Trina Collins was warned of the dangers of setting up a creative business but on Saturday the owner of Anchors Aweigh Art Studio (A.A.A.S) will host a party to celebrate a successful first year of trading.
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And, she is opening up the Coniston studio’s warehouse roller door on September 6 and inviting the public in for a day of art, music and Mexican food.
Birthday festivities begin at 11am with product demos, live screen printing, a children’s art and craft table, face painting and delicious food served by Machina Cantina.
From 2pm the party turns up a notch with well-respected Sydney aerosol artist Grizzle painting the studio’s roller door; artists Trait, Stacie Sims and Spate adding some colour to the internal warehouse walls, and Poncho Army facilitating a public stencil wall where party-goers can choose a pre-cut stencil and paint it on the collaboration wall in the outdoor yard space.
There will also be music from contemporary violinist Jane Aubourg and street party tunes being spun by vinyl DJ The Paisley Nightmare.
A.A.A.S has been conducting art workshops in urban, contemporary and graphic mediums for the past year.
Ms Collins set up A.A.A.S because she wanted to prove that creative businesses could operate without the need for funding, grants or subsidised rent. Having run the same gauntlet of rough seas that many new businesses go through in their first year of operation, she was proud to reach the one-year milestone.
‘‘It was hard, especially the first six months, as I had no money to market the studio so I was relying solely on word of mouth and social media,’’ she said. ‘‘Slowly new faces started to come in to purchase materials, sign up for workshops or just see what the studio was about and it started to snowball. I started out teaching around 10 students a week and am now teaching 50-plus. Recently I signed up four casual studio assistants who work a few hours a week in trade of free studio space.’’
The birthday party is at 138b Auburn Street, Coniston. The free event runs from 11am to 5pm.
Information: www.anchorsaweighartstudio.com