Since opening resident Kristen Gannon has expanded to offer summer camps for kids, more private workshops, and opportunities to give back.
Alexis Tarrazi, Patch Staff
|Updated Wed, Feb 12, 2025 at 3:13 pm ET
(Create Studios)
(Create Studios)
BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Longtime Basking Ridge resident and craft enthusiast Kristen Ganno recently marked a major milestone at the end of January — her business Create Studios' first anniversary.
Gannon opened her BYOB crafting studio, at 93 South Finley Ave. in Basking Ridge (in the rear building).
"It's kind of been like a whirlwind. It's just really exceeded my expectations for what I thought would be going on here. It's been a little crazy, a big learning experience for me in a lot of different ways, and I feel like I'm in a really great place right now," said Gannon to Patch.
When she first opened her studio the intention was to focus on more public craft-centered workshops with a mix of private workshops.
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However, Gannon ended up seeing that the biggest response has been to private workshops such as team-building, birthday parties, book clubs, groups of families coming together, and more.
"That's really been like a surprise to me that there's been that much of a need for that," Gannon said.
This shift in plans has worked to everyone's benefit.
A smaller workshop has allowed Gannon to have more creative freedom to offer customized and personalized workshops for those signing up.
For example over the holidays, she held a personalized workshop for a book club where they created teeny, tiny little books inside an ornament. The books were pulled from the books the club read throughout the past year.
"It's fun to do those little, personalized things for people," said Gannon. "It's been great to get a little extra creative with that."
Along with private workshops, Gannon said she has expanded to offer more workshops for candles in novelty vessels, Decoupage Glass Bottles, forever flowers or eternal roses, and more.
She will also be offering small group summer camps for ages 9 and up for select weeks in June, July, and August. Camps will offer workshops for crafts including dessert candles, collage, acrylic, textured art, watercolor, candle embed and pillar, and more.
Additionally, Gannon has been giving back locally to the community in a variety of ways. One of those ways is Create Studios participates in Ridge High School's Work-Based Learning (WBL) program, which helps students gain work experience and job skills in the community. The program is part of the post-grad program for students with disabilities.
Students in the WBL program have been helping Gannon in the studio to make watercolor art that is turned into greeting cards they can sell at the high school. The proceeds are then put back into the program.
She also partnered to help nonprofit organizations such as CASA SHaw (Court Appointed Special Advocates of Somerset, Hunterdon, & Warren Counties), which is a non-profit charitable organization that recruits, screens, and trains community volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in foster care.
Gannon is also working with the resident service coordinator at Valley Brook Village to compile a wish list of blankets from their residents.
Having the ability to combine her love for crafting and giving back to others at the same time has been a great achievement for Gannon since opening last year.
"When I see people come in here and they get away from their phone and try something new, get out of their comfort zone and just work with their hands and create things. It elevates their entire mood," said Gannon. "And then when you have people who are doing that, and then they're also helping someone else, that's the dream. You can do something for yourself, make yourself feel better, and then pay that forward, and give something to someone else."
Looking to the future, Gannon will continue to offer public and private workshops while also finding ways to give back to the community.
"I'm so, so happy to be here, and so grateful to be here, and it's been amazing. I just feel like I've never had a bad day here, it's just a great place. It's great vibes," said Gannon. "I'm just looking forward to having these experiences here and I hope to continue it for as long as I can."
For information on upcoming workshops, to book a private event or summer camps, sponsorships, or more visit createstudiosnj.com or facebook.com/createstudiosnj or instagram.com/createstudiosnj.
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