Guilford Mom Opens Children's Art Studio

GUILFORD, CT – Nikki Towle loved going to the Giggling Pig when they lived in Stratford, but when Towle and her family moved to Guilford, the Giggling Pig they would go to was a bit too far of a drive.

“I used to go the Shelton Giggling Pig studio with my daughter for the Mommy and Me classes,” Towle said. “When we moved to Guilford four years ago, I realized there was nothing like the Giggling Pig here to take my daughter to.”

Towle’s response to there not being a Giggling Pin in the Guilford Area? Open one herself.

Towle opened The Giggling Pig in Guilford at 2351 Boston Post Rd—suite 202.

“When I saw that Hannah Perry started franchising them, I thought it would be a good opportunity,” she said.

Towle said she reached out to Perry, the creator, and founder of the Giggling Pig, about a year ago and started brainstorming the best location.

“We wanted to be in the Madison, Guilford area, and then we found this place,” Towle said. “We outfitted the entire place.”

Towle said she loved her experience at the Shelton Giggling Pig and loved how happy she was going to the art studio.

“My sons also loved being there, and even on occasion, I would drive to Shelton to attend some of the Mommy and Me classes,” she said.

As much as Towle enjoyed going to The Giggling Pin, she never pictured herself running an art studio for herself.

“Taking my daughter to the Mommy and Me classes, I often did think this was a good business model,” she said. “I did always want something up here like this.”

One of Towle’s goals is to pass on her feelings about going to the Shelton Giggling Pig to the Guilford and Madison communities.

“I feel art enrichment is significant in a child’s development, and I wanted that for the Guilford and Madison community and my kids,” she said.

Towle said the Giggling Pig in Guilford is the first one along the shoreline, especially in Guilford and Madison.

“It has been a little slow, but as soon as people walk in, they love the idea, they love the art classes and they love everything,” she said. “Everyone tells me we need more things like this in the area.”

“Many parents have told me they love that we do slime here in the art studio because they don’t have to do it at home,” Towle added.

The Giggling Pig in Guilford has been open for about two months, and Towle said they’ve done several birthday parties and a couple of open studio events.

“We run our classes on a school schedule, so it didn’t make sense to start them in May when school was about to end,” she said. “We did start our summer camp on June 19, and we are right in the thick of it now, and we run to the end of August.”

Towle said the art classes at the Giggling Pig in Guilford will start in September, and they run three times a week.

“My daughter and sons love coming here,” she said. “They come in here like they own the place, which of course, but they love it because they walk up to the door and say that’s our art studio, Mommy.”

What makes it more special for Towle is she can do her job with her children.

“I like they are here because I can share this experience with them, but they also help me to test new art styles,” she said. “When I buy a new ceramic, I’ll bring it to them and have them paint it so I can see what age group the ceramic would be good for, or when I have a new type of project, I can see how I should tailor it for different kids.”