Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship
On a cold October night, a small group gathered around a table covered with colorful bundles of wool and balls of yarn. Paintbrushes and fabric scraps burst from shelves in the warmly lit room.
Crafters from Burlington, Essex, and Jericho made their way to The Makery, a secondhand art supply store in Burlington, to create their own felted dryer ball.
The Makery, a used craft supply store and community art space, opened in November of last year. Co-owners Arianna Soloway and Jessica Webster offer classes on embroidery, knitting, and sewing, to name a few, with the goal of making traditionally expensive crafts more affordable and sustainable.
“We wanted there to be a community space where people could come and intentionally source items that we throw away and that creates a lot of waste,” Webster said.
Soloway attributes their inspiration for starting The Makery to Burlington’s thriving art scene.
“I think Vermonters are known for being really environmentally conscious, and [I had] the idea that I could link those two things,” she said.
The Makery functions similar to a standard thrift store. Originally, the store took donations at all times but an overload of items coming in convinced Webster and Soloway to switch to donations by appointment.
Soloway and Webster are constantly receiving new inventory.
“Suddenly we get 10 times as many stamps as we’ve ever got before, and we need a new shelving unit,” Soloway said. “It’s a constant, fluid situation…It’s fun and also a little bit crazy that we can never predict what’s going to be here.”
The co-owners want The Makery to be an accessible, communal space where locals can learn to crochet, craft Halloween costumes, or even make beeswax snack bags. All classes cost less than $50, with most costing between $15 and $40.
Classes include one-time introductions to different skills, Craft and Sips — a casual environment for individuals interested in learning something new, bringing a drink, and socializing — and free Bring Your Own Craft nights.
The Makery aims to provide something for every age; Mini Makers, a class for toddlers, occurs monthly. Plus, the owners run a kids after-school class weekly.
Almost all of The Makery’s adult classes, which are capped at 15 participants, have sold out, Soloway said.
“I think some of that is [because] we’ve been able to keep them really affordably priced,” she said. “Part of how we can do that is by using what we have in the store as our class supplies.”
A particularly popular class taught students how to turn fabric scraps into rope coil basket-making. Other classes, like felted dryer ball-making, have the same element of sustainability tied in.
“I love the concept [that], rather than having everyone’s leftovers go in the garbage, we share [them],” an attendee of the dryer ball making workshop said. “It’s economical. It’s good for the environment. It’s just a wonderful idea.”
Paul Davis and Jennifer Vincent also attended the felting class for a unique date-night activity.
“We were looking for something experiential to do,” Davis said. “Just going to a restaurant or a bar is a little too close to the usual.”
The co-owners are still developing their class schedule and imagining new classes to host in the future, Soloway said. Ideas she described include a team craft group, or a group for new parents to bring their baby, socialize, and craft.
Her ultimate goal is to make art as accessible as possible.
“When I was a kid, I would make art all the time and it didn’t need to have any purpose,” she said. “As you become an adult, you become so much more practical, and [I want] to give people the freedom to try something new. If you don’t like it, bring the stuff back here; and if you do like it, you can feel good about not having spent tons of money trying a new hobby.”