If you’ve been outside in Philadelphia lately, you know the same thing as I do: it’s cold. If you’re scrambling to find an indoor activity to cure your boredom, I’ve got just the thing. Enter: The Expressive Hand (622 South 9th Street), a paint-your-own pottery and American Sign Language studio in Bella Vista. I visited the studio on an iffy-weather day in the summer with my sister & mom, and we had a fabulous time!

When you walk into the quaint pottery shop, you are greeted with a kind staff and two walls of pottery options. The Expressive Hand is called an “All Inclusive studio,” in that the price you see on the piece includes all “sitting fees” (a foreign term to a non-artist like me), paint, stencils & the firing of the piece.

They have all types of things for you to paint – mugs, picture frames, jewelry holders, etc. I will warn you, the prices are a bit more expensive than your average date. The bowl my mom made (below left) was ~$60 and the two letters my sister made (below right) were ~$15 each. My serving dish was ~$42. But, there are unique pieces you’ll have for a lifetime, so just put it into perspective.

Once you pick your piece, you are off to paint & stencil whatever way you chose. The studio has an amazing selection of paints, and they are all swatched for you to get the complete picture of what it will look like once it has been fired. If you’re out of touch with your inner artist like I was, the staff at The Expressive Hand are more than happy to offer some advice.

It took about a week to get our items back, and I was really happy with my finished piece. When I came to pick up the goodies at the studio, they came perfectly packaged and wrapped super well in thick bubble wrap – a very nice touch if you’re walking your pieces home in the city.

Another perk we didn’t take advantage of: the studio is BYOB! How fun, right?

Check out The Expressive Hand on Facebook too for fun updates & photos. Have you ever been to The Expressive Hand? What are some of your best indoor date ideas? xx