Maddie Fox’s eye for creative business concepts was heavily influenced by her time studying marketing under professors Karl Gude and Ross Chowles at Michigan State University.
After graduating in 2021, Fox channeled their lessons as she considered opening her own business. Her brainstorming efforts, alongside a lifelong passion for arts and crafts, yielded the idea of a community crafting space in her home neighborhood of Old Town.
She discussed her vision with local entrepreneur Rob Iafano, who jumped on board to help make it a reality. The pair opened the Craft Bar on Dec. 11 in a 1,200-square-foot space that previously housed Metro Melik 517 until it closed in August.
Since then, Fox has been busy seven days per week helping patrons create custom candles. She plans to gradually add other crafts to the mix in 2025, including soap and fragrance making and painting.
“It’s going to keep developing,” she said. “There willl be more and more crafts being introduced as the months go on, and there will always be new, fresh workshops to come to.”
Customers can pre-register for crafting sessions through the shop’s website, though it also accepts walk-ins. Every so often, Fox said she plans to host special workshops with limited space.
“We’ll have occasional crafts where it’s just one night, and you have to sign up to get your seat,” she said. “Those are a little bit more exclusive. But for the most part, you’ll be able to do most of our crafts on a daily basis.”
The Grand Rapids-area native said she isn’t aware of any Michigan businesses with a similar concept. It felt right to launch it in Old Town, which she called “Lansing’s art district.”
“We didn’t want to offer just one thing, like candle making, where people will do it once and get bored of it. We wanted something where families could continue to come here throughout the year so that they can have something fun to do with their friends, or for a date night,” she said. “We also wanted to make sure that all kinds of people could come here. So, if you have an elderly person in your life and you need to find something fun to do with them, it works for that. It also works for kids.”
At MSU, Fox said Gude and Chowles showed her that “everyone can be creative.” That motto motivates her to help area residents find their own artistic niches.
“Creativity is a muscle, just like anything else, and Gude really demonstrated in his class that that concept is true,” she said. “Anyone can do the stuff we have here, and we’ll help them step by step.”
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