Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Scianna Pitts. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission is to provide an environment where humans can be the most creative versions of themselves in a stress free place surrounded by like minded individuals. Whether it’s the child taking the class or the adult bringing the child, the mission is for there to be a mentally and physically freeing environment. I started artNEST™ shortly after I had my second child who is only 15 months younger than his brother. I was completely lost and really just trying to figure out this motherhood thing. I noticed that wherever I brought them, I was worried that they were doing something “wrong”. Not participating the way they should, not sharing, not interacting appropriately etc…I put A LOT of pressure on myself like most mothers do. I saw so many other mothers that were doing the same thing and in a constant state of worry. I also saw that this pressure that we were putting on ourselves was trickling down to our children and that really struck me. Do kids ever have an opportunity to feel completely free in their thoughts and actions and experiment with things that they naturally want to do? Do parents ever have an opportunity to see their child be completely free without the worry of making sure they act “appropriately”? I’m an Artist and I didn’t want my kids painting and making a mess in the house….that just felt so wrong! So, I decided to open up a studio where Art was about being creative, unique and building confidence within your own thoughts and ideas all while parents didn’t have to stress because everything that the kids do here is ok!

Our philosophy lies within the process of the idea rather than the end product. We don’t use examples so that the child doesn’t feel pressure to make their Art look a certain way. We have many mechanisms to take the pressure off and focus on nurturing creativity, building confidence, and getting those amazing ideas out into physical form. This is about celebrating yourself and knowing that your ideas matter and are awesome!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Art and music were an everyday part of my life growing up. I graduated college with a degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis on painting and photography. Soon after, I acquired my teaching certification and taught Art Education at a Miami, FL Elementary School. Education became my passion. After 6 years, I moved back to NYC to work for The Princeton Review, overseeing multiple after school programs.

I then moved on to School of Rock where I was able to couple my experience and love of education with my passion for the Arts. As Director of Franchise Operations, I assisted franchisees with successful business practices, implementation of curriculum and had a hand in ensuring that over 20,000 kids around the world learned “how to rock on stage and in life”.

Now I have artNEST™ Studios, artNEST™ is a nurturing, non-competitive, stress free art studio for kids ages 1-12. The belief is that every person is born an artist and the goal is for kids to never deny this within themselves. Each class is set up to let the kids be free and the most creative versions of themselves, naturally. We offer workshops such as Painting, Clay, Collage and other medium specific Arts as well as specific workshops such as Anime, Printmaking, Photography and Jewelry. We also offer a fashion series where kids learn how to sew and make their own clothes (and get to walk the runway!) and for our little ones, Messy and Dramatic Play. We also have our Splash Room which is a room that is completely covered with tarps and kids can paint anywhere they are inspired, including themselves! Our workshops are constantly evolving so there are always fun surprises each season.

We provide some drop in classes as well as POP UPs and camps on non-school days and breaks as well as Summer. Our birthday parties are epic as we customize to each child to make it the Best Day Ever for them and their family/friends. We have splash parties, canvas parties, magic potions, jewelry, play dough, slime and more.
Anything that is fun and enriching, we will do it!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Many people talk about authenticity. To me this is everything. I can’t help but be me and be passionate about what I have built and offer. I absolutely love children and Art and have so much empathy for what moms do and are going through because I live it alongside them. I truly believe that I have grown my clientele because I provide trust. Our children are the MOST valuable things in our lives. By building a trust and connection with my clients, I become more than just an Art Studio, I become a second home, a place where people genuinely feel comfortable taking their children. I have worked really hard to find a talented group of teachers that think the same way about the kids and the connection to the clients as well. Once you’ve gained the parent’s trust they naturally advocate for you because you’ve created a community. A community built on trust. That is everything.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As many other businesses, we had to do a major pivot when covid hit. We had to close our doors for 3 months and then once open, had to have limited capacity. The good thing is that we are creative beings here so we love problem solving. We put our heads together and started selling home kits. We turned one of the studios into a production center where we assembled and took photos of new kits and then hand delivered with contactless delivery to each home. It was a premiere service and solved a few problems. 1) having something fun and enriching for your kids to do at home and 2) not having to go anywhere to get it. They came with instructions and YouTube videos with instructions so parents could be involved as much or as little as they’d like. Once we opened our doors we had to figure our how to provide services with limited capacity and still be safe and not stressful. We decided to offer Virtual School Assistance. We knew virtual school was a beast for parents, especially working ones so we took the burden off. We also started offering workshops that we could keep small with a long term commitment. It got us through and we learned some valuable lessons that we are keeping within our model moving forward. So there is always a silver lining!

Contact Info:

• Website: artneststudios.com
• Instagram: @artneststudios
• Facebook: artnestdelray and artnestboca and artNest Delray-boca

Image Credits
Cosimo Scianna