Tinker5513

This is a good drop-in place for preschoolers without costing a lot of money. You just pay the $6/hour fee and use all their recycled materials. My 3 year old can stay doing art work for 2 hours without any problem. Bring your own smocks for the kids, though!

This is a great place for kids of all ages. My son and I attended three sessions of the ToddlArt classes. My 2 1/2 year old son looks so forward to going to Tinker. He looks at his various art projects that are displayed around the house and always smiles and says, "Tinker!" I have even brought my almost 10 year old there and he loves the unlimited options for creating "cool stuff". The staff is great and always helpful. It is a very affordable option when you don't want to drag out all the art supplies at home. $5/hour - who can beat that?!

I live in the Sherman Oaks area and I take care of my grand-kids (ages 3, 6 and 10) on the weekends sometimes, and this is the place we often go to spend some quality time together. There is something for all of their ages (even the 10 year old) and the staff has been helpful and encouraging getting us started. After talking with them it turns out that some have been preschool teachers in the past, and it is so obvious by the way they take time to talk to my grandkids! I tell everyone I know about Tinker--a great place for everyone.

My twelve year old daughter attended a Fashion workshop at Tinker last month. It was a really neat experience for her because she is very interested in fashion design. She was able to sketch out her vision and come home with a complete outfit. We can't wait for the next one.

I am a nanny for a few different families and I love to take my kids to Tinker. It's a great place if you have a few mixed age kids to entertain. The staff is really helpful in getting things ready for a relaxed art session. And they even clean up the mess for you!

My daughter has taken classes here, done workshops and loves the open studio it's fantastic! Even when there are some little kids in the studio the big kids still feel comfortable and have a great time. No kids music blaring or cartoon characters on the walls. Highly recommened for kids of all ages and adults too.

We (my 2 and 4 year old and I) discovered Tinker last year and have made it a regular part of our week. The staff is incredible, they're creative and wonderful with the kids, and it's so nice to leave the mess behind. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The name says it all. If you have a kid who loves to tinker around, paint and doodle, this place is great. We've been a few times and it's a really relaxed, friendly place to let the kids get creative. I haven't signed my kids up for classes yet, but I hear great things about them as well. It was even fun for my 2 year old (sometimes these things are a little above toddler level, but this was not): he was thrilled to go to town with 20 different markers and giant blobs of paint. And I was quite pleased not to be cleaning up my kitchen table!!

We have been huge fans of Tinker since its opening. I have been a museum educator for over 20 years and haven't seen anything else quite as wonderful in the Los Angeles' area arts community. Tinker's philosophy, educational activities, and materials are really top notch. I have to disagree with the earlier review that the staff were unfriendly. One of the best things about the studio's philosophy is that children need to explore in an open-ended, creative environment. Staff are very helpful in directing a child towards an activity that is of most interest and developmentally appropriate. They are there as facilitators to the creative process. Parents are expected to roll up their sleeves and participate alongside their child. I have observed a few unhappy parents in the studio who thought that Tinker was more of an art class, with staff who would completely engage with their child while the parent chatted or caught up on their Blackberries. Leave the newspaper at home and get ready to fingerpaint. Tinker is parent-child fun at its best!

I have three kids ages 5,6 and 8 and all three of them LOVE Tinker. My oldest (2 boys) enjoy building and painting their own wood car, as well as decorating a hammer. My youngest (a girl) has made her own tutu and docorated boxes and frames. There is definatly something for everyone at Tinker. I've even been known to "tinker" myself, making personalized picture frames for gifts. The staff, Leeanna and Holly, couldn't be more friendly and helpful. It is so nice to see a safe, fun place for kids and grown ups to express their creativity and use their imaginations to create.

I think Tinker is one of the best places around to keep your kids busy and stimulated. My 2 daughters(ages 6 & 3) can always find an artful activity to engage in. I have also worked on a few projects myself...The staff is kind, courteous, and helpful- and the place is clean and hip...a must for anyone living in the LA area.

First impression as I walked in with my 3 year old was this will be fun, but the less than enthusiastic "guide" as titled on their website was very unfriendly and not helpful in the least bit. I had to play the guessing game the entire time I was there from art supplies to what we could create. My child only had fun because of my encouraging words and guess work. I would have been better off staying at home using our own art supplies without the "guides" unhappy expression and looks the entire time we were there. It takes the fun out of it when you feel unwanted in a so called child friendly environment...it was far from that.

We LOVE this place almost as much as our 3-year-old. For just $5/hour/child (or adult if you can't help yourself)you have unlimited access to all kinds of art supplies -- paper, paints, glues, buttons, feathers, pipe cleaners, funky scissors, markers, ink stamps, construction paper of all colors, scrap fabrics and ribbon, plastic gems & stars, etc. The creative possibilities are endless -- you just don't know where to start. If you want, you can also spend a little extra $ and buy various unfinished items (wooden boxes, bird houses, etc.) that you can paint, glue & decorate. For our 3-yr-old, we've never bothered because there are so many options included in the basic fee. The staff has always been extremely nice and helpful. They happily dole out the supplies and keep the place extremely neat and organized. The environment is bright, cheerful and very clean. The open studio space has several large wooden tables that kids sit around to create their masterpieces. There are also some easles for painting projects. The staff has hairdryers available to "speed dry" artwork (glue & paint) so you can take it home. We've been on Saturday several times and it's never been crowded. We HIGHLY recommend this place for a fun way to kill and hour or two.