Big News: We Said Goodbye to Booking Fees
This May, we made a change at ATL Fluid Art that we've been excited about for a long time. We've completely moved off the third-party booking platform we used to rely on — and built our own booking experience right here on our website, powered by Stripe.
Why does that matter to you? Because that old platform quietly added an extra booking fee on top of every single reservation. Every canvas, every date night, every birthday party, every corporate event — all of it carried a surcharge that went straight to the booking company, not to us, and not to a better experience for you. That fee is now gone for good.
Why We Made the Change
For the last couple of years, booking a seat with us meant going through an outside platform. It worked, but it came with a cost we were never comfortable passing along: a per-booking fee tacked onto your total at checkout.
We're a local studio. We'd much rather your money go toward paint, canvases, and the people who make your experience special — not toward a middleman charging you just to click “book.” So we decided to build our own booking and checkout from the ground up.
What This Means for Your Wallet
The headline is simple: you pay less to book with us now. Here's what changed:
- 🚫No more third-party booking fee added to your order.
- 💰The price you see is the price you pay — no surprise surcharges at the end.
- 🎨More of your money goes into your actual experience, not into someone else's platform fee.
Why We Chose Stripe
Cutting the booking fee was only worth it if the new checkout was just as smooth — and just as safe — as what you were used to. That's exactly why we built our payments on Stripe, one of the most trusted payment systems in the world, used by millions of businesses from tiny studios like ours to some of the largest companies on the planet.
Here's what you get with the new Stripe-powered checkout:
- 🔒Bank-level security. Your card details are encrypted and handled directly by Stripe — we never see or store your full card number.
- ⚡Fast, one-tap checkout with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and all major credit and debit cards.
- 📱A clean experience that works beautifully on your phone, tablet, or computer.
- 🧾Instant email confirmations and reliable, easy-to-read receipts.
- 🛡️Built-in fraud protection that keeps your payment safe without getting in your way.
Same Studio You Love, Better Way to Book
Nothing about the experience inside our studio has changed — the same colorful canvases, the same friendly instructors, the same Town Brookhaven home. The only difference is that booking your spot is now simpler, safer, and cheaper.
“We never liked watching a booking fee get added to your total. Now that fee is gone — and the savings stay with you.”
It's a small change on the surface, but it reflects something we care about deeply: keeping art accessible and treating our guests fairly. We're thrilled to finally own our entire booking experience end to end.
Ready to Book — Fee-Free?
Come pour, paint, and play with us — and enjoy a checkout that's fast, secure, and free of extra fees. Reserve your spot right here on our site, or reach out anytime.
Less fees, more art. That's a swirl we can all get behind. 💖