonding activity. They had the perfect amount of space for us! We booked a 4 hour slot on a Wednesday evening, and they allowed us to bring in some catering for dinner. They had a vast menu of different crafts, with materials like macrame, cement, leather, and more. The prices were $39 or $44 depending on the crafts, with more add ons. Each of us chose our own craft and were provided the materials and tools. Each table had some basic tools like scissors and tape, and they had a wall of paint, stains, and string to choose from! I chose a macrame yoga mat holder, so my craft bag had some rope and wooden rings, and I got to use a vertical frame with a hook clamped to the table to help with my weaves. Each craft has very detailed instructions and the employees checked in regularly and helped when we needed it! I had some frustrations because I was struggling to pull extremely long pieces of rope through knots I was making. The owner came by and gave me some tips to make it easier, and brought over some rubber bands to help bundle the ropes so it wasn't as difficult to make the knots. I highly appreciated his attentiveness and helpful tips!! I wasn't able to finish my craft in time so they gave me a copy of the instructions so I could finish at home. Overall, the employees were so helpful and made sure we had a good time! They also had some drinks on tap, I got a prickly pear seltzer which was really yummy! Overall, this was such a fun experience & I highly recommend booking for teams. I work in a virtual environment so I only see my team a few times a year. I really enjoyed being able to do a fun, creative, hands-on activity with my team. It was a bonus to have catering and drinks so I could take some breaks to mingle and walk around and see my teammates' progress on their crafts. Thank you DIY BAR for a wonderful experience!!!

Had an incredible time! We booked the place for a friends birthday celebration. The staff was super…read morekind and funny and would always check in if we needed any help or wanted more drinks. The drinks were pretty good as well! Has a good selection to choose from. There's a variety of crafts to choose from. I chose the coasters. You're given a good amount of time to finish your crafts during the reservation as well. I had so much fun I'd definitely come back here again!

Elise's work feels both celestial and terrestrial. Her work transitions well from large canvases to…read morepost cards to even delightful, decorative scarves. Elise is an exceptional teacher who selflessly inspires the artists who attend her various workshops, be it in her creative Portland, OR studio, or abroad. I personally come from modest Appalachian roots, where I've only possessed prints of artists whom I admire. I can honestly say that it is my desire to own a Wagner encaustic painting or three one day whenever my stars should align.

From the owner: Encaustic and printmaking workshops. Encaustic paintings and prints for sale. Studio events and…read moreprivate studio tours available to purchase art or attend workshops. Offering specialized instruction in Encaustic Painting and Collagraph Printmaking throughout the year in my studio. Sessions are designed for all learning levels and tailored to your creative goals and needs. I have been painting with the encaustic medium since 1993 and bring over two decades of experience as an exhibiting artist, innovator, paint maker and educator to my studio classes. Studio events and private studio tours available to purchase smallworks and prints. I have been painting with the encaustic medium since 1993 and bring over two decades of experience as an exhibiting artist, innovator, paint maker and educator to my studio classes.

Just finished their slabtown backpack online workshop. It was a great experience and we were…read moresuccessful in completing our backpack. Ellie was there all along the way supporting us and guiding us. Her kits are amazing, everything is precut, all the hardware and tools are there. That allows us to focus on the fun of being creative sewers/bag makers. Ellie is a great teacher, she gives all the tools and resources to be successful. I would highly recommend this experience for anybody.

I connected with Klum House through Design Week Portland. I've never used a sewing machine, so "no…read moreexperience required" appealed to me. I made the dopp kit over about 2 hours. For that class, the machine is set up and no troubleshooting is required. The fabric is already cut to the pattern. This project is ideal for beginners; all my substandard seams were hidden! The owner-instructor has whole series of short project classes to make useful everyday things - bags and backpacks. You don't have to go deep into patterns or fabric, zippers, snaps, rivets, leather and other hardware, all that is included, in a range of a few colors you select. The projects include some specialty fabrics, like sustainable waxed canvas that are hard to source. Some of their other classes cover more challenging material to sew, like leather, and even a Pendleton panel. The most important part of my experience and this review is that the owner-instructor is patient and a great teacher. The owner-instructor perceives individual learning styles and adapts to each student. Her business model is brilliant. The classes are on the boss Singer 4423, which is an affordable machine to set up at home, continuing your adventures. For your own sewing adventure, Klum House has supply kits of useful sewing gadgets you used in class to purchase and take home. Best of all, after a Klum House project, "I made that" is a beautiful thing to say to individuals asking questions about your project, close around you, friends, and admirers on the street!

I made my first paper with Jenn and Gary at WildCraft Studio School in White Salmon, WA. I had lots…read moreof fun, learned a lot and made lots of paper. Recycled, abaca, denim and hemp, plant fiber that we prepared. Sign up for one of their workshops or look for their mobile studio, soon to be on the road.

From the owner: Pulp & Deckle is a studio located in Portland, OR that is dedicated to sharing the art, science,…read morehistory and craft of handmade paper with others. We teach workshops, make custom paper goods for retail and wholesale, and operate a papermaking artist residency program.

Highly recommend SmithPDX. I just attended a metals workshop there and am so excited that Portland…read morehas this new space. It's a gallery, a working metals/ jewlery studio, workshop and maker's space. I just attended Master Kashima's Nunome workshop there and we all agreed that SmithPDX is a really special place.

From the owner: We host a community metalsmithing workspace where we facilitate education and access to tools &…read moreequipment in a safe and fun environment. We also provide services and specialize in custom fabrication & repair of precious metal objects. We work on home hardware & fixtures, jewelry, antique tools, and much more! *We are temporarily not able to accept repairs.* Thank you for your patience while we devote extra time to setting up more tools and getting our first series workshops up and running. Please join our email list if you would like to be notified when we resume repairs, or if you want to be the first to know about our upcoming workshops and classes!

Wow! Love this place! Took a ten week class with Lela and loved it. As an artist who has done…read morepottery on and off for over thirty years it was great to come back to it here with great instructors who taught me some different techniques for wedging clay and throwing than I've learned in the past. Definitely coming back for a membership!

I love this creative space. Everyone is made to feel welcomed. They have the most amazing…read morehandmade items for sale, offer classes that don't make you feel intimidated to not know what you are doing and the owner is a great human! They believe in community and offer options to buy scholarships to support students who might not be able to pay for classes. It's just a great all around place!

My friend and I had a wonderful experience making candles here on a Friday night! There is street…read moreparking but also 2 parking garages nearby within walking distance (and first 2 hours free!) This workshop is small but full of bright colors and farm house vibe with lots of fun projects to do. We were greeted warmly by the friendly staff and this workshop started promptly with detailed instructions to explore 20 different scents and discussion of their categories. Both Zoe and Elizabeth were super helpful in guiding us to choose adjacent or complimentary scents for our candles, and the hardest part was choosing only 2 scents to make your candle! You reserved this experience online but you can also upgrade to a different containers (a tea cup or pumpkin - so cute!) and add extra candles onsite. The candle will need at least an hour to 2 hours to set so we were free to walk around Orenco station and got to snack and catch up while our candles were drying. My friend was able to pick her up that night but mine was not set yet so I had to come back during the weekend. They have so many cool projects to choose from and a good selection of beverages for purchase. I will definitely be back with other friends to try out other projects in the future. Check out their website to see if any of their projects will pique your interest!

What a great place to spend an afternoon, Alexis is awesome! She's an excellent instructor and the…read morefact that she helped me actually finish a craft is priceless! I have tons of half done projects and it was so fun to have a girly afternoon chatting away and making a pretty throw blanket. I'll be back soon and often.

I started with glass fusing at one of those places where you come in, you pick a pre-defined…read moreproject and then hand it over to the facilitator - you come back later to pick up the final piece. I enjoyed that and did it a couple of times. I wanted to do more however I didn't have all of the equipment you need to finish a piece of glass (kiln, grinder, sandblaster, diamond saw). The equipment is both massive and expensive. Some of it is very dusty (sandblaster) and other pieces require water supply (grinder, saw). Some requires special ventilation (kiln, sandblaster) and a lot of knowledge to use these pieces safely. My next step was to take a couple of classes with Bullseye, again, somewhat pre-defined projects with limited opportunity to go in your own direction. The good news is that they offer "studio time" which allows you to use their equipment, for a fee. Finally I met Nathan. While he didn't invent the vitrigraph kiln, he did a lot of original innovation in what can be done with it and has taught classes far and wide to others who want to learn his process. He is also very experienced and talented with kiln glass - creating your design in a piece of glass, perhaps dropping it through a mold to create a vase or a bowl and then all of the "cold work" that I alluded to above. Nathan is a great teacher and after taking a couple of on-line classes from him, I've taken a class from him in his studio. I've made a couple of projects there and I am continuing to go back to work on other projects, expanding on the knowledge I've accumulated. When I started my most recent class I was not very successful with cutting circles of glass. Nathan identified part of the problem was that I had a similar but not the right tool. The other part was to get out of my head and just do it until I was comfortable. Now I'm feeling very comfortable cutting circles, loading terracotta pots with glass, pulling cane (rods of glass) out of the bottom of the vitrigraph kiln and chopping those up into murrini and moving them on through other processes. Nathan is available to answer questions as I am assembling my work, his studio has all of the equipment I need to create my own projects and it's more affordable than Bullseye. I am eager to see what he still has to teach me as I keep moving forward in my own learning. He is also an artist that creates a variety of pieces that you can purchase for your home or a gift. Additionally, he makes very high quality molds that will likely outlast you unless you drop them. Finally, if the finished piece of glass or the molds he has on offer aren't exactly what you are looking for, he might consider taking on a commission to make exactly what you want. I highly recommend Nathan to people who want to get into kiln glass. He knows his stuff, has a well equipped studio that will take you as far as you like and his rates are very reasonable.

Glass artist extraordinaire. Go feast your eyes on beautiful glass. Buy yourself a gift that will…read morespend a lifetime making you happy.

I've taken classes at a number of glass studios but nothing compares to Design Lite…read more Cheryl has more knowledge and creativity than most of the people around Portland. My fused material turns out better here than the class I took at Bullseye. I hope she offers more workshops - especially around Christmas.

If you love Stained Glass and glass decor and wondered, 'Hey how they do that?'…read moreThis would be a great place to start. Whether your interested in stained glass or fusion, you can try your creativity here. Owner and teacher, Cheryl is awesome. She will take you under her wing and answer all your questions, helping you along the way. Cheryl's assistant, Angie is also quite a talented artist. Many years of experience and tricks to the trade. You can bring an idea you may have had or go through many catalogs of art projects and begin your 8 week adventure. The atmosphere is relaxing and you are welcomed, treated as instant family. I just wanted to make one project, but now going on 5 years. Love it.

We just finished the class and had a lot of fun! We learned a ton and had a lot of great hands on…read moreexperience. I would recommend it to anyone. It was four classes and each one builds on the other so make sure you can attend all 4. We were going to do the class a different month but would have been away a week but after talking to the owner and reading about the class we decided to do a month we would be there for all 4 classes and I'm glad we did otherwise we would have missed out on a lot. By the end of the class both of us taking it are coming out with 8 things we made from start to finish!

I attended a very high quality workshop and it was extremely well-organized and fun. Their…read moreattention to detail was impressive and the quality of the workshop was off the charts.