How it started...

I’ve loved art and crafting for as long as I can remember. In first grade, my school celebrated the Bicentennial with a parade, and each of us had to make a float out of a shoebox. My mom showed me how to wrap little squares of tissue paper around a pencil, dip them in glue, and press them onto the box. Suddenly, my plain shoebox transformed into something magical — colorful, textured, and alive. That project lit a creative spark in me that never went out.

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Art projects carried me through school and through life. They were how I expressed myself, de-stressed, and found joy.

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Years later, after founding and running a nonprofit, I found myself in a new, uncertain season — my kids were getting older, and I wasn’t sure what came next. My husband encouraged me to follow my heart and finally create what I’d always dreamed of: a space filled with imagination, color, and possibility.

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My first introduction to process art came when my oldest was in preschool at Little Dolphins by the Sea in Pacific Palisades. I volunteered for the art committee and discovered this incredible approach to artmaking — one that values freedom, exploration, and expression over perfection. I fell in love with it immediately.

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When I decided to dive headfirst into owning a small business (despite having zero business experience outside my nonprofit work!), I was lucky enough to connect with Ally — the daughter of one of my close friends. With her design and marketing background, and her boundless creativity, Ally helped shape Create! Studio into the joyful, welcoming space it is today.

Even on the hardest mornings, the moment I step into the studio, my heart feels full. This place — the laughter, the colors, the imagination — brings me so much joy.
My hope is that every person who walks through our doors feels that same spark of wonder I felt back in 1976 with my little tissue-paper float.

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Welcome to Create Studio ATX.
We’re so happy you’re here.

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Terri + Ally