One of the walls of the almost 200 year old, historic building my business is in, nearly stands in the Saddle River. It is a beautiful location, set in greenery. A Bayou is slow moving water abounding in greenery, Bayou sounds like ‘by you’ in a southern kind of dialect. I invite people in to enjoy the ambience and beautiful view and to slow down and live in the moment, to share quality time and to connect with community. And crafting, by you, is our medium. When you make something with your hands your heart rate slows, it releases stress and creates ‘mind space’ allowing you to reassess a problem. It also releases dopamine, the happiness neurotransmitter.

I was born and raised in The Netherlands. 23 Years ago we moved with our 2 daughters to the United States for my husband’’s work. He worked long hours and he frequently had to travel so I dedicated myself to helping the children settle in and to create a home for us. I have always been an enthusiastic gardener, hiker, cook and crafter and I love to travel,

I noticed that being connected to community here is different than where I’m from, where connecting is built in more naturally in every day life. I found out that many people feel isolated, disconnected, empty , even before COVID, and I always felt I could do something, to do my part by creating a welcoming, non institutional but rather more homelike space for people to connect in a low pressure kind of way where you get the feeling that you visit your aunt fe and the door is always open.

Many people love to shop and we all need last minute gifts, so I sell gifts to invite people in. The gifts are made by artists, mostly local, but I also sell plants, fun craft kits, meaningful toys and books. I invite people to walk-in to do a craft at our ‘community kitchen table’ or to sign up for an organized craft or event. My hope is to connect people from all generations and backgrounds.

I offer unusual crafts such as punch needle, stamp making, 3D dioramas, kintsugi, Sashiko, nature crafts and Gelli printing, and I organize private (birthdays, baby showers, date nights etc) and business events (team building, promotional presentations, etc). On Saturdays I organize an affordable nature craft for families. The possibilities are endless.

The building is extremely charming and the interior and decor are an eclectic mix of history, plants, art, vintage items and hand puppets and toys for free play. Upstairs I have another beautiful space where you step back in time. It feels like a cottage in a magical forest. There’s a small, hidden play corner where little ones can play while mom crafts with friends or with a (free), mom’s support group.. Crafts come with tea and a cookie.. I regularly hire another teacher so I can offer a colorful palette of crafts

When people are touched on a deeper level, when they feel heard and seen and welcomed, they will tell others about their experience. I have enjoyed seeing people tear up because they feel moved by the sense of belonging. A teenager walked in with her parents after dinner and she loved the atmosphere of Bayou so much that she brought in her grandparents and together they made stamps and printed them on wishing cards. The grandfather kept saying that he needed time to take everything in. The decor, the view and atmosphere, all of it. His wife asked me about Kintsugi. I told her that you get a vintage plate from me and that you first break it, sit with the pieces and then glue them back together with gold. The plate is no longer perfect but has become a beautiful piece of art with a story and how we are all damaged in someway by events that happened in our lives, but when we work with ourselves and accept what is, we become more whole, interesting and beautiful.. She started to cry. Her granddaughter and husband were worried but she assured them that this was good. She told me she was a cancer survivor. The place and story deeply moved her and things finally came out.

Because of our move to the United States and the extra care our family needed to settle in and prosper, I put my career on the back burner. I did write the green column for a local magazine and I was always renovating our house, gardening and making art but I did not open a community cafe where people could share life skills on a voluntary basis like I wanted. I helped our daughter raise her son (he’s now 10). But I kept feeling the urge to start my dream business. I tried for several years to rent an empty building in a nearby nature preserve to open a cafe, but it didn’t happen.. When I found my current building I learned I could not start a cafe there. I had to let go of that dream, but my ideas quickly evolved into what BAYOU has become. And I couldn’t feel more fulfilled and happy.