Those of us with small spaces know how difficult it can be to find space for an ongoing project. In our house it often sits in the corner until we have time to get to it and then it occupies the coffee table for way too long. And have you ever noticed how much easier it is to get a project finished when you're doing it with someone else, or at least have some company? Enter The Urban Craft Center, a new storefront in Santa Monica that wants to help foster the craft community on the westside by acting as a studio space for crafters to gather and work together, a host for some great classes (so you can learn something new) and a store selling exactly what you need to get that project finished:
The U.C.C. is open every day from 10am-8pm where they provide a studio for people to work on projects independently with complete access to their equipment and library of books. You have the choice of buying a membership for the month, paying by the hour or by the day. All the options are affordable considering what it gets you: a workspace that's big enough to spread out, a locker to keep your project in and a place to meet up with other like minded crafters.
The Urban Craft Center "believes deeply in the craft community and all that it offers us, both as a social movement and as a way to bring purposefulness and conservation to our lives. On any given day you can find a range of crafters in the studio, sharing stories, ideas and projects. A sewer making pillows at one table, a group of friends learning to needle felt a cuddly owl toy at another. The U.C.C studio is a place to nurture creative energy. We encourage anyone to stop in and explore things you might never have thought of trying."
Their Summer schedule of classes will be up soon, but for the month of March, you can still get in on some of their great classes: Paper Cut Club on March 25th, making your own yarn, making paper with embedded seeds so that they grow, and their scrapbook club meets the last wednesday of every month.
We really need a sewing class to get some projects that we outlined for ourselves at the beginning of the year going. See their schedule of classes here.
I hate arts and crafts. But I LOVE this space and would probably find a class to try just to be there LOL. Maybe learn how to sew oneday.
view Botany's profile
I love everything about this! Wish there was one in my city...
view Tara77's profile
This reminds me of a shop where I once DIY-framed a poster. Several other ladies were there doing the same thing, and we shared the can-do spirit.
view madampince's profile
I would kill for one of these in Philadelphia.
view thepictures's profile
It makes my eyes vibrate just imagining the start-up costs of this place. Wow. But, I also got tingly all over (in a good way) at seeing all that luscious fabric lined up so beckoningly (did I just make up a word?).
I don't regret the lack of parking I'm missing out on, but posts like this make me tilt my head just a little bit over all the other neat things I just may be missing out on, had I taken that cottage in Santa Monica a couple years ago.
view moonbeam's profile
Jealous!
One of the things I loved most about being an art student in college was access to project space - being able to go somewhere like this, rather than spreading out in my dorm or apartment. This is great for artists/craftspeople who can't afford their own studio!
One in Charleston, please!
view HeatherAB's profile
This reminds me of why I'm too lazy to live in a big city. The idea of leaving home to work on a project sounds too stressful to me. I like to have everything close at hand.
Of course, I also like to work in private... so the idea of a crafting community doesn't appeal to me.
view StudioStarter's profile
this reminds me of the art bar in santa ana, ca.
view jenn_y's profile
Did anyone else notice the counter top on the piece that holds all the fabric? I noticed that you can use the alternating faces of plywood to measure out your fabric, pretty sweet. Nice work on the shelving to.
view Jim M's profile
I am conflicted. I LOVE this studio and in theory I would love to work there -- maybe take classes. But from experience I know how big a pain in the posterior it is to haul what I need for crafting (polymer clay in my case) away so I avoid doing it. So I don't know if it were in my town whether I'd ever go there just to work on something. (As I said, probably would go for classes...)
view SherryBinNH's profile