Category Archives: Community

What’s the word

Monday, June 15, 2020

Black lives matter.

I saw this sign as I made my donation pick-up rounds last week. You may wonder why I am sharing it here, on an art studio’s blog. After all, it’s a personal point of view?
I see it as a piece of art, speaking plainly, about the times we’re in. Isn’t that what art does? Communicates the times.

This sign gives us an opportunity to process, to think, ultimately to talk with others about the issues of today. Talk with our families, our friends. Where do we stand in relation to it. Are we for it or against? Why? Talking about it is good. It’s honest. This is what art does. It sparks us.

We may all believe different things but the truth is underneath it all we are all connected to one another through the invisible thread of humanity.

In this sign, art is imitating life. I hope we can talk about that.

We come to you

Tuesday, June 9, 2020
We think it’s great.

Mobile making with CReATE is our new approach to art into our community.

Yesterday I provided a small social distance gathering for one of our CReATE Families and a few neighborhood kids who’d spent the last few months together.

It was so good to start creating again, watching kids explore materials that inspired them, then creating to their hearts content. They were busy and engaged throughout my time with them which felt like we had never stopped creating together.

When our time together done I was talking to the host parent. He wondered if I needed to bring all the things that I did? “it’s my goal to provide you a studio experience at home”., he replied, “oh, you have done that”. What may seem like a simple response from him felt like a huge compliment for my efforts to bring families and the community at large the studio we’ve always known studio four walls.

Anywhere four wheels can go we’ll be there to provide a creative experience. Whether it be outside, in the shade, under the stars or even indoors I am excited about where we can be. Fresh air is a favorite of mine and a huge part of my mobile inspiration, a little like art in nature.

Today is a gift

Monday, May 18, 2020

So let’s make one.

Whenever I feel uncertain about things I look to quotes for comfort. There is always something that speaks to brighter days that lifts me up. Today as I pondered some of my favorite quotes, I came to this jewel by Eleanor Roosevelt. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That is why they call it the present.”

She always knew what to say and this quote is no exception. As we navigate this uncharted time I appreciate her poignant quote. In fact, it inspired me to think win win. Here’s an opportunity to enjoy the gift of today and make a gift today for someone else! That’ll be three gifts on one. The gift of the day itself, the gift of giving and the gift of receiving a gift!

One of the things I loved to do as a child was to make gifts for my parents and friends. Today my fellow parents, your kids can too. The feeling from creating for someone will have a lasting effect of goodness and the day will have proven itself to indeed be a gift.

Creating is such a useful avenue of self expression. Eleanor shared her creativity with us in the way she used her words and more. I hope her words inspire your family to. Make this day a gift to share.

Jemma W.
Owner

Good Work.

Monday, January 6, 2020

We are so excited to launch our new C.S. Environmental pick-up and delivery service for home buyers and sellers!
Environment is important to us, creative reuse is our way to do what we can to contribute to lightening our carbon footprint. We know it’s not easy to reuse or to know who to donate to, especially when buying or selling a home where clean and tidy is the name of the game.
I have been there myself and getting to clean and tidy as a seller or buyer is not easy. On both ends of a sale, there are things to get rid of and fast.
We are here to help. We have tailored our service to a niche group of home buyers and sellers with our reuse know-how and skill.

Through our service we can pick-up unwanted items then deliver them to local charities and organizations in the Conejo Valley on your behalf. There are nearly 20 organizations in the Conejo that need what others don’t want.
Visit our C.S. Environmental page to see the organizations we donate to. You can explore all and the good these organizations provide through the web addresses we have listed. The items we pick-up and deliver can go a long way to helping each of the organizations achieve their goals for good.
That’s just the kind of win/win we strive for.
If you know someone in the process of moving who may need our service, contact us. We are here to help and glad to serve our Conejo Valley Community.

https://createstudiofun.com/c-s-environmental-services/

Reuse inspires nostalgia

Monday, April 15, 2019

The other day a gentleman was walking past our studio and stopped to look in. Our reuse style seemed to inspire him. He looked around for a few minutes taking it in as he drew himself to the counter where we have our giant ball of masking tape on display.
He told me a story about being a boy in Los angeles during World War Two and how during that time there was a competition with the families in his neighborhood about who could make the biggest aluminum foil ball. They were all was saving every scrap of foil they could find to add to their balls, even gum wrappers. That memory brought a few more that he shared about that time so long ago. He said he hadn’t thought about any of those things so long. It was seeing the tape ball that brought it all back. We were both inspired by what seeing our tape ball triggered. Nostalgia is funny like that, it rides on the wings of subtle things like something baking in the oven a song that’s playing in a store. Even a funny tape ball can do it taking us both back to a moment in time where saving things was a thing.
I loved seeing his memories unfold. Hearing them was like going back in time.

We’re 10!

Monday, March 4, 2019

WOW! We’re 10 this month!
Tuesday, March 6th was our opening day back in 2009. What a journey it’s been so far. I started building the studio with an inspired Idea that I actually followed through on (not my usual m.o. back then). I worked to create the studio using some hard learned lessons from having a tiny quilt company of fun and funky children’s quilts called, “Story Quilts”. I did that with my friend Roberta Durra, a fellow Costumer I got to know in the early 90’s. Our ;little company’s rise and fall centered around our artful blankets and, a super tough Rep at the Mart that all met it’s end when Barney’s went Bankrupt! Basically Roberta and I quit that business after the Barney situation and went on to start families, never looking back. Years later when I had the idea to create CReATE I found myself drifting back to our Story Quits saga and realized we had quite before we really saw where it could go. This time I wouldn’t quit. That gave me the steam I have needed to keep on trucking through these last ten years of creativity, reuse, business and tons of donations! I am so happy I have. At year 10 I am stepping into some bigger environmentally sustainability shoes as we deal with material donations way outside my comfort zone in terms of quantity and variety. It gets me thinking, how can we reuse these things and who can we share them with? Landfill is not an option.

It’s a good thing we’re here. Reusing is a cohesive and practical way to keep post-use items and materials out of land fills. Reusing them is our fun. Thinking back to the beginning I knew that using recycled materials was the way I wanted to create freedom in art but what has unfolded is just sheer creativity. The exciting challenge that comes with exploring concepts and ideas with the materials all around us sparks joy and creates a shift in how we see the everyday things that are donated to us. I think we are creating change if even just a little. To me a cracker box will never be just a cracker box again. It has becomes limitless possibilities for me and I hope it does the same for others too. We are all the stewards of this planet, as they say, there is no planet B.
Year 10 is marking the next wave of creativity for CReATE and how we make reuse THE way.
Though we don’t have that little quilt company anymore I see it’s lessons unfold for me all the time. Stay with it they say. The best is yet to come.

Cross Stitch Fun

Thursday, February 21, 2019

The kids had a good time learning cross stitch during our sewing enrichment class Yerba Buena Elementary School today.
Building skills is so fun and empowering!

Cross Stitch Design inspired by Peacock and Fig 🙂

Let’s Share Kindness

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Today is National Random Acts of Kindness Day!
Stop by CReATE STUDIO for a free workshop between 1-3pm today to make “Kindness Clips”- clothespins with kind words and messages to leave at the places you go!
Your act of kindness is sure to spark kindness in others too.

Reyes Adobe Days

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Sometimes it’s the funnest to fill a bottle with all kinds of stuff and that’s all.We’ve been having a blast with diy creating and our projects zone at Reyes Adobe Days. Join us tomorrow for more fun tomorrow from 11am-4pm at Reyes Adobe Park in Agoura Hills.

Go Go Squeez!

Saturday, August 18, 2018
Thanks to our CReATE friend Limor Gallo of GoGo Squeez for a great sit down interview with me about CReATE and all that goes on in my mind about just being, reuse, creativity and kids!