Crafting classes to take on Long Island this fall, winter
Instructor Giovanna D’Angelo, 18, of Baldwin, center, assists Mirza Tanovic, 29, right, and his sister Azra Tanovic, 26, left, both of Forest Hills Queens, during a craft class making terrariums at Modern Terrarium Bar on Oct. 14, in Rockville Centre. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
As the holidays quickly approach, ‘tis the season to start thinking of gifts for loved ones. There’s no better way to show your appreciation than with a handcrafted gift.
“I always think it’s really nice to give people a gift that you made,” says Karen Zimmerman, 50, who’s gifted a handful of terrariums she made at Modern Terrarium Bar in Rockville Centre to friends and family.
Here are creative classes from crafting to painting that you can attend this fall to create a masterpiece of your own:
Make a Zen garden
A terrarium made at Modern Terrarium Bar, October 14, 2022 in Rockville Centre. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Zimmerman, a stay-at-home mom from Huntington, has been attending terrarium workshops at Modern Terrarium for over the past three years, with her 13-year-old son Max, a budding naturalist. They now have a collection of terrariums of various shapes and sizes, some with a single plant, others with multiple plants, displayed around the house.
In recent years, terrarium crafting workshops have been gaining steam, says Liza Warner, a Modern Terrarium Bar team member.
“People were really looking for something to do to relieve stress and just to do something different,” says Warner, who notes that they offer in-store workshops, private events on location and virtual classes.
The shop provides all the materials, tools, instructions and live plants to create open terrariums, which range from 3.5-inch fishbowls to larger geometric designs.
A retail shop that sells premade terrariums, plants, home décor and wellness items, the space also offers DIY paint and plant workshops, which involve painting terracotta pots and learning about indoor planting.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.; Walk-ins welcome for DIY terrarium and paint and plant classes, which hold up to 12 people. Terrarium classes start at $36.95 and go up to $125 for larger terrariums with multiple plants; paint and plant workshops are $46.95.
INFO: 19 S. Village Ave., Rockville Centre, 516-678-8886; modernterrariumbar.com
Crafting with wood
Left to right: Jocelyn Bertone, Lori Messina (Master Maker) Christina Memzellis, Carlene Biondolillo; (Bottom row) Allison Messina and Linda Mistler (Master Maker) at Hammer & Stain in Sayville with their finished projects. Credit: Linda Mistler
At Hammer & Stain in Sayville, customers can choose from over 40 different wood projects, from signs, planters, door hangers, cornhole boards, framed signs and boxes to centerpieces, notes owner Sandra Bernius.
They offer workshops with a pick-your-project format, which include classic and seasonal projects like Thanksgiving centerpiece boxes and Christmas-themed sleds, door hangers and table top décor.
“When you register, you select your project and your design, because we prep everything before,” explains Bernius, adding that the shop also offers vintage ceramic, resin, and chunky blanket workshops.
Over the past four years, Linda Mistler has created 36 projects and counting at Hammer & Stain.
“I enjoy going there because it’s just the whole experience,“ says Mistler, 57, of Sayville, deputy receiver of taxes for Islip. “It’s rewarding because when you come home.”
Known as one of the shop’s “Master Makers” for her prolific output, Mistler has seven porch planks for the holidays with messages like “Candy Cane Lane,” a holiday bench that sits near the Christmas tree, kitchen signs reading, “Country Kitchen,” “Pantry” and “Coffee Bar,” a “Welcome to Our Home” key rack, door hangers and many more.
Having organized a number of crafting parties at the shop, Mistler says you don’t have to be crafty to create beautiful items for the home. “You cannot make mistakes. Everything can be corrected. It’s awesome,” Mistler says.
INFO: 15 Main St., Sayville, 631-891-5524; hammerandstainli.com; Advance registration required; Workshops start at $40, which includes all materials and instruction. Upcoming classes: Nov. 12 at 6 p.m., Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 20 at 2 p.m., Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 27 at noon and Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Paint and sip workshop
Try watercolor painting, paint on wine glasses, and more during a Paint ‘N Sip class at The Village Artist in Huntington. Credit: The Village Artist
You’ll get step-by-step instruction at the Paint ‘n Sip workshops at The Village Artist in Huntington, which run two Friday evenings each month.
“We have a themed painting for the evening, whether it be a Huntington Lighthouse painting or, for the fall we do autumn, harvest, sunflower and pumpkin scenes,” says Lori Hochberg, owner. “It’s seasonal and changes throughout the year.”
In addition to the workshops, The Village Artist offers private parties and girls’ nights out, for a minimum of 10 people.
“We have an artist that will guide you through the painting, step by step,” she says. “We break it down, make it easier for beginners. Most of the people that come never painted before.”
The workshops are meant to be social events and BYOB is encouraged for anyone over 21, explains Hochberg.
“We try to keep it light and fun and stress free,” says Hochberg. In addition to acrylic paintings on canvas, the shop offers watercolor instruction and painting on wineglasses, coffee mugs, and oil and vinegar bottles.
The shop attracts regulars who come back to do other projects.
“So that’s why we try to change the paintings up, so you have different paintings all the time,” Hochberg says.
INFO: 630 New York Ave., Huntington, 631-271-0715; thevillageartist.com; 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 (Autumn barn theme), Dec. 2. (Tuscany landscape) and Dec. 16 (Winter scene); $45 per workshop, which runs 90 to 120 minutes, includes all supplies and instruction, and holds up to 20 people; Advance registration required.
