Here I stand with Cindy Williams of Girls Club Strong and posters for this day made by the Girls Club girls during yesterday’s class. It was inspiring to see them share their voices for community, sisterhood and equality.
Where has the time gone?
Back in 2008 a flash sparked across my mind that as I reflect now, was like a window to the future- I saw the studio before it was a physical place. I think it was just waiting to be.
Getting started back then I am so glad I kept taking the next indicated steps. It has been scary, hard, easy, complicated, fun and funky, sometimes all at once over these 9 years which has more to do with getting into business and less to do with following my inspiration. The journey so far has taught me a few key things that are resounding and true.
1. All children are smart.
2. Our planet needs us to be more thoughtful about what we use and how we reuse it.
3. We can do anything we put our minds to.
4. Everyone is creative.
I get to watch these truths unfold all the time. I get to be part of peoples moments and experiences and I have mine right along with them. People have said over the years, You must love your job. They are right. I do. I have grown to, deeply.
I opened the door to my garage as CReATE STUDIO on Friday, March 6th 2009 for an open-house and an open-ended studio with work tables and bins of materials. Guests had an invitation to explore and create their way. I marveled as they did. The following Tuesday, the garage door opened officially for business 3 days a week. It has been an organic process.
A lot has happened over the years as CReATE has grown and developed . Thank you so much for being a part of this creative endeavor. I din’t know this back then but I know it now, I made it just for you.
I Love what the ladies made last night at our Pinspired Night. Each project, though they appear similar to the ideas I chose for the night, were created with each person’s unique creative touch. That’s what I love about this night and the fabulous people who attend it each month.
Fashion Show Participants wanted!
Be a Fashion Star in the 2nd Annual Recycled Fashion Show on Saturday, April 7th where you make an outfit from recycled materials and clothes! This is a great event for the whole family! All ages welcome to participate.
CReATE STUDIO and Glamour Party Girls join forces again to host this Eco Fashion Show to whole heartedly benefit Casa Pacifica Centers For Children and Families.
Contact @glamourpartygirls or [email protected] for details.
On my soap box (bottle)…
I love Trader Joe’s Markets for so many reasons.
This reason stands out today. As I finished one bottle of dishwasher liquid and prepared to use the next, I was happily surprised that I could peel away the label to reveal a blank space- what I always see as a blank canvas (a plain container or box with no images or words).
It goes deeper than that though. It was because of the things the bottle was not- I could peel away the label to reuse the soap bottle as something entirely new because the label was a sticker to peel and not a permanent label, heavily shrink wrapped or gooped with heavy adhesive. It was not packaging that has a more negative impact on our planet in the manufacturing that go into the containers for the things we buy.
In fact, I appreciate that many of the Trader Joes goods I buy are reuse friendly, either with their easy label removal or have the funnest graphics that just invite inspiration for reuse in lots of ways like gift tag making or collaging. In fact, I notice that a lot of their dry goods boxes don’t have waxy coatings which are recycling taboo as I understand it.
This all matters to me because we live in a high consumer shopping era with lots of packaging that has a short life planned, the temporarily purpose of getting the contents from A to B with no agenda after that transport so I really appreciate these TJ packaging factors.
At CReATE in my deepening care of the impact we have on our planet, I hope that after spending time with us, creators start to look at post consumer packaging (like that which we have on hand for creative reuse) in new ways that spark ideas and inspirations they can carry into the bigger world around them, around all of us more thoughtfully and, with a higher regard for the value of what we already have. As one of my favorite quotes says, “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they make the best with everything they have.”
I have a super sleek looking dishwasher detergent bottle that can be anything I imagine and that is just the coolest thing!
Our March “Machine Sewing Two” class starts this Thursday for two project sewing sessions! Kids age 7and up with some sewing skill can sew their big ideas and inspirations 3/1 and 3/6 from 3:15-6pm $55 per sewer.
Skill building is empowering and inspiring for kids. The sky’s the limit on their ideas when they know how to use a sewing machine to make anything from all kinds fabrics with all kinds of textures.
Let’s sew! Contact us
[email protected]
Feeling the love during our Girls Club @ CReATE class for Valentine’s Day.
Painted heart love.
What a treat today! Caught @doubletapcrochet putting this piece up in our parking lot out of a sheer love and a desire to spread kindness. We also happen to be Spotlighting YARN this month. Lucky us in every way!!!
These three Agoura High School @instagoura students earned Service Learning hours volunteering at the studio.They were instrumental in the revamping our Spotlight Idea book as they categorized and organized pages and pages of material ideas fo reuse. Thank you!
Stop by the studio today to make a simple Valentine to give away! Its free to do and fun to make! We oen until 6pm.
The Conejo Valley Chapter of the Family Service Club will be passing out valentine cards for the third year in a row this year. Families with children of all ages will meet at various assisted-living homes to sing songs and pass out valentines to residents.
This year they will pass out cards at Sunrise at Woodranch in Simi, Mary Health of the Sick in Newbury Park, Brookedale in Camarillo, Hillcrest Royale Retirement Community in Thousand Oaks, and Fairwinds in West Hills.