Arts & Entertainment Business Community

Studio Curio offers after-school arts and crafts

Pencils, markers, paper, paint brushes and Legos are now neatly organized and arranged inside Studio Curio Art. But for a long time, those things — as well as art decor, furniture, storage bins and more — were piled up waiting for Dylan Koch’s dream to come to fruition.

Koch recently opened Studio Curio in building D-404 of The Woods Business Park at 6659 Kimball Dr. The business provides a place for kids ages 5 to 12 to play and learn during after-school classes.

Studio Curio launched with an open house on Aug. 22. It will hit full stride as kids go back to school (the first day of class in Peninsula School District is Wednesday, Sept. 2), offering after-school clubs that encourage creativity.

Dylan Koch has built her dream of opening an art studio dedicated to helping children explore, discover, learn and collaborate. Studio Curio Art is in The Woods Business Park on Kimball Drive, in building D-404. Photos by Lexi Voeller and Blake Rogalski

Reuse, recycle

Koch is a self-described extreme recycler who is always looking for ways to re-use things. Those things were piling up in her apartment, and she had a difficult time explaining to friends and family why she was collecting all of it.

She is putting those items to good use now.

“I spent a ton of time in thrift stores trying to find pieces that would work and I still want to fill it out a bit more,” Koch said.

She said the space on Kimball Drive is perfect for her vision. One room became a Lego City, where children immerse themselves and use their imaginations to create. Another is for art and clay creations, while the lobby is set up for parents with smaller children who can explore sensory bins and other safe play while older siblings are engaged in an art activity.

“This was a turn-key place, it was already painted and the only thing I want to do is put down some sort of vinyl over the carpet,” Koch said. 

The Hageness family spent time at the Studio Curio Art open house meeting owner Dylan Koch and exploring the rooms where the clubs will meet. Studio Curio Art offers after-school clubs that focus on a different art medium each day from 4 to 6 p.m. Photos by Lexi Voeller and Blake Rogalski

Club schedule

Each day will be dedicated to a different club, with only 12 spots available for each club. Clubs will meet separately on a different day of the week from 4 to 6 p.m. The schedule so far:

Mondays: Curio Club, which gives kids the option to try different arts and crafts projects.

Tuesdays: Artisans Club, where children will explore painting, drawing, collages, and more.

Wednesdays: The Builders Club, or Lego Club, will meet to build, rebuild, collaborate and develop problem-solving skills.

Thursdays: The Sculptors Club will learn sculpting techniques to explore, create and personalize their original sculptures using clay.

After getting a degree in film and working in the industry for a while, Koch realized she prefers working with children and went back to school for early childhood education. She worked in an in-home daycare for a while and has continued to work at a toy store off and on.

Last summer, Koch led a Lego camp at Little Fox Haven preschool with a group of 4- to 9-year-olds. She said it was very popular, and she still runs into children in town who attended and talk with her about it.

“I did a lot of projects there that we’ll be doing here,” she said. “I kind of workshopped with them and figured out what we were going to do.”

Encouraging creativity

Koch said she plans to help children explore art within boundaries and with just a little bit of instruction, she said.

“I plan to mostly just show them what they can do with different materials, because that’s a big thing just knowing what you can use as different things, to make different things,” she said. “I’ve learned that through trial and error, so kind of helping them along that journey because it’s really fun.”

That will include demonstrations on how to use pieces of packaging and cardboard, as well as other items, in different ways to make art, she said.

“I’m just a big ‘help the planet,’ person,” she said. “I like the design and ingenuity of making something into something else.”

Each club costs $120, or $220 for a double club pass. It’s $300 per month to join all three clubs. A sampler pass, which allows kids to explore three sessions before committing to a club, is $60.

Studio Curio will also host birthday parties on weekends.

For more information and to sign up for clubs, visit Studiocurio.online.

Studio Curio Art includes a room dedicated to art and clay. Children will explore using art mediums within boundaries each week in the after-school clubs led by owner Dylan Koch. Photos by Lexi Voeller and Blake Rogalski