Paint and Sip Equipment Checklist

The short answer

A paint and sip studio needs canvases, easels, brushes, paint, aprons, tables, chairs, water cups, palettes, towels, drying space, cleaning supplies, storage, lighting, an instructor setup, and a booking system that keeps the calendar from becoming a tiny panic spiral.

But here is the grown-up bit: do not buy everything because it looks cute in a cart. Buy for the class you are actually going to run first. A 24-seat studio, a mobile pop-up kit, and a private-party-first business all need supplies, but they do not need the same supply closet on day one.

The best checklist is not just "stuff." It is a reset system. Every guest station should be easy to set up, easy to teach from, easy to clean, and easy to restock before the next group walks in saying, "Wait, are we allowed to be bad at painting?" Yes. That is literally the business.

The buying rule: start with your model

Before you buy anything, decide what kind of paint and sip business you are opening. This is where people overspend. They buy for the fantasy studio, not the first 90 days. Ask me how I know.

The SBA recommends estimating startup costs before launch, including one-time expenses, monthly costs, and working capital. For a paint and sip owner, that means separating opening purchases from the supplies you will replace every week.

If you are mobile, spend more attention on bins, transport, folding table flow, spill control, and fast reset. If you have a fixed studio, spend more attention on durable furniture, lighting, sinks, drying racks, storage, and the customer check-in area. If you are private-event-first, make sure your setup can handle birthdays, team events, and custom group sizes without a staff member quietly unraveling in the corner.

• Fixed studio: tables, chairs, easels, storage, lighting, sinks, drying racks, signage, and a reliable check-in flow.
• Mobile events: transport bins, folding setup, backup supplies, table covers, water containers, drying boxes, and a tight load-out list.
• Private-event-first: flexible seating, group minimum supplies, add-on materials, deposit workflow, and clear headcount deadlines.
• Kids and family events: washable surfaces, simpler tools, shorter class flow, extra aprons, and more cleanup time.

Guest stations: the main checklist

Each guest station should feel obvious. The guest should sit down and know where the canvas goes, where the water cup is, where to put the brush, and what is theirs. This sounds basic until 28 people arrive at once and someone is asking for a smaller apron while someone else has already put a brush in their wine. Deep breaths!

Standardize the station so instructors and assistants can reset the room without guessing. A consistent station also makes your photos look better, which helps your marketing without you having to invent a personality on Instagram every single morning.

• Canvas or project surface for each guest, plus extras for mistakes, walk-ins, or damaged stock.
• Tabletop or standing easel that fits your room and does not block sightlines.
• Brush set with enough duplicate small, medium, and wide brushes to survive real humans.
• Palette, water cup, paper towel or cloth towel, apron, and table protection.
• Clearly marked seat or table system if staff deliver supplies, drinks, photos, or private-party favors.
• Backup station kit for late arrivals, broken brushes, spilled water, or the friend who definitely did not book but came anyway.

Paint, brushes, and canvases

This is the part everyone thinks of first, and yes, it matters. But the move is to buy beginner-friendly supplies that support the class, not museum-grade supplies that eat the margin and intimidate everyone.

For most paint and sip events, acrylic paint is the practical choice because it dries fast, cleans up more easily than oils, and works well for step-by-step classes. You still need to choose safe, properly labeled art materials and store them in a way staff understand. The CPSC has guidance around art materials labeling, including ASTM D-4236, so this is not the place for mystery bargain paint with no receipts.

Brushes are where your guests will feel the quality. A bad brush makes the class feel harder than it needs to. Buy enough that you can replace tired brushes before they become crunchy little emotional support sticks.

• Acrylic paint in core colors, skin-tone mixing colors, white, black, and seasonal colors you actually use.
• Brush sets by size, with extra flats, rounds, liners, and wide background brushes.
• Canvases in one or two standard sizes so storage, pricing, and prep stay simple.
• Special surfaces only when the event earns it: wood rounds, tote bags, glassware, ornaments, or pet portraits.
• Clearly labeled backup stock so staff know when to reorder before the "we have no white paint" emergency. A classic. A tragedy.

Room, furniture, and instructor setup

The room is part classroom, part party, part photo moment, part cleanup machine. Cute is allowed. Cute is encouraged! But cute has to leave room for knees, bags, wet paintings, assistants, drinks, and the instructor walking around without doing a weird sideways crab walk.

The instructor needs to be visible from every seat. Guests should be able to see the demo canvas, hear instructions, and check colors under good light. Lighting matters because people need to see what they are painting, and because the final photos should look good enough to share.

Think in zones: check-in, guest tables, instructor area, paint refill area, drying area, cleanup area, storage, and photo spot. If every zone has a job, the room feels calmer. If every zone is also storage, the room will tell on you.

• Tables and chairs that are comfortable, wipeable, and easy to reset.
• Instructor demo easel, overhead camera, monitor, or raised teaching area depending on room size.
• Bright neutral lighting plus warmer accent lighting for photos and mood.
• Small sound system or microphone for larger rooms, private parties, and louder groups.
• Drying racks or pickup shelves that keep wet canvases away from coats and purses.
• Deep sink access, brush cleaning station, and drying space for tools.

Cleanup, storage, and reset supplies

This is the unglamorous section that saves the business. Nobody opens a paint and sip studio because they are passionate about drying racks and shelf labels. And yet! The whole night runs on them.

A full supply closet can still be a mess if no one knows where the backup aprons live. Build storage by workflow: class setup, active class, cleanup, laundry, restock, private-event add-ons, and mobile kits. That way a tired assistant can still find what they need after a bachelorette party has turned the room into a confetti-adjacent weather event.

Keep cleaning supplies clear, labeled, and staff-safe. OSHA hazard communication rules focus on labels, safety data sheets, and employee training for hazardous chemicals. Even if your studio is small, the habit is simple: know what you use, store it properly, and make the instructions easy to find.

• Brush tubs, drying mats, sink strainers, towels, wipes, gloves, trash bags, and spill kits.
• Apron hooks or bins, laundry plan, and extra aprons for guests who are delightfully not careful.
• Shelving for canvases, paints, brushes, event kits, cleaning supplies, and seasonal inventory.
• Drying racks for wet canvases and washed brushes.
• Safety Data Sheets for relevant products, plus plain staff instructions for cleanup and storage.

If you run mobile events, build a separate kit

Mobile paint and sip can be a beautiful model, especially before signing a lease. It can also become chaos in a trunk if you do not pack it like a system.

Your mobile kit should be able to survive a missing sink, a weird table layout, a venue with dim lighting, and a host who says, "We have everything," and means one roll of paper towels from 2017.

Pack by station, not by product type. One bin for guest stations, one for instructor supplies, one for cleanup, one for backup supplies, and one for admin/check-in. Then use the same pack list every time. The list is not glamorous. The list is peace.

• Portable easels, table covers, aprons, palettes, water cups, brushes, canvases, and paint.
• Water containers, rinse buckets, towels, trash bags, spill kit, and floor/table protection.
• Extension cords, lighting backup, speaker, phone charger, card reader, and printed or offline guest list.
• Drying boxes or transport racks so wet paintings can leave safely.
• Load-in and load-out checklist with supply counts before and after the event.

Do the boring safety and permit check early

This part is not here to scare you. It is here because finding out about a sink, occupancy, signage, or alcohol rule after you have already signed a lease is a very specific kind of stomach drop.

The SBA recommends checking which licenses and permits apply to your business, and those rules can depend on location and business activity. For a paint and sip studio, that might include occupancy, fire rules, local signage, sales tax, alcohol or BYOB rules, food handling if you serve snacks, music licensing, and local event requirements.

You do not need to turn the article into a law textbook. Just make a local checklist before buying expensive fixtures or announcing BYOB. The calendar is more fun when it is not being interrupted by a permit surprise.

• Check local occupancy, fire, restroom, sink, signage, and accessibility requirements before buildout.
• Confirm alcohol, BYOB, food, and event rules in your city or state.
• Use properly labeled art materials and avoid mystery supplies for public classes.
• Store cleaning products safely and keep staff instructions easy to find.
• Talk to insurance, licensing, and local business offices before opening day, not after the first complaint.

Your admin tools are equipment too

This is the line I will lovingly repeat until it sticks: software is part of the equipment checklist. If you can buy 40 easels but cannot take a deposit without digging through DMs, the studio is not ready.

You need a way to publish events, sell seats, manage capacity, take payments, send reminders, collect waivers or notes if needed, handle refunds, track gift certificates, and follow up with private-party leads.

For the customer, this looks like a clear booking page and a reminder that tells them what to expect. For the owner, this looks like a calendar that knows who paid, who is coming, what event they booked, and what still needs follow-up. That is not back-office fluff. That is the guest experience before they arrive.

• Event calendar, checkout, capacity, discounts, tax, refunds, and guest list.
• Private-event inquiry, proposal, deposit, final headcount, balance, and follow-up workflow.
• Customer emails, reminders, photo follow-up, and next-event prompts.
• Gift certificates, add-ons, class notes, and simple sales reporting.
• Staff view for setup notes, supply needs, and event-specific reminders.

Copy this starter checklist

Here is the practical starter list. Adjust the quantities to your model and seat count. I would rather you buy fewer things on purpose than build a supply closet that looks impressive and quietly eats your launch budget.

• Guest stations: canvases, easels, brushes, palettes, water cups, towels, aprons, table covers, and backup kits.
• Paint: core acrylic colors, extra white and black, skin-tone mixing colors, seasonal colors, squeeze bottles or portion cups, and labels.
• Furniture: tables, chairs, instructor station, check-in surface, storage shelves, drying racks, and photo area.
• Teaching tools: demo easel, sample painting, step-by-step references, speaker or microphone, lighting, timer, and instructor notes.
• Cleanup: brush tubs, sink supplies, towels, wipes, gloves, trash bags, spill kit, laundry plan, and Safety Data Sheet folder.
• Storage: shelves, bins, labels, reorder sheet, private-event kits, mobile-event bins, and seasonal inventory area.
• Admin: booking system, payment setup, capacity rules, reminders, refund policy, private-event deposit process, and guest follow-up.

What can wait until later

Not everything belongs in the opening budget. Some things are better after you know what sells. This is where restraint becomes a business skill, which is rude but true.

Wait on expensive specialty materials until a premium event can pay for them. Wait on giant decor purchases until you know the room flow. Wait on too many canvas sizes until storage and pricing are easy. Wait on trendy formats until your core class reset is solid.

The best first studio is not the most complete studio. It is the one that can run a good class again next week.

• Large specialty inventory for events you have not sold yet.
• Too many canvas sizes, craft surfaces, or project types before the core offer is working.
• Decor that blocks storage, seating, photos, or cleanup.
• Expensive equipment that does not improve teaching, booking, safety, or guest comfort.
• Wholesale-level supply orders before you know your real attendance and event mix.

Equipment checklist FAQ

How many extra supplies should I keep? Keep enough backup for damaged canvases, surprise guests, broken brushes, spilled paint, and a normal restock delay. For a small studio, a 10 to 20 percent buffer is a sane starting point.

Should I buy cheap brushes? Buy practical brushes, not the cheapest brushes. Guests can feel the difference immediately, and bad brushes make the class harder to teach.

Do I need a sink? A deep sink or strong cleanup plan is a big quality-of-life issue. Before signing a lease, check what the space allows and what local rules require.

What should I buy first if I am on a small budget? Buy the repeatable station: canvas, easel, brushes, paint, apron, palette, water cup, table protection, cleanup supplies, and booking/payment tools. Then add decor and specialty formats later.