Thinking about scheduling of community events at the studio. The yarn group is going strong — we’re getting close to capacity, actually. If it continues to grow, at some point, I’ll either want to add a second time, I think, or institute a sign-up; I’d hate to have someone come over and then not to be able to stay for lack of room. We can fit about 20, and I think at the last session we had 16 — so we’ll see.
The other community things aren’t going nearly as strong, and I’m trying to think about why. The first board game night was great — two full tables, and we all had fun. No one showed up to the second, which I’m guessing is because I forgot to post a reminder to the local groups. I can do that next time, I think (though all the reminding uses up a lot of my limited executive function!).
The co-writing has also been very quiet — just one or two people showing up. And garden club had several people the first two times, but just two people today (I also forgot to post a reminder about that until late last night). They did get a few free dahlia bulbs from me — Marionberry Milkshake and Mango Madness. 🙂
I’m wondering if some of the difference is that yarn club is weekly, so it’s just much easier for people to remember. Mostly people don’t come every single week, but most of them come most weeks.
I’d be happy to make some of the others weekly, but I’m trying to be careful not to overcommit myself. It’d help to have a co-host on them, so I can give someone else the door code if I’m not feeling up to hosting that particular day. (I can also pay staff, but they’re not necessarily going to be available last minute, and I’m still pretty in the red on the store, so trying to hire as little staff help as possible until sales improve. They’re on the upswing, but not stable yet.)
I’m thinking that I can at least make co-writing regular — every Sunday 10-12, I think. It’s the next three Sundays in April already, so it’s a small shift to make it all Sundays in May, and we can see how that goes. Co-writing is a very light lift for me — I’m here at that time anyway, and it doesn’t require a lot of social energy, and it’d be good to encourage myself to do more writing (or at least more dealing with backlogged e-mail).
That means shifting garden club time — maybe 3-4 on Sunday in May? I don’t know that it needs to be two hours; one hour might make for a more concentrated group and more vibrant discussion. But then the question is whether to just do one Sunday, or go ahead and make it every Sunday.
I don’t know if there’d be enough interest to make that worthwhile, but maybe I need to just try it and see what happens. I certainly have plenty of garden-related things to talk about every week during the growing season. We can always slow down (or shut down) for winter. I think there’s a good chance I’m just going to close the studio in January going forward anyway, give myself a break, if I can afford to cover the rent.
I don’t think I’m ready to make board game night weekly — it’s outside normal store hours (Friday 7-9 currently), so it’s an extra time commitment. Hm. Unless I had committed co-hosts!
And I’ve had some requests for craft sessions — just open sessions for people to bring their crafting and hang out together, like yarn circle, but more open. Wouldn’t mind adding that, but again, it’s a question of time.
Okay, I think I’ve talked myself into weekly co-writing starting in May, at least, and I think I’ll check in with the garden club FB group and see whether there’s interest in a weekly meeting (with perennial swapping, etc.)
I really do love the community aspect. At this point, I think of this space as being divided into four purposes:
- studio space for me, to get better at my art and do more writing
- store, so I can sell at least enough to cover my art supply costs and space expenses
- workshop space, for me and others to teach, in part to help with rent, but mostly because it’s just such a joy, seeing the delight as people learn how easy it is to make art, and how peaceful it makes them
- community space, because we need it (I need it!)
It’s nice, feeling it all start to solidify, having the space make its purpose clear.
Serendib House
301 Harrison Street, Oak Park
Schedule here: http://www.serendibhousestudio.com
