Hip at the Flashlight Factory

Amazing space managed by amazing people. I threw my 40th birthday party there. The space itself is absolutely gorgeous. Very industrial. Beautiful brick walls. Super versatile with lots and lots of potential for personalization. Multiple different areas with a variety of character. Gracie and her team were extremely helpful from the moment i first looked at the space to the day after the event. They have seasonal decorations that add to the beauty of the space. They are extremely flexible and worked with us to get the tables/decor/food setup. I cannot think of a better space for private events from birthdays to weddings. Highly recommended.

HIP at the Flashlight Factory may claim their "clients are not just another number," but their actions certainly prove that their clients are nothing more than dollar signs to them. Long story short, HIP notified my BFF via email only one week before her wedding that, to comply with the fire marshal's mandate, their venue would no longer be able to accommodate her wedding. Fortunately, the bride and bridal party were able to miraculously find another amazingly accommodating venue that same day, but HIP's handling of the issue was nothing less than classless. What was already a stressful situation was exacerbated by HIP's incompetent and unsympathetic actions, including (but not limited to): - delayed communication of the venue's inability to host the wedding- being unresponsive to requests to finalize details of the venue transition (yet still having time to post videos to social media about the situation)- trying to charge ridiculous prices for minimal venue involvement ($2,500 just to use the venue as a hotel and to take pictures there),- and claiming the rented tables were damaged when they were returned (even though they were already damaged when provided in the first place) just to be able to keep the $500 depositWe're so thrilled that the wedding turned out well despite the frustration of having to deal with HIP, but their behavior and attitude were completely unprofessional and, quite frankly, rude. If you're looking to have your big day at their venue, I'd recommend thinking twice. Give your business to people that truly have your best interests -- and not just your money -- in mind.

My husband and I found the Hip through a stroke of luck when we learned that The Mattress Factory wasn't available during our desired wedding date(an aggressive 5 month engagement). Gracie and her team were up for the challenge as we were one of the first couples to celebrate our wedding at the Hip.The Pros: We took a gamble(the place was still being developed and didn't have restrooms when we signed our paperwork in 2017), but it was worth it. Gracie and her team are artistically minded, hardworking, flexible and caring. She was available to work through all the details. The space is gorgeous - uniquely refined, industrial-chic. On our wedding day, it looked breathtaking....hanging flowers, sheers on the windows, gorgeous mix and match place settings, funky bar, everything was in the right place - and the bathrooms were there too ;)Need to know: The price is right compared to other venues around town! They offered tables, place settings and chairs(check them out ahead of time to make sure they suit your needs - we ended up needing to rent chairs/linens last minute to create the look we desired). We also ended up renting a dance floor to compensate for uneven surfaces. We got ready in the lofts upstairs which made for a beautiful gathering. Figure out your table arrangements! We were comfortably snug at ~180 guests. AC wasn't performing night of so they moved in fans - I believe they've upgraded the system!Guest Responses: "This place is SO you!"It's been nearly a year and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. They make you feel like family on a day when family is what it's all about.

Attended a wedding at this venue and it was awesome. The way the venue was decorated was just gorgeous. It is one of the most unique space and perfect for any event. I would highly recommend this venue for any occasion. Most definitely a 5 Star Rating....Patti C

I am writing this review on behalf of my sister, who previously scheduled to have her wedding at Hip at the Flashlight Factory with their owner Gracie. My sister received an email (not a phone call or even a text message) one week before her wedding date instructing her that this venue would likely be unable to accommodate her, and that she should wait to contact them for 2 days while they figure things out. We later learned that Hip was no longer able to hold weddings at their venue because they were not compliant with the city requirements regarding fire exits (which is something that they knew about, but did not warn renters of the risk). This is just where the issues began. After receiving this message, my sister replied to Gracie's email immediately just to get a better grasp of what the issue was and what her options were. She didn't hear from her until she followed up via text message the next day, and as things progressed Gracie had requested that my sister wait until the Wednesday before her (Saturday) wedding to see if they could work things out with the city regarding the fire exit issue (knowing that we now had under 6 days to completely relocate a wedding). When we informed her that taking that risk 3 days before the wedding would not be an acceptable course of action, she then encouraged my sister to instead "still stay at Hip for the weekend with her bridal party" (as a hotel) for $2,500! Instead of attempting to do whatever she could to make things easier on the bride-to-be, she was going to charge my sister $500/night to sleep there just to keep some form of cashflow. Then, when my sister did find another venue to host her wedding Gracie requested that my sister pay $500 to rent tables because that was the only thing this new venue was lacking. When attempting to negotiate off this rental fee, Gracie took over 48 hours to respond to my phone calls - despite Gracie posting regular Instagram stories regarding her situation and how it impacted her. Gracie stated she was "hemorrhaging money" and it was clear that she was unwilling to make things right with us outside of giving us a refund of the original rental money - minus the amount for the tables. Upon receiving the tables that we were now paying to rent, they were given to us with large chunks missing out of the corners - hardly acceptable to any upscale event and definitely not worth $500. This situation could have easily been resolved with good customer service. While it is unfortunate that Hip is unable to host weddings that they contracted - they should be doing whatever they can to do right by the people that were counting on them. Had Gracie communicated well with my sister, let her borrow the tables for free, or managed to assist in alleviating any stress instead of adding to it - this would be a very different review. I am highly disappointed in this venue, and more specifically how Gracie is trying to profit from brides she has had to cancel on.

I was supposed to have a full weekend rental of HIP at the Flashlight Factory for my rehearsal, wedding, and sleeping accommodations. I got an email (not a text or phone call) ONE WEEK before my wedding from the venue coordinator at HIP stating that the fire marshal was no longer allowing them to host events with more than 49 guests (my guest list was 168) and to please not reach out until Monday regarding this issue as they were moving that weekend's wedding. I replied to that email stating that I received it, and that I would appreciate a call on Sunday to go over my options once the chaos of that wedding was over. At this point my wedding was a week away and I was unsure if I had a venue or not, so my bridal party reached out to every venue we could find, hoping for availability for a plan B, which we found and put a hold on that day. Later that afternoon, I found out that HIP was made aware of this issue on THURSDAY and did not reach UNTIL SATURDAY, and stated I wait TWO MORE DAYS for them to contact me. I also found out they were performing construction on the venue for months despite being aware of the risk of not being complaint with the city requirements and were not warning clients of this risk. I didn't hear back until I followed up with a text to the coordinator on Sunday saying I knew I was supposed to wait until Monday to be contacted, but I was 6 days out and would appreciate information. She called me back in a timely manner and let me know their team of lawyers was meeting with the city on Wednesday, so there would most likely be no answers until then, and the verdict was still very much up in the air, but she could call me back Monday to go over our options. Having worked in construction for 13 years, I was well aware of the permitting and inspection process and knew nothing would be handled quickly. My fiancé and I agreed to not take our chances on waiting until Wednesday to ultimately be told we would need to find a new venue, so I texted the coordinator on Monday to let her know we would be cancelling our rental with them, but was interested in using their tables because all of our décor that we worked on for over a year was based around their custom tables. Knowing full well I was in a pinch because of them and had now FIVE days to relocate a wedding, I was given the option to use the tables, to still use HIP as a hotel, and to take pictures at their venue as if I was still having my wedding there for $2,500. If I wanted just the tables with delivery and pickup, that would be $500. My sister was able to negotiate off this rental fee, but the coordinator took over 48 hours to respond to her phone calls, and we now had to pick up and return the tables ourselves. During that time, the coordinator was posting Instagram stories regarding her situation and how it impacted her, stating HIP was "hemorrhaging money." When my fiancé and a handful of his groomsmen went to pick up the tables on Friday, they were met with rude behavior from the staff at HIP. At one point, my brother-in-law was actually mocked like a child for saying that one of the tables we were picking up was already damaged, along with the other tables being in a very worn condition. We retuned the tables on Sunday, at which point I texted the coordinator to let her know we were returning them, and to please reach out to me when she looked them over to discuss the deposit. She called me on Monday stating that we retuned the tables in an unacceptable condition and we would not be getting our deposit back. I asked to negotiate to get half back, and she had to return my call later, which inevitably still ended in us not getting the deposit back.During this whole process, I felt the only thing that mattered to HIP was money, not doing any and everything necessary to right their wrong and alleviate stress instead of creating it all.

I went to an event here with my wife. The place was still under construction and was not ready for events yet. There were 2 spaces that were really tight and people couldn't mingle very easily. The people that lived up stairs spent their time hanging out on the stairs watching everyone at the party. Seemed very strange. They kept coming and going walking through the party. The bathrooms were dry walled but not finished. This just wasn't a polished venue like I thought it was going to be. The food was amazing though and the service was very good.

Fantastic and trendy space! Very helpful, especially Gracie and Cassie! I highly recommend this space for your event!

This may look like a cool wedding spot, but good luck getting ahold of the staff to get a single question answered. I've contacted this business four times over the past month via their website, phone, and email and have yet to receive a response. A red flag was raised for me when I heard their voicemail greeting, "Hi it's Grace. Give me a reason to call you back." Are they serious? Talk about attitude and unprofessionalism. They'll have plenty of reason to call people back once they get no wedding bookings. Since trying to contact them for a tour, I've found a lot of negative reviews of actually working with them so I've moved on.

One of the most unique and beautiful spaces in Pittsburgh! I have been privileged to be able to come to HIP for many events. They have hosted some of the most beautiful weddings, birthday parties, NYE parties, and conferences. This transformable space is nothing less than 5 stars! And if you have a chance to stay at the BNB or even have your wedding or event here, do it!