Scribble Press

I enjoyed a special treat with my kids on Mother's Day- we got to try out Scribble Press, a brand-new neighborhood art studio where junior Hemingways or Picassos write and illustrate their own books. Scribble Press opened in the site of the former A-ha! play space (my local friends will remember it fondly), just blocks away from our home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is the second outpost for the LA-based studio, which was started by two moms (one East Coast, one West) who met on a plane and bonded over how much their kids loved to create art.

The newly-opened NYC location offers the same activities as its L.A. prototype, all focused on giving kids the chance to write or illustrate their own paperback or board books, or, something more unusual like notecards, bookmarks, calendars, or placemats. There are also pre-made templates for books such as "All About Me", in case your child has writer's block. A finished board book averages about $25; not cheap, but, then again, could you really make a "finished" book like this at home?

The studio is bright and airy with drafting tables and stools:


Kids can fill wooden caddies with markers from a big wall display of just about every color:


Here are my kids hard at work at the drafting table:



Your child's drawings and/or written text is scanned in and the products- books or otherwise- are ready in as little as 25 minutes. S. made a placemat (a good choice for toddlers or preschoolers), which turned out OK (truth be told, it was just a few scribbles which I had to embellish myself):


But R's notepad...wow! She was quite taken with it. Here is her review, in her own (typed) words: "i piked a notepad gold is the prettiest. this place is not for babies but big kids will like it."


There are also classes, the all-you-can-draw drop-in "Kids Scribble Club" (shown below), and, since this is NYC, the requisite birthday parties (though I'm not complaining since we have been to about every other party venue by now).

And, of course, there are ready-made gifts to shop, such as craft kids, books, and knick knacks. So you don't have to leave empty-handed if your child's work isn't ready yet.


We had a great time- it is definitely something unique in the NYC kids' circuit- and I am sure we will be back! Thank you, Scribble Press, for our visit!

Scribble Press is located at 1624 First Avenue at 84th Street, and is open Monday through Saturday 10 to 6pm, and Sunday 12 to 5pm.