Creating a Living Space

We are a community open studio in Westminster, Colorado. Since we've opened, we've had over 1,400 visitors through classes, open studio, meetups and events. All of our projects are focused on the ways people get to know each other; even if you're introverted or awkward, you have a place in community. 

Open Studio runs 5 days a week and is completely pay-what-you-can. This allows visitors the option to sit in our space and get creative, either with a project from home or one they make from our supply library. We have yellow and blue cards on our tables; the yellow card means "Hello! I'd like to chat!" and blue cards mean "I'd prefer to be left alone." Everyone is welcome to share space, no matter what mood they're in.

We also run sliding scale classes and workshops to make learning art accessible. Classes that aren't sliding scale are designated to pay scales that allow our artists to make a living wage from sharing their expertise.

We are fundraising to cover the direct costs of running the space and allowing these offerings. As we grow, we need the support of our community to maintain this creative sanctuary. Your donation goes directly to the costs of running the space; we are presently a volunteer organization, there are no hidden interests, just a little place with a lot of faith in what we're building.

A Breakdown of the costs:

Leasing Costs: The cost of leasing our space and keeping it available to the public.

Ongoing Expenses: This includes things like utilities, insurance, software subscriptions, etc.

Supplies and Materials: This can range from different papers and canvas, adhesives, paints and inks, anything that may be part of our library or general class structure that we don't cover by donation.

Unrestricted Funds: There are various reasons why nonprofits need unrestricted funds. In our case, this is padding to help compensate our teachers even if the sign ups are low, help pay performers on shows, allow us room for any surprise expenses that occur, and help us prepare and save so we can hire on full time employees. Node is currently completely run on a volunteer basis, but we know first hand how real burnout can be. We believe and are striving to fairly compensate for the generous gifts of labor we've been offered.