For four years and running, Creative Corner has been helping people embrace their artistic side right from their lovely Bedford Avenue studio.
Appealing to kids and adults alike, Creative Corner was started by the duo of Linda Joyce and Tina Roberts, both of whom are active members of the Bellmore community. Linda Joyce took the time to speak with Patch about helping Bellmore residents tap into their inner artist.
Tell us about what you do there at Creative Corner.
Creative Corner is a great family place...you come in and paint ceramics, you can do glass fusing. We do birthday parties, girl scout troops, we have a Ladies’ Night every Friday. We also do camps.
It’s for every age group...men, women, children...it’s really for everybody. It’s just a great place to come and have a good time.
What made you decide to open such a business on Bedford Avenue?
We just wanted something to come into the community that’s good for children, adults, and everyone in-between. So, that’s why we opened something like this, because it’s a good place for kids to come and have fun, adults can relax and enjoy themselves. You can also come together as a family and have nice family event together.
You also hold regular fundraising events out of the store, is that correct?
We’ve worked with the Vera Bradley Foundation and women in the community who were walking for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. What we do is that we open the studio for an evening for about three hours, and people sell tickets, supply food and drinks, raffle baskets, and come in and have a good time. Then we donate 20 percent of the draw.
Any new additions to Creative Corner’s programs?
We have a great seven-week summer program...it runs three days a week, and it’s for kids Kindergarten age and up, and each week is a different theme. We provide a light snack, and the kids get to work with glass, clay, and they get to canvas paint, which is something new that we’ve added to the studio. It’s a lot of fun.
Do you offer lessons to help people come to grip with working with paint and pottery?
You know, we have such a great staff here, and they’re all trained to help everybody, so you don’t have to be creative...we’ll help you and show you different things to do. If you’re not an artist you don’t have to worry about it.
What do you like about owning and operating a business in the Bellmore area?
It’s very nice to be right in the village, right in the community. The people are great...they always try to help their local businesses. It’s just nice to be local!
