Bughouse Studio

We were so happy with the birthday party we had for my eleven year old daughter at Bughouse Studio. The girls at the party were in amazement as they watch Andrea give the demo of how the pottery wheel worked. Each of the girls got to experience hands on how to create their own piece of pottery using the wheel. Andrea was kind, patient, and had a great sense of humor as she helped each girl learn a brand new skill. The Studio is also absolutely beautiful and there was space for food and cake to be served as well. We will definitely be back for classes in the future. We are so happy to have found this fabulous and unique studio.

Bughouse Studio is a local find! A great place for kids of all ages to have a great time exploring their creative side. Andrea was really friendly and patient with the large group we brought! Definitely check this studio out with your kids or even by yourself!

I like the idea of this place a lot, and my 6 year old son always had fun with Kevin on Tuesdays, so with his 7^th birthday on the horizon I contacted Bughouse to reserve a party and that’s where the entire business fell apart, in my eyes.
First though, I want to review our experience with the drop in sessions. During most sessions we were one of the only people in studio and my son got a private lesson from Kevin who was fantastic with rolling with my son’s quirks and teaching him how to work with the clay in a way that was fun. If you want to try the place with your kids — go when Kevin is there.
We tried a weekend session and decided not return on Saturdays because Andrea was too controlling and almost brought my son to tears by insisting he glaze his pottery more than he did (he missed some spots and didn’t do two thick coats because, you know, he’s six). In my opinion, if a 6 year old kid says he’s done with an art piece, you can let him know that he won’t be able to glaze it more later and that it won’t be «super shiny» and if the kid says that’s ok then let it be, don’t try to pressure the kid into adding more glaze because you have a vision of what their art should look like. Maybe it won’t make for the most beautiful art piece, but art is just as much about the experience as it is about the finished product — ESPECIALLY for kids. I’m not a forceful person and I’m generally very laid back, but I had to repeat about 3 times to my son «If you think it’s perfect the way it is and you understand that it won’t be super shiny and that some spots might not have paint on them at all, then it’s okay» because Andrea kept trying to pressure him into adding more paint despite the fact that he was clearly getting upset because in his mind, the piece was done. It rubbed me the wrong way that Andrea failed to notice/​care that my son clearly understood the consequences of not adding more paint and had decided he was done with that piece yet she (in a sticky-​sweet tone) kept repeating to him that he needed to add more paint so it would turn out. This is okay once, maybe even twice, but after 5 minutes when a kid is clearly getting upset it’s time to let it go. So, it was a little annoying but we just decided to keep coming on Tuesdays because Kevin was so great.
Now for the Birthday Party Review.
I’d love to review a party, but due to what I can only describe as a complete and utter lack of competence, we never got that far.
On Wednesday at noon I emailed Bughouse asking about booking a party. Andrea, the owner, replied and said she copied the email to Katie, the office manager and that Katie would get back with me on Thursday.
Thursday rolls by, no contact.
Friday I email again and ask for a confirmation if the time slot I wanted was available so I could get invitations sent out. Andrea replies telling me it is available. Katie replies 10 minutes later saying there was a mix up and it’s not available but the next day is «completely open». I say that the 2:30 slot on that next day will work for us and ask Katie to let me know what the next step is. Then I set to making invitations thinking it’s done.
The weekend passes, my invitations are sent out and people begin to RSVP.
Tuesday rolls around and guess what? I get a call from Katie saying there was a mix up and NONE of the slots are available. (Remember, that day was «completely open» on Friday when I supposedly booked the time slot?) Katie tells me all about how sick she has been and it seems like she wants me to feel bad for her for having to check email over the weekend (even though I started inquiries on Wednesday) and she’s sorry for «any inconvenience this might cause». Inconvenience? You just CANCELLED my son’s birthday party after I’ve already sent out invitations! On what planet is it okay to run a business like that? My mind is completely blown.
I asked Katie how it could be that the day I booked was «completely open» and then was «completely booked». She said she booked us without having the schedule. Are you kidding me? I told her that I would have accepted «Oh, hey, you know, I’m out sick this week but I’ll get back with you on Monday when I have the schedule in front of me» because that’s what a normal person would do for something like this where not just one, but multiple people are counting on an accurate day and time. But instead I got this mess where she just guesses that a slot is available and offers it to us.
In the end they offered me a 25% discount if I wanted to book a week earlier or a week later, but at that point I wasn’t confident in their abilities, so I called Lillstreet and booked a party there, where they treat the business like an actual business and are professional. I’m told from friends the parties at Lillstreet are fantastic so maybe it all worked out, I don’t need to give my business to a place that can’t manage basic functions and makes mistakes so huge and easily avoidable so casually.

My usually outgoing social child was not feeling summer camp. The staff was rude to me and worse, rude to my child. I had high hopes that she would fall in love with the place and we would come back again and again, but unfortunately she has never asked to go back.

What a fantastic time! I never thought I could laugh so much in a pottery class. Andrea was so patient with my group of teachers as she showed us the ins and outs of making various items out of clay. Her directions were very clear and understanding. She definitely catered to our different skill levels and provided many creative tools and materials to aid in our vision. I even learned that I am a natural on the spinning wheel! Bughouse Studio is the perfect place for any kind of party (birthday, girls-​day-​out, wedding shower, baby shower, bachelorette, etc.), and the space can accommodate a fairly large number of people. My party had about 20 women and everything was still easily accessible. Great times! Great memories! Great pottery to last a lifetime!

My fiancé and I are new to Niles and were getting sick of the same old date nights of going out to dinner and a movie and calling it a night. I was looking up some art classes to take this summer and came across Bughouse Studio and saw that on every Friday night they have a Clay making BYOB night. My fiancé and I went last night and we had the BEST time with Andrea! She is a sweetheart. She helped us make a mug, a bowl and a candle votive and we had the best time with her. It was so much fun to go somewhere nearby and do something different and be creative. We will definitely go back.
Thanks Andrea!

My son Max has attended classes and open studio from time to time since Bughouse opened. Andrea was always kind and friendly to everyone there. Patient and willing to work with the student to achieve a goal. For two years family members were given holiday gifts created by my son by hand at Bughouse. Andrea, Judy and Bughouse are a welcome addition to Downtown Skokie. Plenty of parking all around for FREE and should you be hungry there are several fine places to eat within walking distance.

What a fab addition to Skokie!!! I had so much fun here, It was the best way to unleash my creative side. Do not fear if you know nothing about clay, the owner Andrea is phenomenal. She was extremely patient and knows her stuff. I tried it out on a spontaneous Wednesday and loved the experience. I want to come at least once a month, and seriously for the affordable price that it is, why wouldn’t I! Love this place!

My mother-​in-​law had her 60^th birthday party here with a group of her friends. Andrea and Bughouse studio are amazing. Andrea was great with showing the ladies how to start from scratch with a little lump of clay and transform it into a wonderful piece of pottery using the wheel. The details seemed complicated but Andrea broke everything down step-​by-​step and all of the ladies tried it and had a blast. I was able to bring in food and wine and Andrea was more than willing to help and was extremely accommodating. She even helped get the ladies together to sing Happy birthday at the end! The studio itself is great, its large and airy with a great fun relaxed vibe to it. All in all a very fun, different way to celebrate an event for ALL ages! Kudos to Andrea and Bughouse Studio for making the birthday party a hit!

Wow!!! I cannot say how impressed and pleased I was with my experience here! I have been entertaining my nieces who are 9 and 7 recently. One is quite the artist so I’ve been looking high and low for outlets and learning experiences for her. When I told the girls that THEY would get to use the wheel, they just about died! The whole process was great from start to finish. I registered the girls online the night before (payed with paypal), dropped them off at the Open Studio time and picked them up 1.5 hours later, over the moon! This place makes other kids’ art classes/​experiences look like a joke. I’m sold! And so is my sister-​in-​law.

Had a wonderful time at a Clay and BYOB event last weekend with my husband. Andrea did a great job showing us the basics and making sure we didn’t get too frustrated with our terrible wheel skills :) Andrea was very friendly and entertaining and was there to help when we needed. Definitely something we’d love to do again.

I attended the Clay and B.Y.O.B. cocktails event last night and had a blast. The owner, Andrea, creates a really great environment — I felt totally at ease making use of the space and materials independently, but also appreciated the way she was there to help when my clay wasn’t behaving. I’d love to take a course, and will definitely recommend Bughouse to friends!

We had a girl scout party here. They made fused glass ornaments which came out quite nice. The décor of the place is very nice and Andrea, the owner is very kind and patient, great with kids. My daughter went back for a drop off class with some friends because she really wanted to try the pottery wheel. Again she had a great time.

We went for a cocktails and ceramics night for a charity event. The store itself is spacious and good for parties. They had mixed cocktails to go with their bug theme and the hosts were fun and helpful. It was definitely a unique way to spend a Friday night and we had a blast.
We had the option to just drink or to drink and make something. If you chose to make something, you could either get a lesson on the pottery wheel or create a hand built piece. After our crash course on the wheel, I didn’t think I’d be able to do it, but Andrea did a great job running between all of us newbies, and we all came out with an original piece that we could be proud of. Andrea had paints that allowed for us to paint them that night and we can pick up later this week. For me, this was a lot more fun than painting a pre-​made piece. Highly recommended for a group night out or special event. She said they hosts cocktail and ceramics nights the last Friday of every month.
Wear clothes and shoes you don’t mind getting dirty.

I went here for a wedding related activity to drink, eat and make jewelry and I can’t describe how fun it was… although with a review describe is what I am supposed to do, but psh. Going in I thought we would be doing some sort of beading but we actually got to play with all kinds of glass. After settling in with drinks and snacks Andrea described what we would be doing. It seemed a little overwhelming (Doesn’t help that that one drink had already gone to my head), but it was actually incredibly easy and so fun to see what everyone was creating. I definitely recommend this for a fun night out with a group of your friends and I would imagine great for kids as well (the pottery, not the playing with glass).
Andrea is so much fun and they have these cute little boxed packages you can purchase to take home and give to your creative friends/​families which include paint, art pads, etc.

I couldn’t ask for a more kindhearted instructor, we had a great time.