Mermaid Factory — Local services in Norfolk

Although my daughter enjoyed her mermaid painting very much i walked away on a sour note. When I attempted to book in advance an 8th guest on the reservation, to take advantage of the stated discount for groups of 8 or more, I was told it was not available. Showed up at reservation time and low and behold extra seating was available. Proceeded to paint as a party of 8. Store denied the booking policy discount for group of 8 or more guests due to another party’s presence. The person corresponding via email and staff working never mentioned the one party discount per painting session. This seems like a devious way to avoid giving stated discount on their website!!! Oh and one of the mermaids cracked in half on the 10 minute drive home??? They also charge .50-$1 for every additional babble you would like to add to the mermaid. Only paint and glitter come with your mermaid purchase of $25. ($20 for mermaid and $5 for the studio fee to use the paint...

Found this place on trip advisor and on a whim brought my parents around noon on a Wednesday. The shop is small, but it has a good selection of nautical and, of course, mermaid inspired gifts and things. We parked right out front while it poured rain.

Chloe, at the register, let me know that they request you make a reservation, but she had time for us right then and there to paint our own.

You can pick either a mermaid or a dolphin to paint. You start with paint and then move into glitter and then accessories (pealrs, shells, small objects like wine bottles or sunglasses).

We we're surprised by how much fun and how long it took! You can really get into the details! My dad who is not very artistic and rolled his eyes when we pulled up ended up really enjoying it. They even serve wine while you are painting (upon request) which was tasty!

I highly recommend this for residents and...

Our trip to the mermaid factory included 4 little kids eager to paint and hopped up on excitement. When we arrived, our instructor had the table set and ready to go. She made sure all of the kids had their listening ears on and was great with giving out instructions in a fun way so the kids would listen (-ish). We were given a great rundown of pricing and what was or was not included. The environment was very peaceful and she even had steps to mitigate a booboo on one of our mermaids. The location has some street parking but it is limited so be sure to arrive early to...