This artisan set is more like a fully equipped home studio than a showroom.
Denise Ambrosi, who founded the collective about five years ago, opened her current space last April, a bright open laboratory on Washington Boulevard. With craft sales, in-residence artist workspaces, and a large handy desk, This Hand attracts crafty neighbors and friends from all over town. It's also home to Moving Thread, which hosts sewing workshops for all levels.
"I want to be a creative community," said Ambrosi. "I want people to come here and feel like this is a place to relax and forget their thoughts and put away their phones."
While many of these hands-on classes focus on fiber arts (knitting, embroidery, knitting, crochet, embroidery, and fabric dyeing are just a few options), try classes such as jewelry making, card making, and even chocolate tasting. . . (The company also hosts corporate group events.)
"We have a chocolate teacher from the Gourmandise Culinary School who works with us," explains Ambrosi. "It's a creative blend of flavors where you taste a piece of chocolate and then design it to your taste."
One Sunday morning, I attended a bundle coloring class where we learned how to use flowers, plants, and tiny insects to dye cotton and silk bandanas. As we started scattering flower petals and wood shavings to make patterns, we heard a local goldsmith starting his work.
After we've steamed our wipes, it's time to open them up for the big screen. As we cleaned up the dyes, everyone was excited to share and compliment each other's work. Before class ended, half the students had already signed up for the next wool event.
"I think we need it more than we think," Ambrosi said of the workshop he leads. "Right now the anxiety level is very high and I think it needs treatment."
