Education & Classes in Casselberry

After years of developing their own drink-slinging skills as professional bartenders and club owners, 123 Bartending's founders, led by Bryan Caracioli, decided to pass on their knowledge through intensive bartending courses and a proprietary student handbook. The school stands adjacent to a fully functional brewpub, where professional barkeeps coach students to juggle their tools, glassware, and requests for Billy Joel songs behind a granite bar, lowly lit from miniature chandeliers and surrounded by rustic, red-toned interiors. Curriculum involves both hands-on practice and theory, spanning the history behind drinks' monikers, as well as the chemistry of traditional cocktails and modern party shots. 50-inch flat-screen TVs and a 100-inch projector dominate walls with video demonstrations and scotch distillers' home movies. A roster of bars, lounges, and clubs—all owned by or partnered with 123 Bartending's adept captains—provide job placement for the school's alumni.

Nook and Cranny Ceramics fills its studio with a variety of blank sculptures and figurines. These are like blank checks for visiting artists, who can fill out their values by decorating them in creative layers of paint. Pots take on prismatic designs, building replicas get fresh coats, and giraffe statuettes come to life, demanding feedings of glazed clay leaves. The shop also offers Saturday classes for kids.

Canvas and Cheers's expert instructors emancipate inner artists during their communal painting classes, which beckon pupils of all ages and experience levels to express themselves through hours of socializing and slinging paint. Teachers supply all necessary materials before shepherding students through a step-by-step painting process that yields prismatic masterpieces, which students can hang on the wall of their living room, hallway, or drab cryogenic freezing chamber. BYOB classes for adults create a lively night out with wine and snacks, and Canvas Kids or Family Day sessions spark creativity and empower young artists. Themes vary from class to class, covering topics such as how to render horses, recreate classic works by Van Gogh, or capture the raw human emotion elicited from commemorative plate collections. Many of the paintings used as reference pieces during class were designed by founding artist Dyanne Parker, who displays her original work throughout the studio.:m]]

Plaster Cottage of Clermont equips its visitors with the tools to decorate their own ceramic jewelry, tableware, and pottery. Plates, molded pieces, and cups line the studio's walls, ready for the coats of color and glaze that will allow them to adorn tables and mantelpieces with pride. Beneath this roof, all ages can indulge their creative energies, whether sharing design tips and laughs over dinner or celebrating a birthday with cake and painting. The cottage hosts kids nights, too. Every Friday evening, it's two hours of pottery painting and pies from the next-door pizzeria—an event that makes the most of children’s well-known love of ceramics as well as their reluctant tolerance of delicious pizza.