Kelly Jo Designs By Wine

What an amazing place! Had a fantastic time with my mom for Mother’s Day. Such a warm environment and all of the staff were extremely pleasant and helpful. I will absolutely be back!

Imagine my surprise when I checked in here on Unilocal and discovered I had not yet written a review for MY FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH!!! I have written a review for this place on Facebook, but forgot to post it here I guess.
I have been here 7 times now. BY MYSELF for 5 of those visits! Yup, that’s how fun it is… no friends required… just go. You will make new friends.
Most people are scared because they «have no artistic talent.» That’s what makes this place great… they coach you step by step to create the perfect painting. You have all the artistic license you desire, but also all the help you need. It is the best 35 bucks you will spend. Music, wine, Painting… Do it. You wont be sorry.

Had a fun time painting with a friend. Everyone was super friendly and the local beer/​wine selection was decent. They really pack people in a small space, so getting up for drinks, bathroom, or additional paint was a challenge. The instructor was helpful and my painting came out great! Highly recommend, and hopeful for space improvements after construction is over.

My wife and I took our daughter and her boyfriend to paint The Raven. We had a great time, the instructor told us step by step what to do. The wine I had was the Tempranillo and it was delicious.

I like painting, it’s relaxing, but I’m not very good at it. Every time I go to KellyJo’s and paint, I leave with a piece of art I like. Sometimes I’m even a little amazed. They walk you through it step by step and are more than willing to help each person who asks. Lots of fun!

What a wonderful experience! Loved the atmosphere, the instruction was pragmatic and concise, everyone in there was having a blast — can’t wait to try it again!

The girls and I attended our second Design by Wine event this last Thursday and we had a blast! I have no artistic talent whatsoever but the instructors make it so much fun and so easy to follow along. Of course, the more wine you drink, the better your artistic skills become or at least you aren’t as worried about making a mistake. We will definitely be back for another fun night of creativity and yummy wine.
This has become our new favorite girls night activity!

Super fun and awesome! Can’t wait for what she’s going to come up with next.
You don’t have to be an artist to attend an event. The artist teaches you in steps… with wine… so all is right in the world of art. If you do this right, you’ll have a perfect amount of wine in you at the end to think your painting is a work of perfection! We already hung ours in our home!
Word to the inexperienced and easily frustrated… avoid paintings with more than 3 flowers.

Without repeating all the great info that everyone else has given here, I’ll just add a few things.
This was my second time doing the Design By Wine at Kelly Jo’s. It is BY FAR the best place in ABQ to do the wine and painting (trust me, I’ve done the others and was not nearly as impressed). I love that you can choose the painting on their calender! Beverages are reasonably priced, even the wine. While the class sizes are typically big and sometimes crowded, I have always found that the instructor will come to you if you have questions. Everyone seated around you are typically pretty social, so this adds to the fun of conversation and joking. Second only to a spa day, this is the best girl’s night in ABQ!!!
Best tips:
1) arrive 15 – 20 min early to set up and get your bottle of wine.
2) if it falls during your dinner, bring snacks to eat (they do have some pretzel bowls for the table but not enough to everyone).

So much fun for everyone! My girlfriends and I went for my birhtday. They were very accomdating to our large group. The wine selection is tasty and local. Get there early so you can purchase your wine and find you seats. The prices are reasonable also. The setting is awesome with the pottery and cute finds that you can purchase. The instructor is awesome and goes STEP BY STEP. You have room to be creative but if you think you can’t paint… you can paint. Everyone had a great time and made a piece of art. I also graded everyone’s painting at the end and all my friends will remember the fun they had for my birthday.

I absolutely hands down had the best time here. the concept is awesome. the wine and class reasonably priced. For cheaper than a movie and popcorn you get an afternoon of creativity. awesome interactions with the class and a painting to remember the day. Loved it!!!

Design By Wine was hands down, the funnest thing I’ve done (in a bldg) since moving to ABQ, NM. Everyone around you is down to have a good time and get creative. The instructor walks you through «EVERY STEP’, so you do NOT have to be even remotely artistic, to bring home a beautiful piece of art you’ll want to promptly display for all to see.
You can purchase wine upon your arrival; I suggest you get there 15 – 20 minutes early to set up. Every thing’s set up for you when you walk in; how many squirts of which paint color to get, the (5) brushes you’ll need, paper towels, and a large cup of water. You can sit next to a friend or your partner; saw lots of couples and large parties. People brought food in to eat, so it smells yummy the entire time you’re there. The instructor tells you what you need to do, turns off her mike, and on comes AWESOME music while you do as you were asked. Sometimes these steps take (5) minutes, other times they’ll take longer. You will be there a minimum of 3.5 hours, so take dinner. By the end of the evening, ladies were dancing around w/​their wine glasses; it was just a hoot!!!
Do yourself a favor: go to this, take a friend or friends plural — take your kids, they’d LOVE it. I’ll be going again next month w/​my coworker; she introduced me to the classes & it’s official, I feel like a female version of Jackson Pollack .lol. «Paint in good health»!
V/​r,
Casey Burnsed

I’ve been to two Design by Wine events-​it is my new favorite hobby. This is such a great thing to do alone, for a date, as a girl’s night out, birthday parties, etc. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The calendar on their website is easy to use. You just click on an open event and register using PayPal. Most events are $ 35.00 + tax. You can bring food and snacks to munch on during painting breaks. There are supply stations set up around the room to grab the needed paints and paintbrushes. The colors are organized by the number of squirts needed to get you started. The paintings are done step by step using acrylic paints. The teacher models multiple times what to do, and gives suggestions of what colors to mix together. Design by Wine makes even the most novice (me) painter feel like a talented one. The atmosphere is fun and friendly. They always have a great playlist of music on and often time the 50+ painters will break out in song. If you choose you can also by a glass or bottle of wine to enjoy as you paint. There is a decent selection of wines (from St. Clair) They are reasonably priced. This is a definite must-​do activity to do in Albuquerque. The classes fill up quickly.

I took a painting class here during the holidays. It was super fun, painting and wine. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before. Good selection of wine from local wineries, and fun and easy paintings to copy

Who doesn’t want to get inspired and have a glass of wine? This was a wonderful afternoon with my friend. Very relaxing, creative afternoon.
we brought snacks for our «break» time and walked thru the studio of this charming pottery studio. Even if you think you can’t paint, you can and will have fun doing it!
our ‘tree’ class was filled with all ages and everyone left with a masterpiece… ok maybe not a masterpiece but a sense of accomplishment
Go with a group, go alone, tons of fun. Wines are priced very fairly!

Great place to go with a group of friends! I’ve been here twice so far, and hoping to go again soon! Lots of fun painting, and I love the designs that Kelly Jo and her artists comes up with. Staff is very friendly. Make sure you take a designated driver, because you will love the wine. Be sure to take dinner for yourself or your group, food is not provided. Also wine costs extra, wish I had known before I got there!

I had an utter blast at Design by Wine last night. I took my assistant for a little girls night out (for her great work!) and we had an awesome time! Our paintings came out way better than expected too. The selection of wines is great and the whole experience was a blast!

I took the «Put a Bird on it» painting class last night and it was so fun! I am not artistic but even my painting came out awesome. The instructor did everything step-​by-​step and they had pretzels for us to munch on while we worked too. You could purchase wine for like $ 5 which was pretty neat as well. It ended up being almost 3 hours which was longer than I thought but it was so fun that I didn’t really notice or care! Plus they had super great music on while we painted too. It was a great girls night out for me and some buddies for sure!

Albuquerque is in serious need of good date night locales.
Remember Roger Lodge’s «Blind Date»? Who doesn’t. The show was a cool concept, and it inspired all kinds of crappy reality TV spin-​offs for good reason. The best part of each date was the activity they did to break the ice. I remember watching total strangers make ice sculptures, learn to surf, hang glide, whatever, it looked so fun, and in the back of my mind I’d always wonder what unique experiences Burque could offer this dynamic film crew. Young lovers might… build a tumbleweed snowman, perhaps? Tour our extensive selection of Smoke Shops? Customize a footlong at the Dog House?
Thankfully, Design by Wine crafts a really great date. And I don’t mean to limit this place to couples; friends, relatives, group outings, and even individuals can have a blast behind these canvasses. The concept is simple enough: get a glass of wine, sit down in front of an easel, and let a polished instructor walk you through the basics of creating your own masterpiece. I was definitely hesitant; I’m notoriously horrible with a paint brush. When I draw, young children pat me on the back and reassure me that it looks like a flower, really. At Design by Wine I managed to complete something that looked relatively similar to the intended outcome and holds up nicely on a wall in our home. In a closet. Kidding.
Seriously, we had so much fun. The price is really fair when you add up what you’re getting: over two hours of relaxed but professional artistic instruction and a terrific work of art to take home, and they clean up your mess. The wine is extra, but again the prices are fair and believe me, this isn’t your run-​of-​the-​mill sugary sweet New Mexico vino, it’s really excellent stuff, I thought the Shiraz was spectacular. ABQ needs more places like this, they add character and make life more dynamic and memorable. It looks like the word is getting around, too, classes are selling out. You best get on this, Picasso.