Aiming to increase community collaboration and provide a hangout spot, Sweet Phoenix is now offering crafting classes.
The store at 281 Main St. in Greenfield, which sells a range of items such as old collectibles, gifts, antiques, home goods, clothing and jewelry, held its first-ever crafting class, dedicated to junk journals, on Sunday, Oct. 4, with plans to hold future classes focusing on crocheting, origami and more.
“I’ve been wanting to do classes,” Sweet Phoenix owner Danielle Marie said. “It was like a gold mine at some point to have classes for beginners, for advanced, but mostly just stuff for people to get together and create.”
Although Marie said she has wanted to host classes and workshops at the shop for a while, she added that the drive to get the initiative underway came from Sara Fraker, a local crocheter who sells her work at Sweet Phoenix.
“I moved here last year, and I found this awesome little shop and this awesome person that owns this little shop,” Fraker said. “So I started selling my crochet here, and I was like, ‘I used to teach, and I know the library has a meetup for people, so [crocheting is] obviously popular around here. Would you be interested in having me teach?'”
Marie was enthusiastically on board.
“It’s a safe space for people to get together and be among other people that can inspire and create with each other, learn new things,” Marie said.
Fraker also found someone who had been looking to teach a class on how to create junk journals. Junk journals are handmade books created using recycled, repurposed or secondhand materials, such as old pages and packaging.
“It was a lot of fun. I met some people and I learned something new,” Fraker said of the class on junk journals. “I’ve never done junk journaling and I’ve been crafting for years. Now I have a new hobby I can obsess on.”
Marie said one of the goals of the classes is to not just provide a single experience, but an opportunity for attendees to pick up a new skill or hobby. Participants will leave with extra supplies to continue their projects, and she’s planning on adding yarn, paper and other craft supplies to what is available to be purchased at Sweet Phoenix.
Upcoming classes include an $18 session on folding paper Froëbel stars (16-point, three-dimensional paper stars that are often used as ornaments or decorations) set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and a $50 learn-to-crochet class slated for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
Marie and Fraker said that in the future they would be interested in seeing classes on sewing, seed starting, sourdough starters and more at the shop. Those who are willing to lead a class or have ideas for classes they would like to see at Sweet Phoenix can reach out to Marie at sweetphoenixshop@gmail.com or 413-223-2704.
They added that they plan to schedule classes on weekends and evenings to make the sessions more accessible to people who are not available during the typical workday.
Prices will range depending on what the craft or activity is and the cost of materials. For example, Fraker said her crocheting classes cost $50 because participants will get one-on-one instruction and leave with about $25 worth of yarn to continue their projects at home.
Fraker said the number of spaces available in each class will also vary. For crocheting classes, she said she wants to keep attendance fairly small so that she can provide more one-on-one instruction, but for simpler activities, like the Froëbel stars, classes could accommodate larger attendance.
Information about future classes will be posted on the Sweet Phoenix Eventbrite page and on its Facebook page, facebook.com/p/Sweet-Phoenix-61552532573536.
