Crafters nirvana

New Leesburg business helps crafters become true business owners

By Audrey Carpenter

There’s no way you can miss the happy bright blue owl, affectionately known as “Arty” on the front window of Artisan Market and Studio in the Village of Leesburg Shopping Center off Catoctin Circle.

Penny Hauffe designed the mascot for the store, which opened Aug. 1, 2023 and is like walking into a crafter’s version of heaven. From wall to wall, front to back of the store, there are hundreds of crafts for purchase, all homemade with love, which put big box stores Michaels and Hobby Lobby to shame. They are items you will not find in any corporate store.

There is everything from wooden furniture to clothing to seasonal items, such as wreaths and decorations, original paintings, jewelry, soaps and body care products, home decor, crochet, resin work and more.

“We celebrate making here,” said Kathy Copeland, co-owner of the shop. She and her partner, Harry Layman, opened the shop to help crafters move beyond the confines of craft shows and farmers markets into professional businesses. Their slogan is, “We support artisans as they grow their business from backyard to boutique.”

The couple started their journey as resin and glass artists and took a very similar path as most handmade businesses, hitting the craft shows and farmers markets. “You should get an Etsy store and sell online!” and “Can I order from your website” were common requests from customers, Copeland said. She also heard, “Oh, you should sell in this cute little downtown boutique!”

“Before we knew it, we were spending more time tweaking our online store and websites, trying to build a social media following, designing our packaging, shipping orders, and other ‘business’ work, that we couldn’t do our art anymore! We never could quite scale our business to find profitability and work/life balance as artists,” Copeland explained.

“What we really wanted was someone to work with us on things we weren’t ready to tackle as artists. Things like packaging, marketing and branding, automation and inventory management, distribution and shipping, event promotions and all the things that took so much of our ‘art’ time away from us!” said Copeland.

They discovered other artists wanted the same thing. That’s how Artisan Market and Studio was born. “We conceived of a business ‘hub’ for artisans. A place where it was not only fun to shop and see all the things that these amazing artisans make, but also a place where they could support each other, teach others their craft, and grow their businesses confidently,” Copeland said.

They tested their approach on a pop-up market in 2021, then tuned the approach and found their current location in 2023. “Now we’re growing our membership strongly focused on our core principles,” she added.

Copeland said she helps artists set up their inventory and sell their products for them and also promote them on social media and live streaming. “We travel to the Farmers Markets and local events so the artists don’t have to,” she added. Essentially, the administrative tasks can be handled by Copeland so the artists can concentrate on their art.

The store has the ability to do custom orders, small batches and personalization on some items, and features a Designer of the Month near the front door of the shop each month to bring new opportunities to artists. The stock frequently changes with the seasons and new creations come in frequently.

Every Saturday the store has a baker, and Copeland said she has plans to develop kitchen bakers into commercially certified bakers. The store also works with students from Davinci Arts for All in Purcellville and ARC of Loudoun to sell their items.

“We also availability to host events, private events, corporate events – anything that allows us to celebrate making with others!” Copeland added.

The store is located at 34 Catoctin Circle SE Suite D in the Village of Leesburg shopping center. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10-6. For more information, visit their website at:
www.artisanmarketandstudio.com/