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providing just that, as, in the short time that they have been in town, the community has welcomed them with open arms.

One of the benchmarks that the larger Board & Brush organization sets for its individual studios is that, in order for the studio to fully open, they need to reach 1000 followers on their Facebook page. The Woltmanns reached that number in just one week, showing just how much support the local community has given them.

“It’s been a whirlwind for us,” Tanya said, “We didn’t realize how big of a deal it was.”

After speaking with others who had been part of their same training group before opening, the Woltmanns soon discovered that it often took months for other studios to reach the follower goal. After hearing that, they realized that they had found something special.

“We have a lot of opportunities to collaborate locally,” Tanya said. “Board & Brush offers us what they call their national suppliers, for our wood and our hardware, but we have the option to stay local.”

“We can cross market with other companies,” she added, “We have a local bakery down the road and we can do ‘Moms and Muffins’ where we have their muffins or cupcakes here while people create.”

The pair has other plans to work with area businesses to try to further build upon the connections they have already made. Reaching out and being part of the community is an important piece of what Andy and Tanya hope to bring with their new venture.

Ultimately though, making sure that everyone is having fun and walks away with something they can be proud of at the end of the day is the driving force behind the Woltmanns’ efforts.

“My biggest fear is that I don’t want you leaving here with something you don’t like,” Tanya said. “We had a little girl here, she did a growth ruler, and she ripped her stencil off and the paint kind of smudged. You could just see the disappointment. And I looked at her and said, ‘Everything is fixable. Let’s fix it.’ So I’m helping her and I said, ‘Now, I need you to be honest, my heart will break if you leave here and I find out you don’t like it.’ She gave me the biggest hug and she goes, ‘It’s great.’ And that’s our biggest thing. We don’t want you to leave here unsatisfied.”