HandMod — Local services in Maplewood

A friend and I did the DIY painting here, and we had such a wonderful experience! It's so exciting to finally have a local option for something like this. We chose larger, more complex pieces, so it took us about 2 hours. Another group that was there finished their smaller pieces in about 30 minutes.

We enjoyed this more than typical kiln-fired pottery painting experiences for a few reasons: Prices were reasonable; pieces ranged from $15 up to $30 (plus tax), with no extra fees! You get to handle the paint bottles and fill your own "palette;" there's no limit to how many colors you can choose, and you can refill as often as you need to. Using paint instead of glaze made it easy to see what you were doing, and to make adjustments to your colors on-the-spot. The tables were huge, and the brushes were in super good condition! The textures and dimensions of the pieces are BEAUTIFUL!! The owner makes all of the base molds himself, and there is way more detail than on a typical smooth pottery piece. You get to take home your piece the same day!! We waited about 15 minutes for our optional clear-coat to dry. I did let my piece "air out" outside for a few days for the clear coat smell to dissipate, but it's so nice to immediately take your piece home.

We had a blast, and our pieces turned out great! We will be back in...

The owner is a builder, artist, designer and business owner, Jack-of-Many-Trades. He literally made everything in it from scratch with new, recycled or reclaimed materials, all put together, making things anew to suit the space and his own artist's aesthetic. All of it, not just the products and goods for sale but displays and merchandising are handmade here in MN and nearby.

He is still finishing the massive space to soon allow for not just boutique retail space but creative artist co-op crafting space and retail so as to highlight and help other local artists who may not have the space or capital to have their own studio.

Shared/communal spaces will also be usable and rentable for customers to pay to craft using HandMod supplies or rent for events. Crafting and arts classes instructed by local artists will also be available.

While hours may be limited and somewhat unreliable at the time of this writing, it's literally one man doing it all with the help from fellow artist friends and family. Btw, this space is a 'godsend' to this community.

Thank the universe that the Twin Cities is still the creative artists' mecca it's always been.

Sincerely, Nichelle from Mpls/StP, but also Los Angeles, NY state, TX, and...

My Mom and I took my children (ages 6 and 8) here, we just happened to walk past while at the mall. What an awesome place this is!! My kids painted 3 items here, and we were there for approximately an hour. They painted 2 small plaster/ceramic items (pumpkin and duck) and 1 medium item (loon). The total was just a bit more than $50 and they have pieces of art to take home. The woman working was amazing, I didn't catch her name. I was looking for a place like this as my kids love art, but it's hard to find one where you can just walk in to make something, usually you have to sign up for a class or specific time. This business is a walk in and create, which was wonderful! We will definitely be back as I noticed you can also color pictures, make buttons or paint your own...