Little Hands Art Studio

My friend and I did the living social deal (2 for $ 25) for the amaretto cupcake class last thursday night and had a really good time. We started out by going to a Mexican restaurant that the studio recommended, then got to the studio around 6:45. We were greeted at the door and instructed to wash our hands and wait for the class to begin. The instructor, Antonio, was a really fun teacher who allowed the class to get as involved as they wanted to. The class took turns mixing ingredients, preparing batter, brushing the cupcakes with amaretto, and frosting/​decorating the cupcakes. Antonio gave us clear instructions and baking tips throughout and I definitely learned some new tricks. While the cupcakes baked, we played a trivia game and won prizes for correct answers, chatted, and sipped wine. Once the cupcakes were done and decorated, we ate two right away and were given boxes to bring 4 home. In all, this was a really fun way to unwind after work with friends. I’d go back.

I would not recommend anyone doing business with this establishment. Purchased the livingsocial coupon, very excited. Booked a February class in December. Contacted the establishment the Thursday before the class and expressed my concern for driving in the snowstorm. I was offered to split up my party or let my friend and her boyfriend go. Friday comes around and the weather was too bad to get to Philly. My friend called six times at various hours to let the studio know so we didn’t get classified as ‘No Shows’. Although the owner could respond on facebook to say no classes were canceled, they could not be bothered to pick up the phone to cancel our class or reschedule. I am asking Livingsocial for a refund for the unprofessional business tactics. I think it was sneaky that the phones were rarely answered and we could not possibly be booked another cupcake class.
I really hope livingsocial refunds me the full amount and that this establishment doesn’t get one penny of my money. I’m glad we didnt go if it was BOXED mix we were using.

I’m really a fan of what the instructor has intended here. She’s branching out to adults, but the concept is perfectly novel and fun for kids… and I think she’s very quickly accomodating to her new audience.
Reading the other two reviews, I feel like she’s already read them and used the feedback to improve the class, because their comments were irrelevent to my Living Social deal for two.
We made Irish Car Bomb cupcakes, and the engagement with the audience varied. We started off introducing ourselves and what we do /​how much we bake, which I thought was stupid at first. However, as the class progressed, she used that information to gauge who was comfrtable with what or to ask for different people’s methods in the activities we were doing.
We did not make the ganache because it’s a finicky process, truly, but she told us how she had done so ahead of time. She and another person in the class operated kitchen aids as the group came up in pairs to measure out ingredients, sift, crack eggs, etc. It was not constantly hands on, and for that she called it «Lazy Baking,» because we each had something to do but could sit back and relax while others went up i f they wanted.
I brought water, but others brought creative things like chocoalte wine or baileys to go with our cooking, and those people really got into it. After the batter was prepared, a handful of people filled cookie sheets, while others licked beaters. As the cake baked, icing was prepared and we played a round of a game with a final winner who got a small prize.
The most hands on part of the workshop involved us icing our cupcakes. Some filled the cupcakes with ganache, but everyone was in charge of icing their cupcakes. We each got 6 mini cupcakes to eat /​take home, which was enough. We also had mini chips and sprinkles to top them with. Overall, I think it was a fun time with only a few awkward silences, though it was not as hands on as I had hoped. Still, I like the idea, and in smaller groups (for private parties or children) I bet it’s a ton of fun.

My friend and I got a Living Social (2 ppl for $ 25) for a BYO cupcake making class. We ended up in a boozy brownie class which sounded pretty fun.
Unfortunately, I have to echo what the previous person said. The instructor/​owner did not seem very engaged. It was like being on the set of a really boring cooking show.
Oh, and guess what? We paid to make boxed brownies. Duncan Hines. She called this «Lazy Brownie making» Um, girlfriend that’s what I do at home for $ 2.99. I thought I was going to learn something.
Instead of this being a class atmosphere, she stood and asked «Who wants to open the brownie boxes?» and then two girls went up and snipped them open and returned to their seats. I suppose we thought we would have our own station and learn how to make something hands on together while having a glass of wine. Instead, we watched people drop ingredients into KitchenAid mixers and chit chatted. There were no real attempts to engage the crowd– she could have had some sort of games or talked about herself and her business or SOMETHING. Instead she stood by the oven and watched the brownies bake.
I LOVE the concept, but it this is a total misfire.

The class started about half an hour late and after all was said and done there was probably about an hour of instruction (it was advertised as a 2 hour class). We watched her make truffle filling and then had a turn to roll truffles in a coat. At the end of the class the teacher gave no formal closure and basically randomly called out «ok you can go now.» It was cute and fun experience, but not because of the teacher, because we were doing something creative with a random group of fun people who all had BYO’d. I would have expected someone who runs baking and art classes for a living to be excited about getting a group of people together for a creative activity, and was put off by the fact that she just sort of showed up and seemed lackadaisacal about the entire thing. I wish it had been hands on from the start and that the teacher was more enthused.