Review: Fired 4 U, Walton le Dale, Preston

Review written by Nisbah at Five adventurers who visited Fired 4 U in Walton le dale, Preston with children aged 3, 5, 8 and 12 years.

Summer holidays are fantastic but the constant need to think of things to do with the kids can sometimes be a little overwhelming both mentally and on ones pocket.  I'm always looking for new, local things to try with my little adventurers and when we were asked to review a pottery/clay painting attraction, Fired 4 U, we jumped at the opportunity.

Fired 4 U is a lovely tea room/coffee shop setting in Walton le Dale  just outside of Preston. I particularly liked the quirky feel of the shop with wall murals including a handprint tree of customers. Compared with other pottery painting shops/studios we have been too, Fired 4 U is very relaxed.  The owner Jane is engaging with the children and parents a like.  Our Raihan takes a little time to get along with new people but Jane made him feel at ease straight away.

On arrival to the shop, Jane shows you what different things the children can try from pottery painting to clay based activities.  I have taken Maya painting before but wanted to see how older and younger children would find that activity. We attended with my adventurers aged 3 and 5 and my nephews aged 8 and 12.  Jane explains to the children how and what they need to do with the paints and other ideas to decorate the items once the original painting is done.

 

For the review we were going to try some pottery painting, Maya and Raihan chose a dragon fly and my nephews chose a squirrel and mug.  The kids had a great time with the activity.  Feedback from my nephews who hadn't done this activity was that it was really cool and they really enjoyed it.  I asked if they would do it again and from their responses and eyeing up other ideas of things to decorate I think they will be back soon.

Whilst we were at the shop there was also a party taking place, I thought this looked and was a great idea.  The children all were having a great time and they would all make an receive your own decorated plate as a memory of attending a party.

Fired 4 U offer a range of activities for the children to get involved in.  There's no restriction in terms of ages as babies can take part in the clay/hand printing ideas.  Preschool children and older ones can try their hand at pottery painting and the clay activities sound really appealing.  They also running a number of activities for the school holidays so it may be worthwhile to look into these, full details are here. Jane is very flexible so if you had specific requirements, I would recommend a quick call and I'm sure Jane would be able to accommodate your needs.

What we loved

Different: Doing the same activities with your children can end up be very boring for both parties.  This activity is not something you would do often but it's great as a treat/special occasion or some quality time over the summer holidays.  In addition, the children will finish with an item which they can keep.  My nephew made his dad a mug and he was so excited to be able to give his dad a gift.

Creativeness: Maya is really creative and this type of activity highlights that art knows no bounds.  We can be creative with such a number of mediums and helps children experiment with new things.

Fired 4 U: Compared to the three previous pottery places I have taken the children, this was the most laid back setting.  They also have a number of things that none of the others have, including stamps, stencils, special paints for writing.  It made the decorating much more fun, including some muffins on Raihan's dragonfly.  Apparently it was the dragonfly's dinner that he was carrying on his back!

 


Pricing: whilst the activity does cost, it was as reasonably priced as can be for such an activity and it was the cheapest place we have done the activity.

Uniqueness: aside from my need to try different things, gift buying is my next favourite thing.  I think any of these gifts would make fantastic presents for grandparents/family members so you can get the children to have a fun afternoon and have a present to give someone at the end.  Also, this would make a great present for a child.  Experience presents help instil the idea that there is no need to have a physical present but trying new things helps a child develop.

Things to be aware of:

Attention: Raihan is often away with the fairies and getting him to paint/let it dry and paint again proved to be a task in itself.  For children 5 and over I think it's perfect, that said Raihan did enjoy it, and keeps showing anyone whose interested photos of his masterpiece.

Age: Zayn is as nosey as they come and would be in and out everything.  We didn't take him with us as he would be a little menace.  I had taken Raihan when he was that age and he was happy enough to watch Maya.  Remember the setting does not have lots of space and the activity does last a couple of hours.

Overall, I think this is a great activity to do with your children at any time and will be a definite boredom buster in summer holidays. It's one of the activities that children will not have done/likely to do and it does make a nice treat.  It's not the cheapest activity but given the cost of things such as the cinema these days I would rather spend that money on doing something that the kids will remember for a long time!

To read more about the range of activities or add your own review on Fired 4 U click here