SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA — Getting your tween to forsake their phone–or your younger kid to put down the iPad–for a few hours and engage in the real world can feel like a Herculean task sometimes.
A new San Ramon studio is offering parents a potentially compelling bargaining chip: slime, ceramic figures, canvas painting, 3D printing and the chance to make something worth showing to friends (and not just in a TikTok video.)
The Maker Atelier opened this spring on the second level of City Center Bishop Ranch and held its grand opening in May. The modern, open-concept studio is designed as a place where kids, families and adults can choose a project, work at their own pace and leave with something tangible.
Visitors can paint a canvas or ceramic piece, sculpt with clay, fold origami, make slime, experiment with 3D printing or try decoden — the colorful decorating style that uses charms and a frosting-like adhesive to transform everyday objects.
The studio describes its approach as “creativity without pressure.” Rather than committing to a multiweek art class, families can stop in for a single maker session. The staff supplies the materials, offers instructions and assistance, and handles the cleanup.
That makes the concept particularly well suited to the notoriously hard-to-please tween demographic, as well as elementary schoolers. The projects are structured enough that kids are not simply handed a blank sheet of paper and told to be creative, but open-ended enough that the finished result can still feel personal.
There’s also more hands-on instruction than at other DIY art studios in the area. Staff will sit down with your kid and help them through their project.
Yet, this isn’t an adults-oriented experience like Pinot’s Palette in Danville–it sits somewhere in between a formal class and a totally unstructured experience.
It is also the kind of outing that can work for siblings of different ages — or for a parent who wants to join in instead of watching from the sidelines.
The Bay Area Telegraph stopped by and tried out the slime making, canvas painting, and 3D printing activities. The staff were helpful and we had a great time.
The only caveat here is the price. The Maker Atelier’s charges a 30-minute Express Maker Session for $29, a 60-minute Essential Maker Session for $39 and a 90-minute Creative Maker Session for $55.
Standard choices include canvas painting, drawing and coloring, and basic clay sculpture. Premium and specialty projects can cost extra, and an additional 30 minutes of studio time is listed at $20.
If you bring a few kids, you could easily end up spending $100+ for a one-hour session. Whether that makes sense for your family likely depends on how you’re thinking about it.
If you’re looking at this as a casual, spur-of-the-moment drop-in, $100+ for art is a lot. If you’re thinking of it more as a class (with the materials, instruction, prep and cleanup included), the pricing feels a bit more reasonable. We’d recommend leaning towards the latter–and asking the staff to jump in and share their considerable art skills, rather than treating this like an open studio.
The business also hosts seasonal camps, private events and birthday parties. Its party packages currently begin at $599 for up to 10 children and include private studio time, guided instruction, materials, setup and cleanup. Project choices can include slime, canvas painting, clay or decoden.
One potentially confusing detail for City Center visitors: The Maker Atelier is located next to TheyMade, but the two are separate businesses.
TheyMade focuses largely on personalizing clothing and accessories with patches, printing and embellishments. The Maker Atelier offers the broader mix of painting, ceramics, clay, slime and other art and maker projects described above.
The studio is located on Level 2 of City Center Bishop Ranch at 6000 Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon. City Center currently lists its hours as 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Appointments can be booked through The Maker Atelier’s website, though the business also promotes walk-in visits. As always with a new business, it is worth checking the latest hours and availability before making a special trip.
For parents staring down another weekend of Mr Beast, gaming and group chats, though, it’s a great place to try.
