Pottery Place — Attraction in Champaign

My friends and I absolutely LOVE going to this place. The staff is always SUPER FRIENDLY! They seem to know exactly when I have a question and are right there to help when I need them, but otherwise keep the perfect distance - not breathing down my neck or hovering (as some staff can do at these sorts of places). It makes me feel like I am at home with the perfect mom that is supportive, lets me spread my wings, and catches me before I hit the ground if I fall from the nest. The staff also does a tremendous job of keeping the place tidy and well organized. Supplies are consistently easy to find, clean, and ready to use. It is so nice to be able to create art and not have to worry about the cleanup! The prices are VERY reasonable and fair. This is an ideal place for pretty much any occasion (well, maybe not a funeral). Honestly though, going with family and friends after a funeral would be super therapeutic and probably amazing. Even though you get focused on your own piece, there is something about creating art that allows people to become introspective and open up during the process. I have heard some of the warmest family conversations among people you would never expect at the table next to us while I was painting. Seeing/hearing a gruff-looking grandfather (in overalls-adorable!) painting and having meaningful conversation with his adult children while the grandkids were entertained melted my heart. This place isn't just for families or kids though, as I have seen several couples or groups of friends hanging out and having a great time. When my friend's mom came to town to visit, we weren't sure what to do. We thought of The Pottery Place, and it was an absolute hit! The Champaign/Urbana Area is lucky to have such a wonderful business in their community that brings people together to make memories that last (along with some cool ceramics). I cannot recommend this place enough. Truly an A+ experience!

PS-To the Staff-Thanks for always...

This is a hard review for me because I had fun when I was there. I painted a cookie jar that was a cat and the head of the cat was the top and came off. I painted it to look like my current cat and I was super happy with it. Then later shortly after we left, we got a call saying that an employee dropped the head of my cat and it shattered. They claimed they didn’t know the head came off, which I don’t understand because I literally got the cat cookie jar from them. So, then they let me take home a new cat head with some paint. I repainted it at home and brought it back. They never called me to say it was done or ready to be picked up. I realize that I should’ve called or went in to see if my cat head was done, but I was just so upset by the whole situation that I never went in. It sucks because I had so much fun originally and I do appreciate that they let me repaint the head, but it just wasn’t the same. I was so proud of my first cat head and it had a good memory associated with it originally prior to it getting dropped. I probably won’t...

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!!!! From start to finish they were excellent to work with. I needed a place to have my sisters Bachelorette party, and every place we called to do something crafty didn't give us great customer service. But when I called The Pottery Place they were nothing less than phenomenal. The party was perfect! They gave us a step by step on what to do, answered any of our questions and made my sis, the Bride, feel like a million bucks! Honestly they went above and beyond in every way. Best...