Better craft and paint in Christchurch

Jo and her team are absolutely wonderful. We recently asked them to support a local fundraiser for a child and they went above and beyond to support the cause. So thoughtful and very caring. The pottery gift vouchers are wonderful and so much better than paper vouchers I’ve received in other places similar in the past. I’ve been here previously with family and friends and it’s the perfect place to spend some time relaxing, painting and getting creative. I’ll definitely be back when my girls are older so they can appreciate the beauty of the room and experience itself. Thank you once again, we are really grateful to you! ❤️

Went back for my 3rd visit since July today to pick up a previous piece and start a new one, safe to say it's one of my new favourite places to go. Amazingly friendly and helpful staff members, lovely coffees and the most relaxing atmosphere, I've come with friends and on my own and enjoyed every moment. Highly recommend for locals and holiday makers. Will be returning again soon to continue my current pottery.

Had a wonderful afternoon at Better Craft and Paint. The atmosphere in the place was friendly and buzzing. Both my kids (and my husband and I) had a fun afternoon. Everyone was so helpful going above and beyond to make sure I got my piece finished. Can't recommend the place enough.

Had the most lovely time for me and my friends birthday the other day! The staff are so lovely and friendly and even after 2 hours I didn’t finish mine and they are letting us back again to finish 🥰 I will definitely be back again!

What a great place! We went here for a friend's hen do, hired out the entire place with 3 1/2 hours to paint our choice of pottery. They have recently reopened after a refurb and the place looks wonderful, they even have an ice cream machine to offer whilst you paint as well as drinks etc. (at an extra charge). Such a great place to come for a little date, girls day or even quality mother daughter time etc. Definitely worth a visit. The owner and staff are all very friendly and accommodating. The price is listed on the pottery item, so you have the choice of cheaper or more expensive options - plenty of choice and more advanced pieces round the back of the store. What I really liked was that the paints were numbered and the colours were on the wall, so you can see how they'd look after being kilned. Give it a go !!!

We had the absolute best time here for my best friends hen do at the weekend, all the staff were super kind and helpful and you can tell they really care for what they do! Amazing turn around and service considering a devastating fire 7 weeks ago - you’d never know! Will definitely be returning, and recommending to everyone! What a lovely time had and beautiful memories created, a real treasure for the high street - providing fun for all!

Craft and Paint is just awesome - they are super kind - this is a place not to miss - if you have not been before then it is a must. Thank You so much Kirsty

My partner and I had the most wonderful time here! The staff were so incredibly friendly and helpful, even letting us put our own music on since we were the only ones in the store. Truly was a fantastic experience and cannot wait to go back there.

From hesitant beginner to hooked hobbyist! I was unsure if this was for me, but Joannah's encouragement "there's no right or wrong" convinced me to give it a try. Even with minimal guidance, I felt well-equipped to start my project. Joannah provided helpful pointers and tips exactly when I needed them, keeping me engaged and making the time fly by. While I'm not exactly the new "Banksy" its a starting point! This is a fantastic, cost-effective way to explore a new hobby and try new things. Highly recommend! 10/10

What a lovely little place with really helpful staff. I took my 2 Granddaughters on separate occasions and we all had a wonderfully fun time. The equipment and facilities are excellent, parking is easy, you can also get drinks and snacks. We had an issue with smudging on one of our pieces and the owner kindly fixed it, re-fired it and dropped it round all free of charge. What a great service and a perfect place to visit for creative fun.

Absolutely loved the experience of painting my own creation, fantastic setting lots of space lots of choices of ceramics to pick from . Lovely coffee shop on site and the most amazing helpful staff. A great place to spend some time with friends and family.

We visited Better Craft Cafe on 18/04/2024 with 3 students and were greeted well by the young man that was in charge of looking after the cafe shop floor. We were guided to our tables and were then invited to look around to choose our items to paint. Staff were very attentive, smiley and helpful throughout and the cafe oozed arts and crafts; we will definitely be back, as will I with my daughters! Highly recommended!

Such a peaceful, creative experience! My daughters and I have been visiting annually for 6 years as a holiday treat, and it is one of our favourite activities to enjoy together. The choices of pottery and quality of materials are excellent, the music is great (very important!) and there’s a decent array of snack and drink options. The friendly staff give helpful guidance and then leave you to it. I can’t recommend this place highly enough.

Great place, lovely Manager. Definitely a good place to visit if you need to keep kids busy in rainy weather!

Better Craft & Paint have been kind enough to donate a very generous voucher towards our charitable community event. We are so thankful for their generosity and willingness to serve their community. I know the winner of this prize will very much enjoy their experience.

Two weeks after completing our pottery painting, went back to collect, to be told it wasn’t ready! Then a week later then told it had been lost! Given a voucher which is useless as would never ever go there again! So have paid for something that I didn’t actually get, very upset!!!

Wonderful experience with the family - owners and staff are lovely and went the extra mile to ensure that we were able to collect our fired clays before heading home from our holiday. I would very much recommend to anyone looking for a nice family activity to try this out!

An absolute brilliant place! The staff are amazing and so friendly, the singing and dancing makes the place such a happy place and nothing is too much for the staff, they’re just there to help and make sure you have a wonderful time! It’s just such great value for money and you get the freedom to paint what you wish, how you wish. You even get your second appointment free when finishing your painting off. 100% recommend and this will be a forever fav place to go with friends and family! Hats off to the owner who showed us around, you have an incredible team!

Love this place! Been a couple of times and the atmosphere and staff are so friendly and helpful. My daughter recently had a birthday party there and everything was really well organised ❤️

A great activity for the whole family. The staff are so friendly and accommodating.

A beautiful, wholesome place with such a lovely vibe and a huge selection of pottery and paints to choose from! I ended up going 2 weeks in a row because I loved it so much!

We have just had an amazing morning! Great atmosphere, great service and great fun. Jo is incredible, from the moment my family and I walked in Jo and the other lady looked after us. We had such a lovely time thank you very much

Lovely local business. The owner is very nice, I am doing/organising a combined bingo & quiz night with raffle for Oakhaven Hospice (The Oakhaven Trust), and she was extremely generous to donate a £50 voucher for Better Craft & Paint for the raffle. This will massively help to raise more money from raffle ticket sales for this with worthy cause thanks to this lovely local business. Thanks again Better Craft & Paint.

I wasn't sure what the process was so just turned up one busy Friday afternoon. Jo and the team were incredibly friendly and helpful, providing all the information and tools I needed for a take-away kit. Deciding what ceramic to paint was the hardest part!! The choice is endless. Thanks very much for your hospitality and for making this experience so easy. I look forward to seeing the end result after firing. xxx

This is the most welcoming place ever. We arrived unanounced 4 adults, one 4-year-old and a new baby in pram... They fitted us all in, pram and all.. the setup is amazing, and the staff will run through how things work, no rush, and take time to answer all questions and make the little ones feel extra special.. regardless of how busy they were. Such a relaxing atmosphere, We laughed and talked whilst painting, which was lovely because sometimes with our busy lives we forget to talk to each other, the atmosphere definitely encouraged that engagement. The hot chocolates and coffee are amazing.. I love the giant cups.. We painted Christmas ornaments, and our 4 year old chose a seahorse. All turned out amazing. This pottery painting place is way up there with our most favourite family to do activities in Christchurch. We all absolutely loved it here and can't wait to go back. Thank you for the best afternoon. You deserve 100 gold stars ❤️ 😀... X

Came in with a friend to paint a coffee mug and a dance sign, they were quiet so they let us over stay our booked time slot too. The staff are lovely and provide tea and coffee throughout the session. There’s a huge range of pottery to paint too! Great afternoon out

Had such an amazing time, very accommodating to our lack of pace! Definitely coming again!

Thank you so much for donating an AMAZING and very generous prize to the Sheltered Work Opportunities Project which we auctioned at our charity golf day. The lucky winner is really excited and looking forward to getting creative in the studio. Thanks millions ❤️

These fabulous ladies opened up the shop for us to celebrate my mom's big 50th! So grateful and thankful for the amazing experience! They truly went out their way to make it special with opening on their day off, having our own music playing and being of service when needed. Can't thank you enough for the great energy!!!

Staff are so welcoming and helpful! Any questions I had were answered with a smile. There is so much pottery to choose from, as well as stickers and stencils and a variety of colours displayed clearly on the wall. There is a beautifully decorated zen room downstairs for parties or if you would like to have a more quiet session. The coffee was delicious and it was a really lovely atmosphere. A lot of thought and care has been put into this beautiful studio, will definitely be returning to paint more.

We’ve been here twice now, lovely atmosphere and helpful staff. Very enjoyable!

Have been here twice with my sister and friends and WE ARE OBSESSED!! It’s so quaint and fun inside. You get to pick the pieces you want to paint and are shown to your table with a little insight into how the paints fire because what you see is not what you get when it comes to painting pottery, which just makes it all that bit more exciting! A week later you get to collect them after they are glazed and fired in the kiln and then you can use them🥹❤️ I have made 4 espresso cups and saucers now and I love that I painted them myself! They are fully useable and make me so happy every time I see them in my kitchen! We will be coming back again!!

Lovely experience with friendly staff and lots of things to choose from to paint. Very happy and will definitely be back

1000000% recommend this place! The atmosphere was lovely, very well decorated with Halloween decorations. I love that the colours are displayed on the walls too, makes it really easy to find the correct colour. Huge selection of things to paint which is amazing, it was hard to choose! Also love that you get them fired in a really quick timeframe. Great refreshments available too and a generally really lovely vibe! lady who served us was really friendly and attentive. Can’t wait to come back!

Really lovely owner, donated a very generous gift voucher to our School PTA to use in our Christmas raffle. Good communication. Thank you again.

Booked for a hen party on the 9th sept 23. Owners were on holiday and said the shop would normally be shut. However, said that they would open up so that we could experience this activity, they didn't need to do this so we were very happy! Well, where to start. So much choice, that was the tricky part!! Our party each got to choose their own unique creation. Jojo was incredible, what an energy, she had us laughing even when she wasn't in the dedicated room downstairs-especially her singing 😅(that had been wonderfully decorated for the occasion!) Delicious nibbles provided, with even more delicious cakes 🍰 Cant wait to go and pick the pottery up in two weeks time and see how it has turned out 🤩

My mum and I went to do pottery and have a cuppa before I went to uni. It is very expensive- the pottery isn’t bad but the £6 studio fee per painter (and the fees for any non-painters) was very steep bringing a plate to £30. We were told we had two hours and after two hrs (to the minute) despite it being quite quiet we were told our time was up and we had to leave but we were welcome to come back again and not have to pay the studio fee again. Personally we found this petty as we were so close to finishing and we felt very rushed. In addition when I went to collect the pottery a week later I paid to park the car only to find that they were closed. I work most days and have limited time I can collect the pottery and was annoyed when I found they had closed an hour early- I still have not been able to collect this so cannot comment on the finished product. Will not be returning!

I took the family (5yo, 10yo, 38yo and 76yo) in the summer holidays. I cannot recommend the team more highly. It is such a warm and friendly atmosphere. Jojo is practically family now. Her and Jo are so inviting and helpful. They gave us tips and tricks and being able to have a lovely tasty cup of tea makes it feel like home. We go regularly and will continue to go as often as we can. Thank you Jojo and Jo! For everything!

With the great British Summer weather creating havoc with plans this weekend the brilliant team at Better Craft and Paint accommodated three children and two adults for a perfect afternoon of painting! We were so well looked after and nothing was too much trouble - the children absolutely loved the variety of pottery to choose from and that they could choose a huge range of colours. Can't wait to pick up all of our creations! Thanks for making a rainy summers afternoon, a calming, happy and creative one - will definitely be back!

I am very saddened by how we were treated today by this business! At short notice they cancelled my two daughter's Thurs eve session and gave the excuse of staff sickness. I feel it was an excuse as low numbers! They refused to find a space for them today in the day session. They have let down returning customers and two children. Shame on them! In response to the reply...I went into the shop the day before I booked and spoke to a young girl at the desk to ask if my daughters could attend the eve session without me and she said yes, if it was running as may be low numbers. All fired-up in Bournemouth proved to be so much friendlier and better value. Why would we ever wish to return. I note Joanna there is another review on here about your rudeness. Your reply to me shows the public how you behave when someone honestly questions you. Don't worry we will never return. The business was far better under the previous owners, who were lovely people.

Me and my partner were on a little break to the south and decided to do this! Definitely need to book online it’s more popular than you think and for good reason! Staff were lovely, atmosphere was great and yeah just an awesome thing to do tbh! Even has an option for postage as it takes a week to be finished in the Kiln but it gave us something to look forward to getting in the post. Very therapeutic, creative & cool to have your own little model from it.

i came here with my nana it was a fabulous time for the both us, would definitely come agin 😀

Fantastic experience on so many levels. The staff are lovely and so accommodating. They'd run out of dairy free milk so someone RAN to get some just for me, so appreciated! We had a hiccup with admin and they went above and beyond to resolve it all for me. ♥️ Can't wait to come back!

Me and my family had a great time as always would recommend and great for any age!

A huge thank you to the team for accommodating a large group of us at short notice as our original outdoor hen activity was cancelled! A great selection of items to paint and great colours. We cannot wait to get all our pieces! Only wish we were more local! The coffee was fab (much needed) and generous in size too! Thank you! X

Friendly staff excellent relaxed atmosphere very child friendly and refreshments available. Need to book your 2 hour slot in advance as space is limited.

Such a lovely atmosphere, the staff are amazing and chatty. There’s lots of choice for you to paint from any age you could paint there. They are so welcoming definitely go and try!

Really loved visiting. Jojo made our experience! We had the best time and would definitely go back

Really lovely staff (Jojo has fab energy). Lovely coffees and generous portion sizes. I really liked how there were templates you could print on to the mugs and different types of equipment and books to seek inspiration. We were unable to collect them due to being on holiday and they are posting them to our houses which is lovely 🙂 overall great service even when super busy on a wet school holiday day

Came for a hen do and had a lot of fun. They provided snacks and have us plenty of time.

We organised my friends hen here in June 2023 and it was fabulous! The organisation prior with Jo was smooth and she was very helpful. On the day they had kindly put up hen decorations and made the place look amazing! Staff were great and everyone had an amazing time! Would highly recommend this as a hen activity, good for all ages!

Good selection of pottery to choose from and relaxed atmosphere. But I think it's too expensive compared to other local pottery painting and craft shops. To charge similar/more for the pottery, plus a £5~ charge to use the paint, plus drinks seems a bit much. If you're going to have a paint charge reduce your pottery cost, considering the cheapest smallest thing was £12.50. Most other places charge similar or less than that for the pottery, and have no paint charge, and I know some places offer a free drink.

Tried several of these Cafes and although this one is furthest away we come back to this one every time. comfortable, relaxing, never in a hurry to get you out of the door jojo makes it worth coming back to time and again, lovely lady with a great sense of humour. and she goes out of her way to make sure that you’ve got everything you need we can’t recommend this cafe more.

New ownership from ClayStudios but the same great atmosphere and fun and good happy staff.

My children and I love this place and they are always asking me to go back. It's has a friendly, calming atmosphere where you can while away the hours as you paint. Great fun for both children and adults. There's a great variety of pottery to choose from and great drinks and food. A true asset to Christchurch. Plus, they support their local school which shows the generosity of the owners.

What an amazingly generous local business..I can't thank you enough 😃 I approached Jo to ask if she would kindly donate a raffle prize to my fundraising event raising money for our local charity Macmillan Caring Locally in Christchurch. The donated prize will help hugely in raising money for this fantastic charity...I can't thank Jo enough. Such a fantastic business offering amazing experiences for the creatives.. definitely pay them a visit! Thank you once again for your generosity 😀

Amazing place, just brilliant and its a great place to paint, relax and improve skills.

I arranged a group painting session for 10 people (mix of ages) for my wife’s 40th - it was excellent. Everyone loved it- a huge hit! Joannah and the team were fantastic, we would highly recommend!!

We had a wonderful time here for a family birthday - kids and adults all enjoyed themselves! There was a lovely selection of pottery and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Highly recommended:-)

We had a wonderful children's party here. Nothing was too much trouble. The owners went above and beyond to create such a stress free party. The party buffet was delicious with lots of variety. My daughter and her friends had the best time painting and chatting away. Thanks Again. ❤

What a wonderful welcome we received today. Thank you so much Joanna and Jo for accommodating us at short notice. Jo you truly are an amazingly warm lady, you made us feel so welcome, even our daughter who is autistic felt happy and able to be herself, thank you.

Spent the afternoon here yesterday what a lovely place! We had been to this place before, before lock down and it was good, now it has new owners and has been redecorated and refurbished and is fantastic. The atmosphere is welcoming and peaceful, a beautiful and creative space. The new owners Joanne and Jojo are lovely people welcoming and , fun and so helpful. Really can not rate it highly enough. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed our session and our hot drinks ( which were very good value) and will definately be back! Keep up the good work ladies your studio is fab 😍😍

They had a great selection of pottery to paint, and good choices of paint, including glittery/sparkly paint which I hadn’t seen before in other places. Jojo and Joanna were super lovely, funny and chatty. Joanna kindly lent us some special tools to help create small little dots, which made painting my flowers easier. Good tunes, selection of drinks and some cakes. Myself and my friends enjoyed our time. Cant wait to collect them! Gabby

The best place to spend an afternoon. Jo is so much fun!

I took my daughter and a small group of her friends last weekend to celebrate her birthday. We were made to feel so welcome and the staff were so friendly and encouraging to the girls. They had a lovely time painting their chosen letters, chatting and relaxing together. They had all they needed for a good afternoon's activity. We've picked up their finished pieces today and everyone's delighted with them. Thank you!

Staff were really nice and assisted with anything we needed. Can’t wait to come back

What an experience. The staff are super friendly with the patience of saints when children are trying to decide what to paint. You get two sessions which is super handy when you have lots to paint. Many thanks

This is a wonderful creative and very relaxing experience. We painted our own Christmas trees ( tea light holders) lanterns, bowls, plates and gingerbread tea light house and a mug! Lots of fun and the staff could not do enough for us all. Even opened up for us so we could collect the items for Christmas! ( we missed the collection deadline!) A wonderful family experience. Great for a party with or without children! In fact we are returning to make our garden lights without the children! Thank you all! Delicious refreshments and cake too! Merry Christmas!

I took a friend of mine for her birthday to the clay studio and we had such a wonderful time! The atmosphere is great, we sat and had a coffee and a lovely afternoon painting and it was incredibly relaxing and a lot of fun. The owner of the studio was very helpful and engaging and gave us some great tips on how to paint our little bits and pieces. I’d highly recommend it as something very different and we will definitely go back and do it again in the new year xx

I’ve been to the clay studio a couple of times now since it’s been taken over and myself and my 2 boys (3 and 1) loved it. The staff are really friendly and very helpful, we will definitely go back!

My grand-dad has been suffering from dementia for a couple of years, when he was well he used to enjoy painting but has gradually lost the drive and interest since his decline. We wanted to give him the opportunity to rekindle his love of art and thought the Clay Studio might be a good place to start. We were served by the owner, who we understand has recently taken over the business, she was amazing with grand-dad. Joannah was very patient with him and showed a real insight into the issues surrounding his condition. We were offered a huge selection of pottery for him to paint and it was quite moving for us to see echos of his old self emerge whilst he decorated a Christmas decoration. We cannot thank the Clay Studio enough for providing this wonderfully inclusive environment and would definitely recommend this activity to any one who has an elderly relative/friend especially if they have dementia.

Wanted to say what a great place this is. I took my niece and we had a great experience. We were made to feel very welcome and the owner spent time with us showing us how it all worked. We got a free mince pie and we enjoyed painting in a wonderful environment. I would highly recommend a visit .

Since the new person took over the quality of service has been very poor, my sessions were cancelled twice in two weeks and the lady very rude. I'd rather go to Bournemouth if you want a friendly and reliable experience.

If you want a relaxing friendly atmosphere to paint your choice if pottery this place is for you. Hot chocolate and cake to die for. What's not to like. Martin and Mary work so hard and it shows in everything they do.

I went with my daughter I am very unwell and I wanted to do something nice with her. Martin was lovely and so kind and I was really pleased with my dragon egg . She made a skull mug which turned out very well. Such a lovely evening

Always enjoy visiting when we come to the area. Great selection of pieces.

If you enjoy pottery and painting then you must visit the Clay Studio. Create your own design on ready made articles such as plates, cups or animals to mention a few. Be prepared to be absorbed. Coffee and cake available too as well as lots of other drinks and snacks. Friendly staff.

Friendly staff, good range of products

Great fun and great service! Need plenty of hours to enjoy the craft making!!

A fabulous place, great people and a massive choice of items to paint. Nice cafe with good selection. The staff and owners are very helpful and attentive and they do all they can to make your experience a great one. Thank you The Clay Studio for making my children's visit a happy and productive experience. 😊

Lovely little place, fun thing to do on a rainy day and has a lovely little cafe inside aswell ☺️ hope this place stays forever!

This is a lovely place! I visited with my family whilst staying in Bournemouth and we had a really nice time. We were only staying for 4 days, so they kindly glazed our pieces as soon as possible so we could take them home with us. Would highly recommend!!

Nice, relaxed atmosphere, the kids loved it

My daughter and her friend went as a treat for her birthday. They loved it. I have been several times before and every time has been enjoyable and the quality of the products and the glaze is phenomenal. Definitely recommend

Enjoyable 2 hours painting pottery. Good selection to choose from. Helpful staff. Covid 19 restrictions in place so we felt safe. Ordered tasty hot chocolates, tea, crisps and cookies from a varied menu. Toilet facilities good. More expensive than ones we have used in the past but perhaps a sign of the times. Will return again soon.

We had a great time at The Clay Studio. It was very busy the day we visited and the staff were very busy but always helpful. Although I had never done this before it was very relaxing and we did not feel rushed. One of our group returned a few days later to finish her piece. The pottery was transformed after firing and I use my large coffee cup every day. We hope to visit again soon.

What a fantastic job The Clay Studio have done in making sure they are Covid secure. Had a lovely couple of hours, everything to hand so there was minimal moving around and I felt very safe. Will definitely visit again soon.

Love this place, fantastic staff and a wonderful atmosphere

We had an excellent time. Great selection of pottery to paint. So many paint colours to choose from. Friendly and helpful staff. Lovely food and drinks.

Owners of the studio are extremely helpful and friendly. Really nice way to spend a creative evening

Kids love to paint and can't think of a better thing to do on a rainy day. Lovely people and relaxed atmosphere.

Thoroughly lovely people running the studio, a huge range of items to paint, nice coffee and cake to keep you going and free parking right outside 😁

Way over priced for the pieces you have to buy to paint won't go back.

Nice place, very helpful staff, lots of choices for items to paint. Not 5 stars because we found it to be incredibly expensive compared to other places offering the same that we've visited locally. Over £60 for 3 items painted makes it a very expensive activity for a family.

A very fun pleasant place to go with kids as they enjoy themselves and decent food too.

Really nice relaxing helpfull grandaughter loved it coffee and food good to

Always enjoyable. Always the best coffee in town. Always amazing service!

Excellent day out with my family, the kids absolutely loved it here. The staff and the food and drinks were great too. Will definitely visit again when visiting Christchurch.

Very much enjoyed are visit here, happy memories and a keepsake as a reminder

Helpful staff very friendly and professional