Punk Me Up Ceramics is now permanently closed.
What?: I was initially drawn to this session because of the cute little graphic Punk Me Up have used to promote it on Hoop (by Fredde Lanka who makes sexy prints and ceramics with big hairy men on them). I had really high hopes that this wouldn’t be shit. I don’t often pay over £10 or trail seven and a half miles for a drop-in activity… ok so I do the second one quite a lot but you get the picture; I really wanted this to be not shit. Happily it was not at all shit! It was worth every penny and every second spent dragging my 35-month-old child and my 39-week-pregnant bottom down to the Overground station, onto three separate trains and halfway across Peckham for.
The best thing about it, in my opinion, is it’s parent-led (or, let’s be real, toddler-led). You simply rock up sometime between 12 and 3, ask for the Little Punks package and a member of staff will bring you a book to read (ours was Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss), a related colouring sheet and mini ceramic, plus a hot drink of your choice, a babyccino and the tiniest, least-doughnutty-tasting (but still really good) doughnut you’ve ever had in your life. The second-best thing about it is that Punk Me Up isn’t all about the ceramics; so when your two year old inevitably tires of blobbing a puke-coloured hue of their own creation onto a small clay horse, he or she can get stuck into the toy box or the dressing-up cupboard instead.
Alternatively I suppose you and your kid could just turn up whenever you wanted and choose your own ceramic and cake (all their cakes look like heaven), but by the time you’ve fannied around with studio fees and whatever else you’ll likely have ended up spending more than £14. Anyway, I love that they’ve devised a special session for preschoolers. I also really love all the wall art (particularly the llama wall in the back room, which hosts parties and classes such as Monkey Music, Nimble Tots and Lucy Sparkles with Leanne from Hollyoaks) and the chilled atmosphere, which possibly had something to do with us being the only ones there with toddlers for the best part of two hours.
Where and When?: Sessions are drop-in and run between 12 and 3pm on Fridays. Punk Me Up is a 12-minute walk from Peckham Rye Overground/mainline station and can be found at 34 East Dulwich Road.
Best Bits: Great session, very cool studio, chilled vibe and good value for money.
Worst Bits: We have to go back to Peckham in the next six weeks to collect the horses or they go in the bin.
Facilities: Baby change, step-free access, space to park a buggy, additional food and drink available to buy.
Cost: £14.
Would We Come Back?: Yes! We all loved this and there’s a giant Dala horse ceramic that’s just crying out for me to paint it.
Babu and Sprog paint their horses puke green and wound pink at Little Punks, Punk Me Up Ceramics, Peckham.
bablands.com 