Choose The Room That Welcomes You: Building Friendship Through Creative Spaces

A day planned for Galentines fun turned into a real talk about how friendships start, drift, and return—and how creative spaces can make that journey easier. We kick things off with a full schools-out arts day at the studio, a mom-and-daughter sewing lesson, and our Crafty Cinema night at the Canton Palace Theater, complete with dimmed lights, portable crafts, and playful giveaways. Then we get honest about going to a sold-out Galentines pop-up alone, what it felt like to sit among tight-knit groups, and why a simple bracelet and a few kind faces can still make the night feel warm.

From there, we map out how to design community on purpose. We share the small choices that turn a class into a welcome—remembering names, keeping a seat open, and making it easy for solo guests to join a table. You’ll hear about upcoming sessions with our exhibiting artist, Tracy Freemason, who’s guiding a cartoon-style sneaker painting workshop, and fused glass classes with Amy Pepperney that keep sparking new friendships. We also talk about unexpected friend-making machines like Mahjong at the library, where shared practice breaks the ice faster than small talk ever could.

We don’t skip the tender parts. Friend circles change with moves, marriages, kids, and new jobs; some bonds fade, others return through reunions or a lucky scroll on social media. We talk about reconnecting with old friends, even a high school friendship that became a marriage years later, and how to invite newcomers without pressure. If showing up solo feels scary, we offer gentle tactics: arrive early, ask simple questions, let your hands stay busy, and come back once more. Process over perfection becomes the throughline—for art, for community, for friendship.

If this conversation nudged you to try a class, bring a friend, or leave a seat open for someone new, share it with your circle. Subscribe for more stories about creativity and community, and leave a review to help others find a welcoming table.

Transcript

School’s Out Arts Day Plans

Crafty Cinema And Giveaways

Why Circles Matter And Hurt

Going To Galentines Solo

Creating Inclusive Creative Spaces

Upcoming Classes And Artists

Friendship Changes Over Time

Be Fearless In Friendship

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hello, hello. Welcome back to a new episode of Beautifully Made. I am in my studio shop and I am celebrating Galantine's Day today. So happy Galantine's Day. I um really am excited about everything we have going on today. So today is a day off of school. So I do a school's out arts in day, and the kiddos come and they get to have pizza. They get to have a movie while they watch pizza, and then we get to do art games and they get to do a craft. And so I've scheduled these kind of along the lines of the um school's calendar, uh, at least the one that's right down the street from me. Stark County's huge. There's a lot of school systems in our community. So I had to choose one. So I chose the one that was closest to me. But we are booked. We have a full house today for that. And then I get to teach sewing to a mom and daughter today. So I'm really excited about that. And then we're going to the Palace Theater, the Canton Palace Theater downtown. We're watching Legally Blonde for Crafty Cinema. So you can bring your craft and we'll have the lights dimmed a little bit. And you can sew and you can embroider and you can color in an adult coloring book, anything but paint during the movie. And I have all these really cool little giveaways. I have pens for people for free for coming. Um, so I set up a table and kind of like share what I do. And uh everyone that gets uh that has purchased a ticket gets to be placed in a drawing. And then I go up on stage and I give out, you know, the giveaways based on what you wanted with your ticket in the drawing. And it's just a lot of fun. I think this is my sixth one in the last two years that we have partnered to do together. So that has been a lot of fun, and it looks like we've got a good crowd coming. So galantines fell on a Friday this year, so that was very beneficial to organizing this event. So it's just really exciting, but it also leads me to sharing a little bit about galantines and having a gal or a friend to do something with. And I think we're really fortunate when we have a good circle of friends in our life that we can count on and we can do things with. But then there's sometimes when everyone is busy and you they're not available and you're gonna have to do something on your own and alone. And that kind of happened to me this week. Uh, I was um interested in an event that was at one of our new local coffee shops, and I got a ticket to go. And some other friends were hoping to get tickets too, but it sold out really fast. So they didn't get tickets, and so I'm like, well, uh I'm going to this Galantine's vent alone. And it's funny because one of my really good friends is the DJ there, and so I got to see Nicolina, and she's so sweet. She's like, I'm right here. If you need me, I'm right here. And I'm like, I'm all right. I got my drink and I went to all the vendors and I got to shop. And um, I got my first permanent jewelry done by Willow. And I don't know if you'll be able to see it. If you look on the um YouTube channel, you'll be able to see maybe. But it's this cute little heart bracelet, and it has a B on it, of course, because if you've seen my studio, there's B's everywhere uh for brutally for Brewer. So um, but yeah, I got flowers, I got clothes, and I got to have wonderful food. Elizabeth, you are an amazing baker. Oh my gosh, I'm glad I got to see you for a hot second while you were uh so busy bringing out more goodies, but it was beautiful. It's a beautiful location. It was so much fun. Um, so I stayed pretty much the whole time. I think I left, I don't know, half an hour early. But um, yeah, it was really cool to see a lot of people. I did know a few other people, especially on the vendor side. Um, and I recognized some people that were there, got to talk to some people that I knew that were there with their friends. But it really was like you were paired up with your friends. And it's so funny because I was on a sofa and I was, you know, eating by myself and uh I'm like looking around, laughing, talking. People thought they knew me, and you know, they would say, Are you so-and-so? And I'm like, Nope, not me. But um, otherwise, no one was like it, you know, and you know, making an effort like, Hey, are you here by yourself? Come join our group. They were all in their little pods, they were all in their little groups, and that's fine. I mean, you're there to enjoy your time, and I enjoyed it, but it's so funny how we as women kind of get really um, you know, not clicky and not saying not at all, but we get these circles that we've built, and it's like we don't want to bring anybody else into them. And this space isn't like that. The space that I'm creating here is for everyone. And I get a lot of people that want to take classes just so they can meet other people. And I'm telling you, when I started this Mahjong journey this year, I have started an entire new group of friends that it's just amazing. We have so much fun, and it's just in the library. So I'm just encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone. And if you do have a nice, close-knit group of friends, invite someone new, bring them in, make them feel welcome. Um, and and encourage, you know, building your friendship circles. And um, we have some classes coming up Sunday. We have a class. I'm gonna show you this. Tracy Freeman is our exhibiting artist, and I'm looking at the wall, her beautiful artwork, and she sold almost half of what's on her wall. Every artist so far, knock on wood, so far, has sold something when they exhibit. But her class, look at these shoes. So you'll get to paint your own sneakers to look like a cartoon. So she's teaching that on Sunday. So this is super cute. And there are people that are bringing their friends to do that together, but you can always just sign up on your own and meet new people. And I've had people do that with their classes. We also have a um uh Amy Pepperney, she does our fused glass classes, and so this is her example for a class coming up. And um, I know I had a group, I think we've been friends since high school, sign up so they could do that together. And it was just so sweet because you know, they're signing up together, but there's room for I think one or two more people to sign up so they can experience that class. Um, and maybe they'll make some new friends that way too. I have women's groups that come together and they want to craft together and they're um networking groups that do the same thing. And it's just amazing how that is such a need in our community is to build friendships and to meet new people and to expand our circles. And I I read on a post this week that in five years, the people that you hang out with now may not be the same five, you know, people that you're gonna hang out five years from now. Um, and I look back and I'm thinking, you know, I had some really close friendships and I don't have those anymore. And it it's hard, you know, it makes me sad. I miss those people. And um things happen. Life moves on, people grow apart, people move, people expand their families, and they get so busy that you don't get to hang out with them anymore. And when I see them, I embrace them like I hadn't had that time away. And I, you know, think about the people that, you know, I had 15, 20 years ago in my life that maybe it was because the of um something that I was doing in my life at another job or another, you know, organization, and it's not there anymore. And, you know, it's just like wow, you know, it's you learn from those friendships and you you figure out maybe what you can do better and um and just you know, totally wish them all well. And it's neat when they come back in your life. There, there were people that I hadn't seen when I was, you know, in high school, moved away, moved all over the place, had children. My life was just totally not what it was in school, and then came back for like a reunion or met them at a store by accident. And I was like, oh my gosh, you were my best friend in high school, and you were, yeah, I hadn't seen you in like decades. And, you know, you rekindle those relationships. Social media has made it a lot easier too. I know there are people that I have, you know, kind of brought back into my life that I hadn't seen for years, and that was including my husband. So, you know, we were um friends in high school, and it had been decades, and then we reconnected, and now we've been married uh, gosh, 13 years this year. It's that's amazing, and been together 15. So it's just, you know, when you open your mind up to allowing people to um kind of rekindle those relationships in your life, it's neat to see what happens and being open to building new friendships, however it, you know, comes along, if it's a new experience, a new group that you're being part of, or maybe you know, you have a friend that doesn't have a big friendship circle. And if there's a way that you can help them connect with somebody through uh introducing them to someone else, do that. I have a friend right now, I'm like, oh, this friend needs to meet this friend so you guys can like you have so such similar uh interests. This would be a good way for you to build your friendship circle too. And I'm I don't know, I'm I'm always trying to fix. It's it's not a good thing sometimes. I'm always like, I can fix this, I can fix this. And sometimes I just need to let it be. Uh, are you like that? Oh gosh, and just I've been like that my whole life. I I've been I'm very stubborn about it. I'm always like, I can do this on my own. So, but we need our friends and we need new ways to build friendship circles, and we need new things to explore and try and fail and learn lessons at and then come back and uh try again. That's how you grow. And that is one of the, you know, best kept secrets in life that it's okay to continue to try to make yourself better, make make yourself a better friend, be a better friend, and help others find a friend. We all need a friend. We all need someone that we can talk to. And um, you know, and it's hard when you don't have a lot of interest, or if you feel like you don't have a lot of interest, and learning something new the older that you get is scary. And so find ways to not make it so scary. And it's okay if you fail, you're not gonna be good, you're not gonna be perfect at the first thing you know you try the first time. That's the beauty of it. That's what makes it fun. You gotta continue to practice, and you know, it's it's just the process over perfection. Enjoy the process and enjoy the process of growing in friendship and enjoying the process of helping another friend grow and explore, you know, all kinds of things in this world. So that that was my Galantine talk. Thanks for coming to my TED talk um today, because that's what's important, that's what you need to encourage in others too, is just to be fearless and fearless in friendship. So have a wonderful weekend. Ours is warming up, it's very sunny today, so it makes me very happy. And you know, of course, Sarah, I'm in my bright outfits. So, but have a great weekend, and um, we are halfway through February. This month's going a lot faster than January. So take care and um yeah, have a beautifully made uh life. Take care. Bye.