Creating An Experience: The Birth of Makers Night

I joined the board of directors for The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho (TAM) after a comically unique job interview with our now board president, Jenni, who works at TEC, a big wine & beer distributer in the area. I didn't get the job, but I was brought on at TAM to help create a marketing plan. I had never been to The Art Museum prior to this and didn't know much about them. I did know one thing though; Idaho Falls is boring unless you have kids.

This was my focus from the start, see, TAM has a massive hole in their demographic; 20-40 single/couple households with no kids and money to spend. I fall within that demographic and started my research on what there is to do and what people may want instead. My research resulted in some unsurprising data, majority of "night life" in Idaho Falls is either bars, fancier bars, the occasional local sports game or symphony show, and more bars. There was the infrequent paint & sip night that some bars would put on seemingly once every two years for an extreme cost of up to $60 per person. These paint & sip nights would be poorly put together with no real instructors, just a YouTube video of how to paint a black silhouette tree over a galaxy background or other similar painting projects. Paints and brushes would be dollar store quality and the ticket would include possibly one free drink but other times no drink was included.

Makers Night, though unnamed at the time, was my creation for something more. Something fun, respectable, educational, and most importantly accessible. I took the concept of a paint & sip night and refined it to fit TAM's mission of high-quality art education for all. We'd do away with cheap paints--and even cheaper projects--and offer something with substance. It would be a monthly class, $45 a ticket and would include one free drink, each class would be a different project, and all supplies would be provided. I pitched it to the board of directors but wasn't able to implement its beginning until I transitioned off the board and into a staff member.

My coworker, now dear friend, Ryan De Frisco was an asset in Makers Night's realization. She and I got to work on researching projects, budgets, supplies, and a fitting name. She coined the term, Makers Night. I built a brand around Makers Night that was alluring and exclusive. We pushed the 18+ age limit and made it a special after-hours event on a Friday night once a month. Our first year was an overwhelming success. While I pushed our marketing for the first few classes, after the 3rd or 4th class, I only had to make one post a month for it, usually without putting money behind it. We were selling out fast and those patrons turned into members with two different groups signing up for every class in three-month blocks. Our regulars loved the classes as much as Ryan and I loved teaching them. All but 5 people in the entirety of our first year of Makers Night had never been to the museum before, we were very lucky to be able to give them a lasting and fun experience as their first interaction with TAM.

Our first year explored Bone Building, a skill of mine that involves creating with real animal bones, Paper Making, Collage, Block Printing & Lino Cutting, and much more. This year we'll be diving into other forms of creation such as Flower Arrangements, Friendship Bracelets, Eraser Printing, Pet Paw Mementos where we craft our own nontoxic salt clay, Paint Therapy, Origami, and Quilling. It's been such a wonderful experience to share my love of art with a community that is craving inspiration.

I'm truly humbled with I reflect on what I've built. Makers Night was just a concept, something I felt like I needed in my community. I never would have expected to have the opportunity to build it someday. I feel very proud of this accomplishment. My market research backed the theory I've had for a long time living in Idaho Falls, with Ryan's help in forming project ideas and discussing supplies we were able to achieve three things with Makers Night: close the gap within the missing demographic, convert new patrons to members, and utilize the immense stockpile of unique supplies that were only gaining dust in the backroom. I was given complete control to take Makers Night wherever Ryan and I dreamed with one condition: stay on budget, to which we always did, mostly coming in underbudget when push came to shove.

I'd love to be able to create a similar event or a Makers Night on a larger scale someday. I think wherever I end up, there will always be a need for a clean, educational, and safe environment for citizens to get inspired and create something new. They always end up surprising themselves!