Color Me Mine — Attraction in Pasadena

I came here for some fun quality time with a good friend and two of her daughters (the third daughter was too young for this activity). She made the reservation in advance, so I am not really sure how all that works. The place was completely full when we were there, and walk-ins were being turned away, so I would definitely recommend making a reservation in advance. Located in Old Town Pasadena, my go-to parking place is the 90-min-free public parking lot diagonally across the street. In this case, I was dropped off, which turned out to be a great decision since we were here for 5.5 hours. The painting process takes a long time, so take that into consideration!

How this place works is that you walk around the store and pick whatever object you want to paint. They offer a large variety of items--mugs, plates, bowls, piggy banks, statues, planters, etc. Each item has its own price tag, and the larger items are of course more expensive. When we went they were doing a special where you would get $2 off for each canned good that you brought (for them to donate) and if you spent over $20 then they would throw in a free "resolution" mug (I went on NYE last year). Once you have your item picked out, then it is time to paint it. This is the messy time-consuming portion. They do offer a lot of paint, but you have to share with the other customers in the store. There are several tables set up within the two adjoining rooms so that they can accomodate as many groups as possible. There is a small bathroom where you can wash your hands, and the staff will help with washing brushes and providing clean supplies. Once the painting is done, you leave it with them to fire in their kiln. I don't recall what their fastest available time is but we picked up our items about a week later. And they were beautiful!

This was a really fun experience and I am glad I got to finally try this place out. The staff here are great and really helpful. Be ready to spend a LOT of time here and get messy if you come with kids, but it will be a lot of fun! I think it would be fun to do with a group of adults too... and probably a...

I came here with a group of 3 other people and we were greeted with some of the most rude and passive aggressive customer service.

They took forever just to bring us our paint, and when we wanted to get their attention so we could get different paints or a refill they acted as if we weren’t there or didn’t see us. They made it seem as if we were a chore to them or very presence was a disturbance.

The short lady with the frizzy hair and the girl with black glasses and a short bowl cut were the rudest and most passive aggressive. When we asked for more water or paper towels, the frizzy hair led girl basically told us to get it ourselves, however we asked another attendant for a similar request and she very graciously and kindly brought us what we needed. It seems like those two girls have a problem with the basic duties of their job. Most of the time they were just by the computer talking, it didn’t even seem like they were all that busy.

Then when we came to pick up our items the SAME TWO girls were working there again and gave us the SAME ATTITUDE. We had called that morning ahead of time and they told us that our items were ready for pick up, however when we went to pick it up, that same frizzy haired girl remembered us and started to give us the runaround claiming that our items weren’t ready yet, but when I told her that we called that morning and CONFIRMED that our stuff was ready for pickup, she acted all shocked! She was VERY PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE FOR NO REASON!! Gave me alot of attitude and made me feel like a nuisance for coming to pick up my items. Those two girls (the frizzy haired one specifically) are not a good fit for this job as they are not welcoming at all and actively problematic for this type of environment.

It’s unfortunate because this location is on the bigger side and has a lot more variety when it comes to pottery than other locations. We will NOT be coming back here again and I personally think those two women should not be working in customer service. All the other people working here were actually very welcoming, friendly, kind, and helpful by miles compared to...

Staff are very friendly, patient, and knowledgeable! They answered all our questions and were very nice. I made a reservation through phone call the day before and it was very simple. Indoor and outdoor seating is available but if you do choose to sit outside, the staff do not really check up on you too often so you might have to walk back inside if you need a paint refill or other concern. Inside is fine, they leave the door open. They allow you to use pencil to sketch first and then paint over it. Studio is a little on the smaller side.

The painters admission fee is $10, even if you don’t paint (parents who just sit with their kids). This is added on top of the price of the pottery piece you choose. Mugs and plates were around the $20-$30 dollar range.

With regards to the time limit, come with a concept in mind beforehand so you do not feel too rushed! That is what my group did and we had fun and felt as if we could complete our pieces in time. Although if coming with children, I can see why the 2 hour time limit is difficult. Don’t be afraid to ask more questions and request more time, especially if you have a larger piece of pottery.

Parking is definitely a concern, you have to pay the meters for street parking which only 2 hours. You only have 2 hours to paint so you will have to make a dash out the door for a minute to pay the meter. Otherwise you will have to park in a parking structure and walk which can be expensive. It is in Old Town Pasadena so if you do choose to do more after, it is in close walking distance to shops.

I previously rated it 5 stars but lowered it down to 4 because they did not take initiative to reach out to me and notify me when my ceramics were done in the kiln. I was the one calling back after a week asking if they were ready to which they did not give me a definite answer, oftentimes just saying “you can call back in 1-3 days.” This is odd to me because other locations such as Covina and Whittier did reach out to me via SMS to let me know a day before and the day of when my...