Wine & Design

Went to class last night and it was an okay experience. All of the staff members were nice and friendly but the entire evening seemed a bit rushed and unorganized. I ordered food at the beginning of class and it wasn’t brought out until after my painting was finished. I think that maybe they should take orders early particularly if its a large group. The girl who was making the food was very nice and apologized but she was over matched for all the food orders that were placed. Also, I am not a fan of the painting already being sketched out for me. I have done many of these paint classes in my hometown and have never had the painting already sketched out. I’m no Picasso but i like being able to draw my own interpretation. Also, it was a little cramped in the painting area, very hard to get comfortable.

owner very rude. Go somewhere else…

I went here for a Mary Baldwin college alumni event. We painted the alumni house and one of the women who works there, Courtney is an alumni.
The food was really good. I had the crab/​shrimp dip with pita. I know they probably just buy the dip at martins or something but it was amaaaaazing. Where they buying that dip from?! I despise wine so I got a diet coke from the fridge and paid extra for it. That’s great that they have other beverages for purchase.

Wine and Design is one of my favorite things to do in Richmond. I’ve had many a girl’s night out drinking wine, eating some tasty bites and painting a fun picture.
Basically, you walk in, grab a spot, pop open some wine and the instructor walks you through the painting. Your basic outline is sketched before you arrive, and your paint is all portioned out with brushes and water. The instructors are always helpful, fun and energetic. I love that everyone paints the same thing, but each painting has the person’s personal touch. I’ve never painted a bad painting here, somehow it works every time… even for people who claim they can’t do anything artistic.
You’re guaranteed to relax, have a lot of fun and laughs and come out with a nice personal souvenir. Both my mom and I have several fun paintings we did hanging around our house.
They frequently have LivingSocial specials, date nights, Paint Your Pet nights and sometimes Mommy and me!

Hope made my first time Amazing! I didn’t realize I had talent. Thank you Hope. The house and palm trees made more sense with your guidance.

Very fun time to take the edge off of stress! Flower started out not quite what I felt was good but HOPE HOPE helped turn it around!

Positives: tasty, reasonably priced food; instructor Abernathy was very encouraging and talented; whoever greeted us at the front and took our orders (didn’t catch her name) was also very helpful, friendly, and professional
Negatives: felt somewhat rushed (especially in comparison to another private class I went to at a similar business in SC); not much space to set up drinks or food (which we had to order from them; again, substandard in comparison to other experience); my biggest complaint was the weeks leading up to and planning our private event– Layne was very hard to get in contact with… three times I resent emails after not hearing back for over 4 days. She seemed very unprofessional and did not make me feel like our business was valued.

This was a birthday gift to me from my boyfriend that he bought off of Living Social for $ 19 each. We chose the picture that we wanted to paint from the calendar on the Wine and Design website and booked our class without any issues. I have never done one of these before, so I don’t have anything to compare the experience too. However, my experiences Wednesday night was great. We parked across the street at the Children’s Museum and entered the Wine and Design building at 6:15 for our 6:30 class. We were greeted at the front door and checked in for our class. We then proceeded to the classroom where the instruction began. Unfortunately, the seats we chose often caused the instructor, Claire, to have her back to us and they also had poor lighting. I would definitely attempt to select a better seat if I return. We had eaten before the class, but we ordered the spinach and artichoke dip ($ 8) to munch on throughout the class and it was served to us shortly there after. The menu consisted of appetizers, salads, and wraps from $ 7 – 12 approximately. We brought our own wine from home, which was a great bonus. Wine and beer are sold by the glass and bottle as a mark-​up if you don’t bring any from home. I definitely suggest drinking more wine to quiet your inner perfectionist. I had a great time, Claire was very friendly and helpful, and surprisingly, I was quite pleased with the end product of my painting. My boyfriend was the only male in the class, but he also had a great time. Many of the ladies sitting around us had been 5+ times before. We sat with a friendly group, so that made it even more pleasant. I would certainly return again, as I had a great experience, but the full price of $ 35 each is a little much for me to return as often as some of the other students in the class. I recommend for even those that have no artistic ability!

I had my first experience at a wine and design today. I had never done anything like this before, but since it was for my 25^th birthday I wanted to do something special! First off, I really liked our instructor, Hope. She was very personable and helped my group of 13 with no issues. With that said, Layne (the owner I assume) was a VERY rude person to deal with. Very curt and short when emailing back and forth, if I could even get her to respond. I asked multiple times for samples of the pictures they offered regarding a certain theme or idea. When I picked one and asked to make a VERY minor change, he response was «sorry that’s the only way it comes so do you want to do it or not?» Not the response I had expected, when I chose another painting I didn’t hear back so I assumed it was taken care of. Only to find out that when we walked in the door the original painting was on display. Not one word spoken as to why we still had the one I didn’t ask for. Then I got reamed out for bringing food. I was told if I ever came back (which I won’t) I will be asked to take the food back to the cars. It was ham biscuits and a veggie tray. Layne made no secret for her dislike of the large group in the back room, talked very ugly about them once they left. For someone running a small business, I would expect a little bit more customer service. And truly the only reason I picked this place is bc they don’t require a deposit of $ 250 and they don’t charge a $ 10 cork fee. Next time I will gladly pay that for a little more respect.

This is a fun evening, and designed for the untapped artist in your soul, (wine helps!)
A friend hosted a private party, the staff were very rude to her during the organizing faze, when we arrived… many of us right from work, we were rushed into our places and unable to greet the other attendees. No explanation of where wine was to be opened, we were able to bring our own, ONE menu had been circulated, but was stowed away by the time I got there so I was unable to order any food. After rushing us to our seat we were given a 10 minute speech advertising all available classes. Finally the painting class started, again we were rushed through the process, the instructor seemed distracted and frequently forgot to give direction on process to the class. The example painting was not easily visible and the one she was working on during demonstration was usually blocked by the instructor so one could not see what she was doing. While it was delightful to be with friends, the atmosphere was rushed and stressful, very little guidance was given to the new painters on technique or how to improve their art. I will hesitate to return, but will check out the same concept in the west end. Should I see the customer service improve I would then consider returning, but for $ 35 per painting art classes elsewhere seem a better option.

Painting was great fun especially with a group. Our teacher Abbey was good, but the other staff were rude and unhelpful to our group of first timers. The staff’s poor attitude ruined our evening. I would highly recommend trying this for a group outing, but I would try another company that might have a friendlier atmosphere and staff.

Really enjoyed our Wine and Design outing with some ladies from work. McLean was our instructor. She was great – walked us patiently through the painting step by step. I am pretty sure we will all be back very soon to create another painting with McLean.

Great experience here! Really fun crowd. The teachers moved at a good pace, and kept things interesting. We had a large group, so we generally amuse ourselves anyway. I would definitely recommend this for a birthday, or special occasion.

My SIL gave me a birthday outing gift for a small group of us to go to Wine & Design’s Paint Your Pet night (classes and themes vary). While this is not something I probably would have done if left up to my own devices, I have to say that I really enjoyed myself.
As part of the fun, there are three artists who roam the room to offer help and advice as you work to create your own «masterpiece». It is a relaxing environment to try to do something new.
To add to a relaxed environment, there is wine, beer and a light fare menu to enjoy (my friend kept calling this place «Drink and Draw»). You can even bring your own wine (no corkage fee) to enjoy and get your creative juices flowing.
P. S. Check out my pictures of our paintings!

Love Love LOVE Wine & Design! I have been lucky enough to make it into two of the Paint Your Pet classes and paint both of my adorable pups! These classes sell out because they are 1) so much fun and 2) a fantastic way to end up with a piece of art to display or give away after a couple hours!
Due to the busy schedules of my friends and family, I have only been able to go to Wine and Design by myself. I must say, though, the artists and owner make you feel right at home and once your class begins, it’s been easy to talk to the other attendees.
I am signed up for two classes this month and just can’t wait! It’s such a bargain — with the BYOB — just as cheap as any night out here in Richmond — AND you come home with a piece of art.

If you haven’t had a chance to go to Wine and Design, you really should, it’s well worth it!
I have to say that one of my childhood friends is one of the artists and I was more than excited to get instruction from such great talent and enjoy a glass (or three) of wine while doing so. So my friend and I signed up for the «Crabs» class taught by Claire Wall several weeks ago. Slowly but surely, the date creeped up on us and was here before we knew it!
We got there around 6:15pm, signed in, grabbed an apron, found a set-​up up front, and poured a glass of wine. When you walk into the classroom/​studio/​gallery, everything has already been set-​up for you so you don’t have to do a thing. You will notice on the canvas that there is a very faint outline of what you will be working on. Do not fret, as there is A LOT more that went into it after basically painting within the lines. Shading, blending, all these words i’m unfamiliar with made art magic!
Wine and Design also offers some lite fare along with wine, beer, and i’m pretty sure I saw champagne. Oh but wait, there’s more. Due to the new Virginia laws, you are allowed to bring youy own bottle of wine. No corkage fee, no nothing! You can’t bring food but wine is «A-​ok!» So if you aren’t in the mood to spend any additional money than what you paid for the class (usually $ 35), this is a great way to spend the evening with a friend or friends!
I can’t wait to go back and bring out the «arteeeest» inside.
Take care & paint the town!