The hardest part about tufting? Deciding what you want to tuft! There are so many great ideas that we saw on Instagram and at the store. There were a lot of flowers, abstract landscapes, Pokemon, and cutesy animated characters. I'd recommend picking before your appointment because you're going to be tufting a longgg time, so might as well go prepared.
You can choose from 3 different canvas sizes and the size affects the price. We went with a medium one. They project your image onto the canvas for you to trace. This allows you fill in colours easily. If you have an iPhone, you can hook up your phone directly to their projectors. If not, they have loaner iPod Touches that you can look up your image on and use. If you have no idea, they have pictures that other tufters have used in the past for reference.
After you've traced your outline, a staff member will teach you how to use the tufting gun. Each station has one that is hooked up to the device on the ceiling. I think this helps you not get as fatigued holding it up. It actually wasn't that hard of a process. The larger or more intricate your design, the longer it will take. Our appointment was originally booked for 4 hours but we were able to finish in about 2.5 hours.
We got there pretty early - at 12:30pm and there were only a few other people around. As the day went longer, a lot more people came in to both tuft and make fluid bears. So much so that people were actually waiting and they had to bring out extra tables to set up. I'd go earlier if you can so you can get some undivided attention.
We had finished and told several staff members who acknowledged and went away. It was a little awkward because we were taking up spots and there were people actively waiting right next to us. Eventually someone came by to cut our rug out of the canvas and apply the backing to it.
The studio itself is a bit of a mess. There was glue on the floor at my station that was still wet from the last person and got on my pants. The guy told me to try alcohol on it when I got home. I was able to get it removed but still kind of annoying because I had wet glue on me for a couple of hours.
They do fluid bears in some smaller rooms and they spray something on them that kind of smells paint thinner-ish, like chemicals, and I can tell you it's not well ventilated in there at all. I asked the guy if the fumes were toxic and he said no but who knows.
The owner also brought his small dog in that was being a bit of a menace. They had it tied to the coat rack which it upended and when it wasn't getting enough attention, was frequently barking. I like dogs but if you don't, I can see that getting a little tiresome. They do have restrooms for men and women there. They were decently clean. They also gave us each a water bottle when we first sat down. read more
