AR Workshop

I love AR Workshop - it's such a fun way to spend an evening making a personalized craft and catching up with friends. This was my second time making a project and this time I chose a less intricate and word-y design because those take forever to prep and paint and remove the stencil detail. I made a large, framed wood sign and did ombre paint which turned out beautiful! My friend and I were the only gals on Thursday night so we had a lot of help and guidance from the gal inside who was so awesome and friendly. We made small-talk with her, caught up with each other, and enjoyed picking our colors and options. It takes the entire time no matter how fast or easy you think your design is, so plan for 3 hours minimum, but it flies by while you work on your project. They have all sorts of wood crafts you can choose, trays (small or large), signs of all shapes and sizes, dog bed frames, blankets, ladder shelves, etc. etc. Summer camps for kids are also starting so check it out! Located central to the oceanfront, close to the interstate, and has private parking in the back in the lot behind the store!

Holly is amazing! I had such a great time with my friend! We enjoyed ourselves so much, we are coming back next month! The board I made was beautiful! I can't wait to put it in my front door! I highly recommend! also love the 90s/00s music

First time doing something like this and it was a great opportunity when one of my closest girlfriends decided this was how she wanted to celebrate her birthday. Seven of us reserved our spots and chose different projects to work on. Three of us inadvertently selected projects that involved lots of letters and numbers. That translates to "it was a b*tch picking off each...and... every letter and number." It was a tedious job that ended up being totally worth it in the end! Thank God for Holly's fast and pro hands with the scalpels! Holly and her assistant - forgive me bc I arrived late and didn't get her name - were great! You can tell they're well seasoned and versed in this industry. Very knowledgeable, skilled, PATIENT, all while still remaining friendly and helpful. There were a lot of "Holly!? Am I doing this right? Is this enough paint? Was it supposed to do that? Does this look right?" A bunch of forty-year-olds acting like we're in kindergarten art class. But amidst all of that, we had plenty of laughs and giggles. Lots of "ooohhs and aahhhs!" So many options, so many choices, so many ideas, so many varieties, so many everything! It can be overwhelming so my pro tip is to peruse their website really good and narrow it down to maybe 2 or 3 projects before finally deciding on "the one." You can make tote bags, pillowcases, cheeseboards (like I did!), a lazy Susan, a tray, a box, a sign, an Advent calendar, the list goes on and on and on!!! A plethora of classes are offered so get your crew together and bond over paint and woodwork! The cherry on top was getting the opportunity to sip on beer or wine! It comes with the price of the reservation. I, for some reason, declined a glass of libation. I needed to focus on my letters! Lol! Classes are about 3 hours long and maybe to you it might sound too long but truth be told, some of us (ahem, the ones with a shit ton of letters and numbers) used every single minute AND THEN SOME! Yes, it's expensive, but once you complete your masterpiece you're not even going to remember the price tag. What you'll realize is why certain things cost the way they do in store. But what you create is always going to be unique no matter how much you wanna do it "just like that one on the shelf." My favorite part was being able to stamp the back of my cheeseboard and signing it. "Look, Ma! I made this!"I highly recommend this place and I absolutely cannot wait to come back and create other things. Personalized, handmade items make the perfect gift for anyone, and trust me, there's something for everyone here!!! Check out their website and see what you can make! The parking sitch: I scored street parking right in front for free bc of the hours but, there's a lot behind the building as well as a free parking garage in the front, too.

What an awesome DIY shop with great customer service and variety of projects! The whole DIY scene has really been popular as of recent and it's easy to see why the AR Workshop franchise is such a big hit in various places across the country! I am excited that VB has a great location that offers so many different projects for people to create and that does so with really awesome customer service!I attended a special ornament making workshop there recently which is different than one of their regularly schedule workshops but we were still able to experience what they were all about! The place is so well decorated with examples of their projects plus cute spaces for photo ops, crafting and even parties! They have their schedule posted upon walking in and they do a great job of posting classes on the website and social media! I love that you can create a really cool project rather easily with their assistance and offered services! I look forward to going to one of their wood-working classes hopefully soon! If you like DIY, check them out!

I initially reached out to this location on 1/24 to book my daughters party on 3/19. After some back and forth and delayed responses, I was told the link for my daughters party would be set up on 2/18. I responded on 2/22 with the type of project as we were out of town the prior weekend, and was expecting a link on that day or the next so I could send our invites. I got no reply and I sent follow ups on 2/24 and 2/26 as well as left a voicemail at the location. Finally, I gave up and ended up booking at the Chesapeake location and they were super responsive and helpful. To this date, I still have not received any sort of callback or email from the VB location. I would not recommend this business as they are very unprofessional and unresponsive.

I'm giving 2 stars since my friends and I loved the outcome of our projects and still made the best of last night for my friend's birthday.Starting with positive notes--We booked ahead of time and got a spot saved for 4 people. We were told we can bring food and drinks which was a plus since we were celebrating my best friend's birthday last night. The location is great, near the beach and other places to go to. There are different projects you can make and a ton of options on stains, colors, etc. so you can truly customize your craft to your liking. The owner/instructor taught us step by step since it was our first rodeo. She helped us perfect our lazy Susans and made sure they were to our liking. She was knowledgeable and experienced in doing the project.Now, I'm gonna breakdown why we left that place knowing for a damn fact we won't be going back to that location (which, we made sure it was a franchise before we left so we know (or hope) the other ones would be better)..... I arrived to see that there were only us doing a class tonight which I thought would be great--- NOT! The owner, our instructor, told us that she was GLAD" that there was only us tonight cuz she's burnt out from doing parties all day. The comment seemed benign at first but as the night went on, it became apparently loud, bolded, underlines and in all caps that she was READY TO GO that night (Ready to go the f home and not teach a class, to be exact). She told us that she's been there for 24 hours, and even told us that she had a kids class of 9 kids doing crafts and was complaining on how it went. When she told us that she owns the place, we complimented her and told her that that's awesome and she responded with, "Oh it's not all that great, trust me!"Since it was our first time, we were a bit overwhelmed with what stains/paints to choose and she told us that she's not gonna give us all the options cuz we're not gonna stay there all night picking (which she said she was joking when we asked her if she was serious but her face told a different story). My friend decided to do a brushing technique and she somewhat tried to talk her out of doing but my friend was set on doing it so she had to show her. I feel like in this particular business, you need to be prepared to deal with indecisive people and still be professional and don't throw shade at your paying customers. When my friend asked her what color would she suggest with the brushing she made a stride comment saying, "Well since you're so particular, I'm not even sure that you'd like to do that."The vibe was off and we were definitely rushed. The experience was comparable to going to a restaurant 10 minutes before closing time, except we scheduled ahead of time for the 6:30-10 pm time slot. If she didn't feel like it wasn't worth her time to teach only 4 people, she could have cancelled our class and we would have been okay to get refunds and do something else instead of getting a subpar first time experience doing this. She didn't even give us our glasses of wine that was supposed to be included in our payment. She suggested we finish our own supply first but she never brought ours out. Despite her attitude and unprofessional demeanor, we stayed cordial with her since we didn't want her to mess up our projects since we were clueless on what to do (hence taking the class). For the money we paid, she could have acted excited to have our business but she didn't so it was definitely a disappointing first time and last time here. As a business owner, you should never make comments of how burnt and tired you are especially in the beginning of your session. It's not fair to the paying customers who are expecting to have a good time at your spot. Maybe hiring help would be beneficial.

Great place to be creative whether on your own or with family and friends! The place is warm and inviting. The staff is affable and accommodating. Good amount of supplies and they provide smocks to keep your clothes from stains. The grand opening allowed us to get a sample of the many types of crafts available to create. There are re-purposed wood to make coastal signs and materials to make pillows. Looks like a great place to have birthday parties or just be in your own creative element! I'm definitely planning to attend a workshop! This place seems to offer a variety of crafts to make so you can put your personal touch on gifts for family and friends! I made a sign for a friend! I want to bring my nieces and nephew here so they can create their own pieces!

If you want to create memories that will outlast your memories, then check out AR Workshop Virginia Beach! This is how crafting should be done and our 23rd Anniversary could not have been any better! I highly recommend AR Workshop Virginia Beach to all of my friends and family!!!