Hello from HANDMAKERY!

Happy Back to School! We hope you’ve celebrated a savory + sweet + splendid summer! At the end of May, HANDMAKERY: A Children’s Art Studio received approval to proceed with in-person/in-studio/imaginative ~ Summer {hand on + mixed media + magical} Art Camps, navigating under NEW safety protocol. In early June, our studio hosted our first summer camp ~ TINY HOME ON TREND for children 6 & up, with many more constructive + creative + childhood-centered camps to follow! Every camp was on a waiting list and we can’t even begin to thank all our lovely locals for all their small business support! Looking back, it may have been one of the most magical + memorable summers with makers on Main Street! Creativity and childhood was completely celebrated in our colorful community of Carbondale, Colorado!

Focused on the forefront of safety in the studio & success for all artists this summer, HANDMAKERY stepped away from social media to take a fresh breath of mountain-air, but we’re incredibly excited to reconnect and soar into our ~ SCHOOL YEAR {hands on + mixed media + magical} ART WORKSHOP with a summer of safety and success in our painter’s pocket. We’re looking forward to re-kindling creativity & connection with YOU on Instagram.

Many of our specialty art workshops have recently launched for early bird enrollment. Definitely message us to get on our lovely ~ Local’s List. We’re thrilled to continue {in-person + in-studio + imaginative} art programming this fall, applying & adapting our experience from summer in the studio! You can simply learn more about our studio safety on our website. On a side note, be sure to also look for us in the upcoming MOUNTAIN PARENT!

Summer brought sunshine + smiles + simplicity + savory moments + soulful celebration + simple reconnection + satisfying success for all artists in the studio. We’re excited to give you a glimpse into our makers in the mountains, with momentum for magical moments!

YES, indeed! Even with mysterious masks, everyday was most mesmerizing! Would you believe, not one artist ever complained about wearing a mask all summer!?! Truth. We were amazed!. Artists were completely focused on the miracle of being a maker and it was magical! The studio buzzed with crafty-n-creative bees. Being back together again was absolutely the BEST!

In addition to instructing summer workshop in our very own sweet studio throughout the summer, HANDMAKERY also had the opportunity to create an online workshop for art educators around the world for our friends at Deep Space Sparkle in Santa Barbara, CA. This workshop was based on our in-studio/virtual springtime workshop for local kids ~ artful + abstract ASSEMBLAGE on canvas. A few precious pieces pictured by parents, above!

We also had the artful opportunity to teach another fun-filled summer workshop of printmaking (in-studio/in-person) to children at Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, CO. Would you believe our printmaking workshop, titled well over a year ago, was called ~ Dancing Behind the Mask!?! Literally, before anyone even knew we’d truly be dancing behind masks today! We can’t even wait to see what’s around the creative corner this upcoming year school year!

All precious projects, radiating laughter & L-O-V-E, and created in our {hands on + mixed media} summer art camps… we’ll share DIY STYLE on our blog throughout this upcoming year! Be sure to stay tuned for more creativity-to-come focused on a creative-n-crafty + imaginative + playful childhood!

Tag us on Instagram with your indoor + outdoor creative spaces and colorful + clever creations.  We’d absolutely LOVE to see what you’re making and creating inside and outside!  As always, thank you for following our artful adventure on Main Street in the heart of the Carbondale Creative District!  Send us a note!  We’d love to hear what you’re thinking, dreaming, envisioning, and of course, our favorite ~ CREATING!

Much love and happiness creating in this creative + colorful world, filled with collaboration + connection + community + arts & crafting! Happy School Year!

Summer for our family was filled with colorful Colorado ~ close-to-home camping, fun-filled photography, river floats & creek fishing, small-sized celebrations (my sweet daughter 11 and my beloved grandfather 91), creating in the studio with creative-n-clever children, road biking on the Rio Grande, a few favorite hikes, peach picking, paddle boarding, and more micro-adventures in the mountains! What have you been up to this summer!?! We’d love to know! …and YES, we just had to show you our artful overalls!

xo Ami

A Fairy & Gnome Celebration for 40!

We recently hosted a magical + maker birthday celebration with 40 little artists in our children’s art studio! A Fairy & Gnome Enchanted Land Celebration for a sweet lil‘ one turning SIX! Definitely the largest celebration to walk though our Main Street door in the heart of the Carbondale Creative District. Take a peek inside this precious party with a plethora of lil‘ people! Indeed our studio felt cozy but also so crafty and creative as it completely captured childhood!

Knowing our hands would be festively full, we reached out to our good friend and photographer ~ Hilary Brock to capture this colorful celebration and oh my how she captured all the delightful details of this dreamy day on camera! Hilary, thank you for working your photography magic, you’re so talented!

For this creative childhood celebration, we took insightful inspiration from our awesome artist friend and LA studio owner, Meri Cherry and her ~ Fairy Gardens for Kids. Meri always makes miracles happen with mini makers. Meri gave us complete creative confidence for this celebration, connecting and chatting through Instagram. With a few artful additions, a mushroom masterpiece and wondrous whimsical treasures, this process made all makers feel creatively confident and gave them time to connect and cheerfully chat as they celebrated!

Giggling guests arriving and picking out their creative spaces.

A little one caught in the magic of mixing in the morning light.

The studio starting to fill as guests began artfully arriving.

The birthday girl getting the process started with a smile in Sunday’s sunshine.

All hands were on deck, both big and small.

Birthday wishes were sparkling and seen inside the soul to later be shared in a birthday song.

The mix of ages made this creative event completely captivating.

Selecting artful treasures was a happy highlight as each proud artist personalized their piece.

The morning light seemed to sparkle, shine, and create its own song & dance surrounding the marvelous mini makers.

Fairies and gnomes seemed to become artfully alive, appearing around the tables.

A maker and her sweet mama caught in a magical moment.

The whole family jumped into the artful action of this creative + crafting + community celebration in downtown Carbondale|CO!

A photo precisely about the pieces on point to protect the enchanted land.

Fairies lit up with sparkle-n-shine as they flew above the tables, taking in all the magic of the makers caught in the moment.

Creative, cozy, childhood, celebration, crafting, community, chaos, captures, collaboration, connection, Carbondale Creative District, children, and coming together in colorful Colorado with cheer!

It’s all about the process, the details, the experience, and the memories that will forever stay in the mind and heart of the makers.

A delightful-n-dreamy rainbow cake baked by the birthday family, both bright and brilliant.

Sweetness + smiles + stargazing + sunlight on a super Sunday in the studio.

A closeup capture of a mushroom masterpiece including both fairy & gnome, a beautiful butterfly taking flight, a pathway on point, and an enchanted land all handcrafted by a clever child.

Tag us @handmakery with your colorful creations and celebrations on Instagram!  

Follow our blog for more inspiring process-based art projects!  As always, thank you for following our artful adventure on Main Street in the heART of the Carbondale Creative District!  Send us a note anytime!  We’d love to hear what you’re thinking, dreaming, envisioning, crafting, creating, and celebrating!  Much love and happiness in this creative + colorful world, filled with collaboration + connection + community + arts & crafting!  

Much love, Ami