MANISTEE — Since winning the Spark Manistee contest in January 2020, Joann Snay has sought a studio location for her business, Artful Creations.
Now, just over a year and a half later, Snay has secured a storefront in downtown Manistee and says she’s looking to launch her new studio, called the Purple Paintbrush, by late November.
“After many twists and turns throughout this last year and a half we will be opening our own art studio in downtown Manistee,” Snay announced on her Artful Creations Facebook page.
“We will be starting with canvas classes, pottery painting and special events for adults and kids. Adding many more fun creative projects as our studio grows. As soon as we get a better idea when we will be able to open, we will start taking reservations for private parties, holiday parties and kids classes,” part of her announcement read.
Pandemic precautions such as the state-wide stay-home orders and subsequent capacity restrictions made it difficult for event-based businesses like Artful Creations to gain a foothold. These obstacles meant Snay had to wait a little longer than anticipated to launch her studio.
“After winning the Spark competition in early 2020, I had to take a long pause with my traveling classes as well as opening a studio due to the pandemic, because group gatherings were prohibited,” Snay told the News Advocate.
Related: Spark Manistee winner Artful Creations still pursuing physical studio
Snay was able to host some small outdoor classes in the summer of 2020, but that stalled again in winter due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
“It was definitely a challenge to find just the right space,” Snay said. “Although there were many unused buildings downtown, very few were available to lease.”
Many of the buildings that were available would have needed extensive renovations in order to accommodate the requirements of an art studio, according to Snay.
“(I) also had very specific needs for my studio — the right amount of floor space, lighting, customer restrooms, sinks, etc.,” she said adding that “...those spaces that could have worked, leased very quickly.”
Located at 338 River St., the future home of the Purple Paintbrush is everything Snay wanted for her studio space.
“The location is absolutely ideal with its large picture window at street level, so people outside can see how much fun we are having,” Snay said. “It has all the details I had been searching for and more. I plan to make the studio a very warm and welcoming place as well as a fun and creative space to enjoy.”
Spark Manistee is a competition meant to encourage local entrepreneurs to open or expand their business. It’s a collaboration between the Manistee Downtown Development Authority, West Shore Bank and Little River Casino Resort. The winner of this “Shark Tank”-style competition receives $5,000 in cash, the chance to apply for a $5,000 DDA low-interest business loan, professional business services and additional support from the Michigan Small Business Development Center.
In light of the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the terms of Snay’s Spark grant was extended, and she is still able to use her winnings toward the studio’s start-up costs.
When it is opened, the Purple Paintbrush will be open for “walk-in creative experiences,” according to Snay, which include group events, private gatherings for kids’ parties, birthdays and family events, team building and fundraisers.
“Artful Creations has been a traveling painting party business for four years now — traveling to various venues and holding public painting events,” Snay said. “So my new studio, the Purple Paintbrush, an Artful Creations Studio, will be my very own space to hold canvas painting classes and private events, as well as pottery, painting, crafts and kids parties.”
Snay said her goal is to “create fun and enriching experiences for all ages that give customers a sense of accomplishment and expands their creative thinking.”
Creative offerings would include canvas painting classes and parties, non-fired pottery painting, watercolor painting, sign making and various other crafting projects.
“We will also be adding custom artwork services like pet portraits, custom canvas painting and pottery pieces,” Snay said. “In addition, I will have several Michigan vendors in the studio offering a variety of handmade products.”
As the studio grows, Snay said she plans to expand its offerings to “clay and fired pottery pieces, as well as many other fun projects.”
“I’m excited to be able to provide our community members with a creative space for group gatherings that also offers quality entertainment as well as art enrichment,” Snay continued. “It’s hard to put into words just what this means to me and my family to finally be at this stage and so close to opening. It was long in coming to fruition but now the pieces are falling into place and I’m extremely grateful and thankful to the City of Manistee, the DDA, my family, friends and customers who have been so supportive.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, no date has been set for opening, but Snay encourages people to follow Artful Creations on Facebook for updates.
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October 28, 2021 at 11:10PM
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