Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Dulin.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I have always loved Art and being creative. In college I started painting children’s murals for some extra money and it became a fun side job after I started my career. When I started having children I became a stay-at-home Mom, but continued to paint children’s murals whenever it worked into my schedule. One time I got contracted to do some work at a local Goddard School. While I was painting a little girl stopped to talk to me because she thought it was so cool that I was painting on the walls. She introduced me to her Mom at pick-up time and after striking up a conversation the little girl’s Mom asked if I would be interested in teaching some Art lessons to her daughters at their house. That one conversation changed the course of my life!

I began teaching her daughters Art lessons just once a week. She ended up sharing what I was doing with some of her friends and before long I was teaching several Art lessons to different students during the week. However, at the time my husband and I were foster parents and we ended up taking in a teenage boy and life got a little extra busy with activities and sports. So instead of doing individual lessons and spending time driving around town, I thought, “What if I opened up my own home and did some group Art lessons so I could teach more kids at once?” I presented this idea to some of the parents and they were all on board. So in the Summer of 2017, I created a Summer Art Camp at my house. There were three options and they filled up so quick that I ended up planning two more before the Summer ended!

Realizing that this was a need in our community, I began offering classes on top of camps during the Winter and Summer breaks. In 2020, my stepdad helped us build out and reconstruct our basement and it was turned into an Art classroom. Having a bigger space to teach, I started offering even more services such as birthday parties, Mom’s Wine and Paint classes, Home school Art Classes, Parent’s Night Outs, Pairing Paint Nights, Mini-Me classes (toddler classes with parent participation) along with Open Art times. I still paint children’s murals every once in awhile!

Today I continue to teach all of these classes and events throughout each week and it has now turned into a full-time job. I absolutely LOVE what I do and my Art Studio is definitely my happy place! In such a digital age where electronics have taken over play time, it has become a passion of mine to provide a space to help kids gain an appreciation for Art and give them opportunities to make and create. I truly believe that Art is SO very important to a child’s development, imagination, and mental health.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

It hasn’t been a smooth road BUT I will say that I have been surrounded by amazing people who have supported my dream and this new venture, which has helped smooth out the rocky parts. There is so much time in prepping and planning and supplies are NOT cheap so there have definitely been some struggles in making ends meet with a creative career!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I have created a very specialized and personalized business. I host many different types of classes and parties in my studio and I have created the curriculum for each class that I teach. One of the classes I am most proud of is my Mini-Me classes. These classes are geared towards kids 18 months to 5 years old and they are parent participation classes. These classes help kids to explore different mediums and art techniques at a young age with their parent’s help. It has been so fun to watch parents bond with their children and to watch kid’s eyes light up when they have painted or created something in class. It has also helped parents to let go of a little control because things can get a little messy in the Studio! I love providing a space for children this young to develop an appreciation for Art and to help in their development of fine motor skills and their imagination.

What was your favorite childhood memory?

I have many wonderful childhood memories but in relation to my job and this interview, I would say taking Art classes was one of my favorite memories. When I was just 4 years old my Mom found out about a lady in our neighborhood who had turned her garage into an Art Studio and started teaching Art classes. I ended up taking classes from her for about 4-5 years. We had to stop due to finances but being able to have a creative outlet that young was so influential on my life. Thirty five years later I was able to reach out to her and ended up visiting her home and her studio was still there. She had remodeled some of it but it brought back all of the wonderful memories. It is so fun that I am following in her footsteps in a way and providing a space for kids in my own home and Art studio.

Pricing:

• 3-Day Art Camps: $78 ($58 sibling)
• ALL-DAY Art Camps: $58 ($38 sibling)
• Mini-Me Art Class: $15 for parent/child
• Mom’s Wine and Paint: $25 per painter
• Birthday parties: $20 per painter

Contact Info:

• Facebook: STEPH’S STUDIO…A Place Where Kids Do Art!

Image Credits

Patrice Walker (Steph’s Studio logo)

Maggie Docking (professional picture of myself wearing watercolor smock)