Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y3e4LKK88Q&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=59
So we are back here on the Choose 954 podcast, episode 42, with local artist and art teacher. This is so nerdy – Stephanie McMillan from her beautiful arts and crafts social club in the Hive section of Flagler Village in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
If you didn't know about Choose 954, we started the social movement to cultivate culture and community here in Broward County. We're on a mission to make this a better place to live, not just visit. The point of the podcast is to connect you with amazing people, like Stephanie, who are doing incredible creative things in the community here, which you’ll find out a little bit more about.
The podcast is sponsored by the Thousand Mermaids Artificial Reef Project, creating artistically crafted artificial reef modules to help save the reefs, create eco-tourism, raise awareness about ocean issues, and establish Fort Lauderdale as a destination for research. To find out more, you can log on to wwlp.com.
But without much further ado, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Stephanie: Hi, thanks for having me.
Host: What do you mean by art teacher? What does that entail?
Stephanie: Well, we have an art studio here that’s like a painting studio. You can bring drinks, paint, and enjoy the experience. But it's a little more than that. We have a real passion for teaching art, especially bringing in people who have never painted before. We feel it’s a doorway into a new form of creative expression. We get thrilled when people try something new, and it opens up something inside them.
We offer classes, and parties where people paint freestyle or under blacklight using fluorescent paints that glow. It’s fun, but it’s also meaningful for us because we see so many people who are self-critical and perfectionists, nervous to try new things. But if they relax and play with the materials, they really open up and express themselves in a new way.
One woman recently said, "I came in here in a bad mood, and now I feel so much better." Painting is meditative and puts you in the moment. Letting yourself play and experiment can even affect other areas of life.
Host: That’s gorgeous, Stephanie. Art as healing, storytelling, and communication – it’s amazing how it enriches life. But for you, how did you first get into art?
Stephanie: I’ve loved art since I was a kid. When I was 10, I wanted to be a cartoonist, like Charles Schulz. He was my idol! I loved Snoopy, collected anything related to Peanuts, and learned how to draw by tracing Snoopy. Eventually, I became an editorial cartoonist, working for newspapers and selling to magazines. When newspapers began to decline, I shifted to freelance and started building my own body of work.
My partner and I wanted to do something together as a business, and the idea started at a painting party my mom hosted. After a few beers and painting in the backyard, we thought, "What if we opened a place where people could do this?" My partner had never painted before, but he was really good right out of the gate, so we figured others would love it too. After some research, we found out about painting parties and started looking for a space.
Host: What a great story. So how did you choose this location?
Stephanie: We loved the vibe of this area and felt it was perfect for what we wanted to offer – a place for people to come, relax, and do something creative that’s different from the usual nightlife.
Host: And you’ve really created an inviting space. Can you tell us about the interior murals you’ve done?
Stephanie: Sure! I recently painted this mural in fluorescent paint, so when we turn off the regular lights and the blacklight shines, it really pops. My partner Chris also added flames around the door to enhance the space.
Host: I love that. It really adds to the creative atmosphere. And the artwork displayed here – these are pieces created by your students, right?
Stephanie: Yes! We wanted to encourage unique, creative expression. While many painting places might have everyone paint the same thing, we wanted to offer something different. For example, some of the pieces like the unicorn and space-themed ones were specifically developed for our blacklight parties.
Host: That’s amazing. I think spaces like yours, especially in a place like the Hive section of Flagler Village, are important for cultivating a sense of community and creativity.
Stephanie: Absolutely. Public art, like murals, adds so much to a city’s cultural fabric. It can transform neighborhoods and make them destinations, just like what’s happened in places like Wynwood in Miami or Williamsburg in Brooklyn.
Host: And speaking of murals, we’re excited to have one of Broward County’s most noteworthy muralists, Lori Pratico, speaking at our next AAF Creatives monthly breakfast lecture. It’s a free mini TED talk series we host, and she’ll be sharing her story next Friday, July 12th. It's always on the second Friday of the month, and it’s open to anyone looking for some inspiration.
Stephanie: That sounds fantastic!
Host: We provide it's a free event and provide breakfast bites and coffee, and this is an effort to connect, engage, and inspire our creative community one Friday morning a month. A very similar event to this is where I had my aha moment that led me into arts and culture and community building, which is part of the reason why I pay it back and pay it forward by hosting it for free. So you can actually come and join us here in the arts and crafts social club Friday, July the 12th. The doors open at 8:30, and the talk starts at 9:00. You're out of here by 10:00. If you're worried about missing an hour of work, we have 18 things that you could tell your boss that we post on the Facebook page.
You know, you're going to meet like-minded individuals, you're going to network, not to get a new job, but to network with other creatives and other people in the community. You're going to get inspiration and takeaways that you could share with your team, your company, or your friends. So it's a really great thing. You can look it up on AAF Creative Zen. It's sponsored by AAF, the American Advertising Federation local chapter, and it's at 1:1.
One way we'd like you to come in here is through some of the other ways people come in here: team-building events, reunions...
Stephanie: We do a lot of team-building events, which are pretty cool and fun. And birthday parties, bridal showers...
Host: Thanks, Stephanie. Yeah, we do have some paintings that are specifically geared for couples, like two hearts together, and yeah, just friends' nights out. People come with their group of friends, have a few drinks, you know, you can bring your drinks here. Actually, bring any kind of drink you want. And not just canvas...
I believe when Red Bull came, they painted denim jackets – they brought their own! So if you have a private group party here, you can choose your activity.
Stephanie: Shoutout to Red Bull! Hope you guys come back. Yeah, even if somebody wanted to do something like painting shoes, you know, it's a creative space. We have all the materials, all the tables are covered, we have the sinks and everything. We have all the brushes and everything.
Host: So it's pretty much plug and play.
Stephanie: Yeah, and if you've never painted before and you come in for a freestyle session that we don’t instruct, we're still here to help and give you a rundown of how the paints behave and maybe a starting point that you can run from. You know, I’m such a teacher at heart.
Host: Such a welcoming space. And easy. I’m not an artist, so painting, when I've tried it, can be intimidating, but Stephanie makes it very welcoming, very inclusive for anybody.
Stephanie: Thank you!
Host: So, in closing on that topic, what are some other things that you would want people to think or feel and experience when they come here to Arts and Crafts Social Club?
Stephanie: One thing we don't want anyone to feel is judged. We believe that your art is an expression of you, whether it's so-called skilled or not. It doesn't matter. It’s going to be cool just because you made it. It expresses a moment in your life, and we're going to encourage you to love it. We find something to love about every painting that's made here, and we'll help you love it too.
Host: That is absolutely beautiful. If you haven't been here before, we encourage you to look them up online. Where can they find you on social media or on the web?
Stephanie: We're on Instagram mostly, at Arts and Crafts Social Club. And we have a website, artsandcraftssocialclub.com, that has our full calendar on it for each month.
Host: And if you haven't been, they are in the Hive, which is part of the Fort Lauderdale Art Walk, the last Saturday night of the month. We do a guided tour, Tuesday at 5:00, which alternates between the two art districts every month. This one for July, we’ll be leading the tour of the Art Walk in FAT Village. They're about a 12-minute walk apart, so we alternate them and give people time to explore on their own. But next month in August, we'll be back in the Hive in the MASS District section of Flagler Village, where we’ll stop by here. You get to meet Steph, find out a little more about the space, check it out, maybe book a private class. So we definitely encourage you to do that.
A couple of other things we encourage you to check out: the night before Creative Zen, which is the second Friday morning of the month, on the second Thursday night of the month, our dear friend Evan Alaska hosts RAW Storytelling, which is our version of The Moth. True stories, untold. It’s a great community-building event, brings a lot of people together, you get to hear people's genuine, raw, unfiltered stories, and realize that we're all very much alike. You can find out more at rawstorytelling.org.
Also, support our dear friends from Sofar Sounds – a songs-for-a-room experience. It's a very intimate music-listening experience where true music fans connect with independent, up-and-coming, very talented musicians in very intimate settings. It's not a lot of people; they're there for the music. You either have to request access, RSVP, or be invited. They don’t release the name of the venue; they just tell you what area it's going to be in, in Fort Lauderdale. And then, if you're lucky enough to get granted access, the day before, they tell you the location. It's a lot of fun, probably my favorite music event of the month. So Choose 954 is proud to continue supporting and sponsoring it to spread the word, so more people can attend and take advantage of it.
If you have a venue that you think is cool, and you'd like to host Sofar Sounds, you could drop us a note, or you can find out more at sofarsounds.com. Sign up for the newsletter – they let you know when the shows come out. It’s not spammy, I promise!
And we’re so glad to host the Choose 954 Local Artist Discovery Series. It’s a live art pop-up that we do every Wednesday at Yolo, where we give a local artist a canvas, easel, and table. We don’t charge them, we don’t take a part of their work. We market it, we make the flyer, we give them a food tab, and we do social media for them. It’s an effort to connect local artists with the downtown Yolo crowd to hopefully help them get followers, collectors, or supporters – however that may be. We’re now on our 123rd consecutive week, and we hope to do it for another 123 weeks, because there’s no shortage of artists that deserve the opportunity.
If you’re a local artist or know a local artist who’s never done a live event before, feel free to reach out at Choose954. There’s no minimum or maximum requirement or skill set. We support artists of any category and level. It’s been a really great thing in terms of getting artists collected, supported, and followed.
I’m Evan Snow. You’ll find me on Instagram at evansnow.13, at Thousand Mermaids, at Zero Spaces, and all those other great things that we’re doing to support the arts.
Stephanie: Thank you very much! I'm really looking forward to having you guys join us Friday, July 12th. I've heard Lori Pratico share her story before. It is absolutely phenomenal. Bring some tissues! Her Girl Noticed initiative is absolutely amazing – empowering women through the arts. Yeah, we look forward to seeing you then! Save yourself.
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