PINOT & PICASSO ARRIVES IN BALMAIN AND WE’RE DELIGHTED!

We’re always excited to see people bringing new and innovative experienced-based offerings to our neighbourhood and Pinot & Picasso is right up Balmain locals’ alley! If you love wine and/or painting, this one’s for you, with no skill required for either.

Pinot & Picasso is Australia’s number one paint and sip experience, with a number of franchises around Sydney. In a nutshell, you’ll enjoy a three-hour session led by an artist who’ll provide step-by-step instructions while leaving plenty of room to freestyle and let your inner-Picasso run wild. You’ll be schooled in some of the basics and the more advanced techniques of painting on canvas and by the end of the session even the least creative types will be taking home a masterpiece. What’s even better is it’s BYO, meaning you can bring along your favourite tipple to help the creative juices flow.

We sat down with Tracey and Colin, the husband and wife pair bringing this wonderful concept to Balmain.

“Our son James and his business partner Aaron started P&P with a flagship store in Penrith,” says Tracey. “They wanted to bring something different to the area. Drinking wine, painting, listening to great music and hanging out with your friends and family – it doesn’t get any better than that. It really took off, to the point where they were able to franchise it. We were so impressed with what they had created that we decided to open our own location in Camden, which was a perfect spot for it. It was interesting to see such a wide demographic getting involved and really getting into it, from teens to 80 year olds. We’ve always loved Balmain – we come here regularly – and we just knew the concept would be so well received here, such is the creative, community minded nature of the area, so we decided to open a second studio.”

“It’s been amazing to see how warmly we’ve already been welcomed,” adds Colin. “Everyone seems to know we’re coming. Even as we’ve been setting up the studio people have been stopping by for a chat about what we’re up to. The reactions have been really positive, especially from the bottle shops!”

“We have a team of artists (and we’re still hiring), a couple of them locals, and we’re always keen to partner with other businesses eager to share the experience. In fact, local event organiser and caterer, Catherine Franklin from the Balmain Event Co has partnered with us to supply her amazingly delicious platters, all sourced from local providers. When you book your session online you simply purchase the food option as you check out and you’ll arrive to a delicious grazing box. Alternatively, you can bring your own snacks or order food to be delivered from any number of local restaurants. We can accommodate private parties of up to 16 people (Up to 30 post Covid) and if you’ve got your own space, there’s even the option for us to bring the studio to you, so it’s a really flexible set up.”

“We’re having a pre-launch event on 2nd August, and have invited a few local businesses to come along and enjoy a drink, nibbles and a session all on us. Our official grand opening is 8th August. At the moment sessions are Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons however we’ll be expanding this as we get established.”

If you’d like to be part of it you can sign up here at a cost of $59 per person, which includes everything you need to create a memorable work of art. You’ll find Pinot & Picasso at 4/418 Darling Street, Balmain.