Brewing Magic: How I Built a Creative Haven for Artists of All Levels

After a brief hiatus in March, I'm back with exciting updates about what's happening at Brewtifully Made! The walls of the studio are now adorned with our April exhibit – the 2025 Itty Bitty Art Exhibby, featuring miniature artwork from talented creators across Stark County. From micro crocheting to tiny concrete sculptures, these diminutive masterpieces showcase incredible skill and creativity. 

Stop by anytime this month to view the collection with our complimentary programs and magnifying glasses, and perhaps even create your own tiny artwork to add to our growing display.

My personal passion for miniatures runs deep – with six dollhouses at home and countless hours spent crafting detailed models and scenes. There's something profoundly mindful and soothing about working on such a small scale, watching intricate worlds emerge from tiny components. This shared joy with my husband, who creates 3D models and miniature accessories, has inspired much of what we do at the studio.

Beyond the exhibit, we've launched Free Face Painting Fridays throughout April, welcoming both children and adults to stop by between 5-9 pm for some creative fun. The studio will be closed Easter weekend (April 19-20) for family time, and I'll be attending the Rebloom art conference in Kentucky from May 4-9 – an incredible opportunity to connect with fellow artists and gather fresh inspiration.

The most significant news, however, is my upcoming retirement from healthcare on June 30th after a decade in the field. While bittersweet to leave wonderful colleagues behind, I'm thrilled to dive fully into this art journey. Brewtifully Made was born from my desire to create a space where creativity happens immediately – no hour-long drive home before you can start your project. Whether you want to try a craft before investing in supplies, rediscover a forgotten passion, or simply need a cheerleader for your creative endeavors, that's exactly what we're here for.

Looking for updates on classes, events and special offers? Sign up for our monthly newsletter at brewtifully.com – there's always a subscriber-exclusive freebie included!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome Back and March Update
• 1:36 Itty Bitty Art Exhibit for April
• 3:30 Miniatures and Face Painting Fridays
• 5:45 Upcoming Art Conference in Kentucky
• 7:30 Retiring from Healthcare in June
• 9:10 Creating a Welcoming Creative Space
• 13:20 Resources and Newsletter Sign-up

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Hello everyone, welcome back to Brutally Made. I should say I am back. I have had quite the last few weeks. Our March exhibitor, she and I tried to connect multiple times to do a podcast and it just didn't work out. So every week that I would have it on the schedule to record she wasn't able to make it and so it kept delaying the recording and I didn't get to make one up because I thought I was going to get an opportunity to record with her but it never happened and the month flew by and we jumped into our April exhibits, which you can see on the wall now. So I just thought I would hop on and tell everyone. I appreciate your kind words and reaching out asking me if the podcast was still happening. It is.

Speaker 1: 1:07

I just have had a few delays and this exhibit is really one that includes the community. So there are a bunch of artists from all over Stark County and we had our opening reception last Saturday and we had many treats and we made many crafts and people in the public came over to check out the mini exhibit. So the 2025 Itty Bitty Art Exhibit is on the wall and that will be on the wall for the entire month of April. So if you do stop by, make sure you ask for one of the itty bitty programs and a magnifying glass. Those are free for everyone viewing and you can take that as a little souvenir. I still have lots of canvases, so if you'd like to make a tiny little piece of art, feel free. We have paint and markers and all kinds of things that, if you do, we can add it to the wall. A couple people did take theirs, but some left theirs and we put a little you know paper stating who they were and have them on the wall. So it's just really sweet to see everyone's excitement surrounding these tiny little pieces of art. They really go like the whole gambit. There's fiber art, there's teeny tiny micro crocheting, there's modeling, there's concrete art, there's paper art, there's paintings. It's just so many different things. So stop by and take a look at it and just enjoy that. And there are new mini supplies in the mini art house to shop from. So we have some new mini markers and of course, the popular mini pencils are there. And you always get a little free sketchbook to go with your choice of drawing utensils, because you have to have something to draw with as soon as you get your markers or pencils or crayons or whatever that you choose. So I always want to make sure you have something to start with. So that's just so much fun and that's always available at Brutifly.

Speaker 1: 3:22

Because I love miniatures, I have about six dollhouses here at my house. I still have three to put together and I would love to have a place to display them all. I just they're so fun and there's I've metal one, I've plastic ones, I have wooden ones, then I have all my mini scenes. During the exhibit I had all of my miniature models that I have built on exhibit and they've taken hours and hours and hours to build and it's just so I don't know mindful and soothing and I absolutely love making things like that. So I love how people embrace it and what to do. The same thing and my husband. He loves doing 3D modeling and then he makes the little tiny accessories and dioramas and details just come alive. He's so good at it and I just, you know, love that. We share that and enjoy that together. So I just wanted to, you know, come in and say hello and yes, I am here and yes, we are going strong and it has just been super, super busy and I apologize for the radio silence for the entire month of March. It just got away from me and I wanted to at least come on here and explain and share everything that's happening in April, which is our exhibit.

Speaker 1: 4:46

We have free face painting Fridays, so I am practicing my face painting and my speed of face painting, because the littles don't have lots of patience waiting in line. They're too excited. So I try to do it quickly and efficiently and as close to perfect as I can. But it's great to practice. So I opened that up for Fridays at the studio, so when I open from five to nine you can stop by. I painted adults, it doesn't matter, I'll paint your face, I just want to practice and so that's been a lot of fun. So that'll be happening tonight. It happened last Friday and we had a blast.

Speaker 1: 5:24

So that is all of April and I am closed for Easter weekend. So the 19th and 20th, that is, I am closed so we can visit with family for Easter. So that will be happening. And then I am at an art conference, so Rebloom in Kentucky, in Milton, kentucky, from the 4th of May through the 9th. I will be out. I do have some friends going to watch the store a couple days, so that will be open.

Speaker 1: 5:58

But I cannot wait for Rebloom if you have not seen or heard me share that on my socials. And Lori Siebert is the is one of the creators of this conference and there are so many great speakers so you can attend just like one day Don't have to attend the entire time, so you can pick a day. So I saw that she just set that up Check it out and it is in the Indiana, kentucky, ohio area and it's just a few hour drive for me. So I can't wait to drive there and get to see a lot of my friends that are attending and get to meet people that I absolutely adore and follow and am inspired by. So it's going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to stay with my roomies we have our Airbnb set up. So, jane and Brenda, I'm super excited that will be such a great girls trip.

Speaker 1: 7:03

So, yeah, I just wanted to make sure that you check out Rebloom and see all the amazing things that they're going to offer and what we're going to discuss and share and be inspired by one another, and I just wanted to make sure that everybody understood, kind of like, where I'm at with what I'm doing outside of winding up my 10 years in healthcare. So my last full-time daytime employment job is June 30th. I retired June 30th. I've been there 10 years and I am very excited about that and bittersweet, because I have lots of friends and lots of people that I do work with on a daily basis and that I adore, and I just want them to know that.

Speaker 1: 7:53

I gave as much notice as I could and I'm trying to segue things into a way that it won't cause a lot of chaos, because I do a lot with a lot of different departments and with the websites and with social media and with like six, seven product lines. So I know that I touch a lot of stuff, that I want to make sure that whoever is taking over and poor Christy, she's one of many people that I'm like sharing stuff with, taking over things I'm trying to do my best to make sure that they're all ready to go when I depart in June. So it's just amazing to be able to say that I was with a company and got to retire from there. But I am more than excited to just dive into this art journey full time, having the shop and segwaying the way that I am has just been phenomenal. I can't even explain how excited I am to do more in our community full-time, and more with my artwork full-time, and design and create and just it's oh my goodness, it just energizes me, it makes me look forward to every day. I just everyone's like how do you sleep, what do you do? And you're working full-time and doing the store full-time and I'm like, yes, I know, but I can, but I can't, I can't explain it. I'm just too excited and it does keep me energized and going every day. So I think that's because of all of you all of you, all of you and your support. That's what keeps me going and I get to share that. I get to hear people excited about a class, a camp, an event, a piece of work that I've done. They walk in and they're like I don't even know where to look. There's so many things I want to see. I see something new every time I come in. It's just, oh my goodness, it makes me so excited to have a spot like that. I wanted that and that's what I'm growing and creating. And I get contacted all the time.

Speaker 1: 10:02

How did you do this? What was your? You know, what was your path? What was your business plan? I did have all that written down. I do have all that written down. I have all of my outline and everything in my head and I just am doing what I love and what I wanted to do. I wanted to incorporate a gallery that I could share their people's work. I wanted to be able to promote other artists. I wanted to do that to where they would make money. I wanted to have a space where people could come in and sit down and learn and do art and make things on the fly. You don't have to schedule everything. So if you're with some friends and you want to grab some food and come over and sit down and grab a paint by number and just hang out, you can do that.

Speaker 1: 10:42

I grew up in an area that it was a 45 minute to an hour drive to a store. So when we would get something to do like a toy or a craft or whatever, and we would have that hour long car ride to go home to finally get it open, to work on it and play with it or whatever in the world we were doing, it was just excruciating. And you know what I don't want that. You want to have people that drive an hour and a half to come see me and do a class or hang out. It blows my mind. So you know what You've taken all that time. Sit down, I'll get you some paint. Get your brushes out, enjoy it now and then talk about the memories on your way back.

Speaker 1: 11:21

I don't want to have that delay and getting to do something fun and so that was a huge driver for me is to have a space to do that, and I didn't know of any place else that did that. I didn't know any place else that did like prepackaged art and crafts and you do a pop in. I just kind of made it up because of how I grew up. So I just you know I'm inspired by my life, what other people love, what I love, and I'm just sharing it in the world. And if you want to try a craft project before you invest in the materials, for example, come and try one out. I've had people borrow things that I have so they can work on it.

Speaker 1: 12:02

I am here to help you discover what you love to do. It's okay, we'll work on it together. I'm not going to be perfect at everything I try, but I don't really care, I'm just going to do it, and that's the kind of attitude that I'm going to pass on to you. You don't have to sit here and get frustrated because you're not painting exactly like a Bob Ross. It doesn't matter, that does not matter. It's the joy that you took the time to get to do that and explore. That's what matters. That is what makes you happy, because it's a moment like you've done something different, you've done something new, or maybe it's something that you used to do that you loved, and you need to pick that back up again. That's what I'm here for. That's what Brutally made You're brewing all of the things that you want to do into something magical, and that's the important part of it is to find that magic and to find that you know spark in some of this dreariness of the world that you can say that you had a little control over and made this your way. That is what lights me up, and I'm finding that it lights everybody up the same way. So I am here to be your cheerleader and your encourager and I will enable you to do anything that you can creatively, in any way, shape or form that I can. So I hope that comes across as genuinely as I can say it, because that is truly my heart and that's what I'm here for Our sewing classes.

Speaker 1: 13:35

People signing up are just so sweet, and I am literally trying to find machines that I could have, because I require you to have a machine right now, but I would like to have some spare ones, and I've had people donate some now, and then I found some like a little expensive, inexpensive ones I can see if they're going to work, just to have in the studio. I want to have resources available. You know I'm only one person and I do not have an unlimited budget. You know, unfortunately I have not won the lottery and I do not have, you know, funds to do all the stuff I would love to do. Goodness, do I wish I had it. But I am making do with what I have and making it work to the best of my ability. So I want to make sure that I do have at least some resources available for someone. If they don't have it, that they can try it at the store. So, all righty. Well, I just wanted to pop in and say hello and remind you of all the stuff that I'm doing.

Speaker 1: 14:39

I sign up for my newsletter. So if you go to Brutallycom, you'll see newsletters in the navigation. Please sign up. I only send one a month. You'll get to hear everything that I'm doing and you'll see links, these special giveaways for all the subscribers. There's always a freebie in the newsletter, but it's just a really good way, if you're not on social media, to follow along what I'm doing. You'll get that and you'll be part of that newsletter world. So please sign up at Brutiflycom and then again go to newsletters. You can see all the archived ones. But then you can do subscribe and you only get one a month and that's all. And I'm not going to sell your email, it just stays with me. So that would be wonderful to have you all subscribe. Okay, take care, stay Brutally made. Thanks for joining me, thanks for all the love and I will talk to you again soon. Bye-bye.