Bottom Line: OK Is Fired Up About Clay Cafe Chantilly!
One hot summer day a few weeks ago we were in the mood for some inside time, so we decided to visit Clay Cafe Chantilly. When we walked in, all four of the girls (ages 9 and 11) exclaimed “Whoa, there are so many things to pick from!” I’m here to tell you that a visit to Clay Cafe Chantilly will not disappoint. The studio is bright 
and open with shelf after shelf of objects waiting for you to add color to: plates, mugs, pet bowls, toothbrush holders, utensil holders, vases and more. The area towards the rear of the store is a kid’s paradise: Animal and character figurines aplenty, along with the coveted Angry Bird.
If you have indecisive children in your party (who wouldn’t be with all the great choices available), make sure you allot a good amount of time to the selection process. The OK artists finally settled on a mug, cupcake bank, peace jar and donut jar. After you choose a piece, grab one of the many tables in the studio and head to the back of the store to get a brief painting tutorial from one of the friendly staff members.
After “class”, get ready for the fun to begin. Select colors for your piece and get to work. There are many colors to choose from; remember to paint several coats (the more coats the darker the piece will be after glazing and firing).
Clay Cafe Chantilly is locally owned by Grace Wolf who not only is an active member in the local community ( currently serving on the Herndon Town Council), but is one creative superstar. There are lots of examples throughout the studio, which has her and her staff’s signature designs – be sure to check them out for creative inspiration. When we visited the staff was very helpful and interactive with all the customers.
Clay Cafe Chantilly offers much more than just “drop ins”. We didn’t get to try it, but they also offer Glass Fusion for kids ages 8 and up with adult supervision. Prices start at $10. There’s also art camp (which we’ve heard great things about), scout programs, birthday parties and Clay to Go. You might also consider this a fun Moms Day/Night Out. Grace says they’ll be offering adult classes this fall, so stay tuned. To get the latest information, you can sign up for email updates or “Like” them on Facebook.
Pricing & Age Recommendation
There is a $6 flat studio fee (per person, per day) which includes all of your paints, decoration tools, instruction from staff, glazing and firing. The piece of pottery you select is an additional fee. Prices generally start at $9.95 and up. Figurines, small banks and containers were in the $9.95 range, while mugs were $10.95+, mixing bowls $13.95+ and large plates $17.95+. You could find something in the studio for all price ranges.- Tuesdays are half-off the studio fee (unless using a voucher).
- Our Kids recommends pottery painting for ages 4 and up. Obviously the older the child, the more they’ll get out of the experience.
Plan on spending about two hours at Clay Cafe Chantilly – more if you have a hard time choosing a piece, can’t decide on colors, or are very very detail oriented. You can pick up your fired pieces about 7 days later. As a side note, one of the younger OK interns painted a cupcake bank and we didn’t check to see if it fit all coin sizes, but it turns out it only takes pennies and dimes. So just something to think about when doing a bank — check the opening.
Clay Cafe Chantilly is the perfect outing for any type of weather and a well-stocked studio made for a fun morning of creativity.
