Paint-N-Party

I took a date here and all I can say is that the staff is downright RUDE! On this particular day we drove here and took a look around inside and left and then went and checked out another paint place before returning here because they had more stock available. I paid for the item and the woman behind the counter handed us a box full of little shot glasses full of hideously colored paint. I had never been to this store so I thought nothing of it. We sit down and my date starts painting and I notice that what they gave us wasn’t pottery paint, but store-​bought from-​the-​gallon paint that I would expect them to let the 4-​year olds use. We brought that up with one of the employees there and her response was «I saw the owner check you out and she should have explained that. So in reality if I wanted a «NICE» looking item I should have been instructed to sit at a «SPECIAL» table and use special paint! This entire time there was no staff circulating the store they were sitting at a table behind us painting their own little masterpiece. To add further insult to us, we asked to use the bathroom and they sent us to the other side of the mall just to use the restrooms in the food court! I will NEVER return to this store again.

On the whole, a soothing way to spend an afternoon. There are a decent number of ceramics from which to choose, but that’ll be the hardest decision you make. Plenty of paint colors are provided, and the staff of one was helpful at the right moments. At first we weren’t sure she would be, as we sensed some rudeness right off the bat. But she seemed interesting at the very least. Then again, we didn’t try to bring food in…

I am always looking for different things to do with my kids to create experiences for them. Things they will remember and something fun and a learning experience as well.
Groupon had a deal and I was SOLD! I have to admit I was intimidated about bringing my 4 year old son into a pottery store but once he was able to select his piece to paint that fear went away.
The staff is incredibly nice and really willing to answer any questions that you may have and offer helpful hints as well. My kids loved it and we will most certainly be back.

I’m basing this review solely on a party environment. As such… it was pretty horrible. The tone was set almost immediately for our 3 year old’s family birthday party. I was setting up for the event and putting out themed table cloths and sprucing up the area, ect. I pulled out a bag of pretzels and all hell broke loose. The older woman (owner?) turned around and not very nicely stated that there wasn’t food allowed in the painting area. My cousin shot me a puzzled look as she witnessed one of our in store conversations. This was never once mentioned then or in the 6 – 8 other times I had spoken to her. A little taken back at both the information and her tone, I calmly told her that we intended the snacks to stay in the rear so that the adults. She just shook her head and said, «Fine.» Again, in a not very agreeable manner.
Okay! I proceeded to pull out another bag of snacks because well… it’s a party… and I think I’m allowed to have a party and serve my guests snacks as this is not occupied Germany. Even after that little exchange. Okay does mean okay right? Evidentially, I was wrong. As she was walking away from our area her head snapped back and (not even remotely exaggerating here) YELLED, «Okay! That’s ENOUGH with the food!!!» She proceeded, «I’m not going to have this and have to clean all this up.» o₀
Ma’am this is a party. As someone who plans events for a living I’ve NEVER had anyone dictate at a venue like this. I was livid. I even contemplated telling the children to go hang out in the play area just outside the store, in place of having the party there… but of course didn’t want to ruin my daughter’s birthday and took a few deep breaths. I reminded her that this policy was never noted in any form and never even mentioned prior to just one moment ago. I firmly stated that the food would stay on the back wall, away from the painting area for the adult guests. I may or may not have shot her a stink eye at this point as it felt a little bit like a standoff. If this is your policy then state it!!! I gave her ample number of calls and had conversations where this could have been brought up. Politely. Not yelling at me like I was a little child being scolded in front of guests. Her laziness, rudeness, and lack of professionalism is appalling.
The guests started arriving and I tried my best to put on a smile, focus on the event, and avoid «Das Führer.» Luckily she did the same. We had another attendant for the party, a young girl who was nice. She wasn’t with us 100% of the time, which isn’t a bad thing to me. It was silent as we were painting. Perhaps I was still thinking about the situation and how I would have loved to pummel her… but I then realized that there was no music. I asked the attendant if they could put some on as I know they’ve had it on when I visited the store in the past. She must have put something on but it wasn’t even detectable to the human ear. It had the ambiance of the DMV with the excitement of a library. We made the best of it.
I had a few guests comment on the fact that «that one’s ice cold. What’s with her?» not having witnessed or heard our showdown. At one point my brother-​in-​law wanted to take a picture of both of our sons together. There were no walls, it’s just an open area, and they were setting up a shot and a countdown proceeded and «someone» rushes and walks right in front of the shot exclaiming, «Hold it. I don’t want to be in the shot.» Is it me? If this were my client I’d stop and allow the picture to be taken and then proceed. If this were ANYONE I would do that. She wasn’t carrying a piano or rushing to dress some wound. She’s just not polished… or polite.
In the end we cleaned up everything as we normally do… We’re fans of the whole, «leave it better than you found it» philosophy. Even though she was unprofessional and outright rude to me AND my guests we left the area spotless. As my cousin stated, the only thing more we could have done was thrown the trash out for her. It was pristine… Part of me wanted to leave it for Her Laziness but hey. In the end we had a few cancellations due to a traffic accident and I was fully expecting to pay for the count that we gave which was originally 9. That’s fair. In the beginning they mentioned that if someone doesn’t finish they can leave their piece and come back to paint another day. I would have done this with the extras for the no shows. They WERE nice enough to charge for only the number of painters on hand and not the original count. That was nice and I did thank our attendant for that.
If you’re looking to have a party where you only serve pizza and cake off of some imaginary approved food list, and don’t mind rudeness, immaturity, and staff at your venue verbal accosting you in front of guests you’ll be in love with Paint-​N-​Party in Niles. If you prefer to deal with mentally stable individuals that know the meaning of customer service and rapport you may just want to skip it…

I went here with a park district group I work for, and we had a really good time.
The place is located in Golf Mill mall and is very well-​organized. The owner is the nicest lady too. We had some people in our group who required special accommodations, and she was easily able to provide them without batting an eye.
There are a ton of pieces to choose from to paint, ranging in price greatly from under $ 10 to really expensive. The store provides everything you would near — smocks, paint, glitter, brushes, etc. We painted our items, left to have dinner elsewhere in the mall, and she had every piece packed and ready for us to go by the time we were ready to leave.
This would make a great place for a kids birthday party, or just to take your child there for a fun afternoon.

I had always wanted to try one of these ceramic painting places and with the advent of the Groupon I finally decided to give it a try despite having an unsteady hand and horrible painting skills. I cannot really comment on pricing, since I have no basis for comparison. You pay the price of whatever is listed on the ceramic piece. Small figurines are around $ 5 but you can get mugs, plates, cups, etc that range in prices that did not seem too outrageous from $ 10 to $ 25. Some detailed pieces were really pricey, though, such a giant stein with lid. You have to pay extra to have your piece glazed and fired.
Though I have no basis for price comparison, I can comment on the great customer service. They helped me even though there was a children’s party going on at the same time, taking time to answer questions and bring additional materials as needed.
Despite sating my curiosity, I may go again in the future since I was eyeing one of those beer steins. But this time I am going to cut out a stencil I can use to make a kick-​ass design.