This month’s featured Girl’s Night Out was actually a Girl’s Day Out at Hammer and Stain in North Aurora … and boy did we have some fun and make some awesome projects! A friend of Macaroni Kid Yorkville – Geneva – St. Charles invited me to join her workshop and I saw it as the perfect opportunity to try out Hammer and Stain for myself. I have seen so many social media posts about how amazing their studio is and have been wanting to try it out.
After talking with my friend, she said it was super easy to setup her workshop with them via email and then everyone wanting to go could just go onto the website, select her specific workshop, and select and pay for the project we wanted to make on the day of the event. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy! The hardest part for me was choosing from all of the amazing projects they offer. 😉
For my first visit, I kept it simple. I chose to make a planter box with the word Gather. When you arrive on the day of your workshop, everyone’s projects are setup on the work tables. You find your spot, get settled, and wait for the instructions. Hammer and Stain is owned and operated by Debbie and Christie and has been open since August 2018. These two ladies sure know what they are doing. They have some great projects to choose from and are very willing to help you all along the way. I thought I went simple, but there’s stain colors to choose and lettering colors to choose and whether you want extras (like handles in my case) or not and it can seem overwhelming to some (author raises hand – 🙋🏻♀️). Others walk right in knowing exactly what they want and get to work. And did I mention, they are very patient and kind with those that have a hard time even making simple decisions like picking 1 color for a box and 1 color for a word (it’s usually just the little things though for me – big things I seem to be able to access and make a decision – give me 2 different options for white and I’m like a kid in a candy store). Debbie and Christie listen to what you want to do with your finished product and make suggestions and will give ideas as to your best options.
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It’s actually quite cathartic to sand and paint and buff all while enjoying some great girl talk with friends. Not to mention, one of the bonuses to attending a workshop at Hammer and Stain is that they allow you to bring in your own munchies and offer wine and beer for purchase. In my book that makes it officially a party! We all brought some of our favs and had quite the spread to enjoy as we worked away on our chosen projects. A couple of us made a planter box, some made signs of varying sizes and designs, some made awesome clocks, and one made a beautiful tray.Like I said they have tons of options! My advice is to follow them on Facebook and Instagram, so you don’t miss out on what’s available and the current workshops they are offering. You can also check out all of the details at: www.hammerandstainnorthaurora.com. To find out a little background info on how it came to be, see below for a brief history.
Not needing a GNO/GDO? HaHaHa – as if! They also offer couples workshops, kid parties, scout group parties, work parties, fundraisers, and general workshops that you can sign-up to attend with others wanting to make that particular project also. You can even just setup a time to go in and do a project all on your own … mom time actually sounds like a good idea the more I think about it. And in the near future (here’s a little scoop for you that’s not yet known), they are working on offering some garden art projects and summer camps for kids. And after talking with Christie about some of their camp ideas, it sounds like a ton of fun for the kiddos! I know my girls would love to attend a camp or two themselves.
Want more info … here’s a little about the beginning and background of Hammer and Stain North Aurora … by one of the owners.
My name is Christie and my partner's name is Debbie.We have been open since August 2018 and have been growing ever since. We are an instructor led Do It Yourself studio where people of all ages can come and create some awesome projects. There are over 80 Hammer and Stains across the country but we were the first studio in the Midwest. Most Hammer and Stains are located in the Southern and Eastern states but more and more are popping up in the mid-west and spreading west. We are a very small company and do everything ourselves: arrange all the workshops, customize stencils, cut/sand the wood and build all projects--just the two of us. We love what we do and we love it even more when people come in without any experience and walk out with awesome projects.
We offer wood signs and even some small furniture workshops using stencils and some other techniques. We guide the makers through every step of the projects. We are getting into ceramics too and we also offer hand knitting of large weave cozy blankets. In the summer, corn hole and giant Jenga games are popular. New in 2020 we are hosting a ladie’s night out one Friday a month where more cost effective projects are offered and the focus is on getting together with friends.
Early on we were asked if we had any options for kids. At the time we did not have too many options but since then, we have had so many Girl Scout troupes and birthday parties that we have quite a repertoire of options. Our only requirement is that kids have to be able to get up and sit on our stools without assistance. We have had smaller kids but they must have enough adults with them to help them out.
We have done couples workshops, family reunions, corporate team building events, high school sports team bonding get-togethers and business holiday parties. We are big animal lovers and have done several fundraiser events for local shelters and rescues.
Finally, this summer we will be offering Kids Camp! We are very excited to get this off the ground. Parents can sign their kids up for as many days as they like. We will be offering kids camp 2-3 days a week and every day we will make a different project--some of which have not been offered yet at Hammer and Stain. We have not completely defined the structure of these classes yet but there will most likely be at least 2 separate age groups.
We truly value everyone that comes in to our studio especially when they bring ideas of new things they'd like to see offered. We are not a franchise so we have complete artistic freedom to offer anything that speaks to us. Coming in spring (and not yet released so this can be a scoop for you :) ) we will be offering some awesome garden art options.
(A Note From the Publisher … These opinions are my own. I was not compensated with product or services to write and publish this article.)
