Five Monkeys Inc — Attraction in West Des Moines

Stopped here with my partner for a fun Valentine's activity and had a joy of a time. Both of the folks working were extremely polite and knowledgeable, and ready to help at a moment's notice, but they match the energy of the visitor(s) - not hovering over your shoulder if you seem self driven, for example. The variety of ceramics to choose from is very extensive, and the fact that the price of standard glaze paints are baked in makes the process of picking a project and getting started very easy.

The restroom is single stall gender neutral and includes handicap accessible bars and a changing table. The layout of the store and tables makes the whole experience wheelchair accessible, too.

Can't recommend this highly enough for anyone craving some crafty time. Stop in if you're considering it, you won't be disappointed.

_ edited to add, 2025-02-22 _ We aren't local to Des Moines and so paid to have our pieces shipped to us - the shipping price was strikingly affordable, and everything arrived safe and sound. We're extremely pleased, and I'm sure we'll return on another occasion in the future. I'm adding photos of my finished, fired piece. I'm no artist and haven't done any sort of glaze painting in nearly 10 years, so I'm glad with how...

Bought 2 tickets (10 each) for the studio ghibli session, pretty upset with it. No where did it say on the website that you have to pay extra for the ceramics. None of the ceramics were ghibli unique, the stinsels they offered were similar to what Google had, and the prices were egregious for stuff that looks like it could be from anywhere else. If they had just a $10 or $15 fee for materials and the ceramic included, that would have been fine. Not paying an extra $20 to $50 for an event not explained very well.

Edit: Unless the prices were hidden somewhere, this was...

I attended a fun little work party/outing here and it was such a great experience! They have such a wide variety of ceramics to choose from, and just as many paint and glaze options. It was such an enjoyable and relaxing time with my coworkers. The staff was eager to help with any questions that we had and even helped with inspirations and guidance with painting. Definitely recommend this place to...