Children’s Craft Studio, Retail Shop Coming to Fanwood Crossing This June

Fanwood residents Amy and Demian Boroff will be opening Fanwood Crossing’s second business Be Craftful at 250 South Avenue, this June.

The part craft studio, part retail shop dons a tagline “Create, Gift, Giggle” and is a place where you can go with your kids, Amy Boroff said.

“There’s definitely a lack of places you can go with your kids, “ Amy said of Fanwood. “This is what we’ve been needing.”

However, Boroff said ‘Be Craftful’ would also host nights just for mommies.

Be Craftful will be part ‘craft pit,’ as the Boroff’s call it, and other half retail.  The establishment will host birthday parties, as well as be a one stop shop for gifts if you’re heading out to a shower or birthday party and don’t want to hop on Route 22, Amy said.

Amy told Patch that they are planning to carry many personalized items that can be monogrammed for children. For example, robes, lettering for walls, toy chests and more will be sold on the retail side of things.

“We will have a lot options in a small space,” she said.

Be Craftful is about 1,000 square feet and will have four tables for drop-ins, classes and crafting and the other area allocated to the unique items they plan to sell that you wouldn’t find in most chain kids toy stores.

The Boroff’s were looking for a location to open Be Craftful for about six months, when the ultimately decided their current town of Fanwood really needed this.

The couple has enough ideas to last them a few years and the excitement they have for their new business is very evident when they speak of it.

“It has to surround around giggling,” Demian said. “It has to be fun.”

Some of the ideas include: teen nights, paper craft nights, community service projects, such as having high school students create projects for local non-profits around the holidays, ‘crash the pit’ nights, mommy and daughter days, making sun catchers, finger painting, creating flags for the 4^th of July and plenty more. Demian said they would also like to host ‘Daddy and me’ classes to create projects such as birdhouses.

Demian, who has years of retail and customer service experience under his belt, said it is great having the space and opportunity to do something like this.

“We are excited,” the couple said.

Amy, who holds a degree in Elementary Education, has a special room just for crafts at the couple’s home for their daughter Aliette. Having had the experiences of creating homemade gifts with her daughter validated that having a business where children can come and make handmade crafts and gifts would be the perfect business for the couple to open.

Already, the Boroff’s have had several requests for birthday parties.

“The response has been really good,” Amy said.  She added that about 50 percent of people who liked or followed the business on social media, were people they don’t even know.

The couple is also hoping to feature and highlight local artists. They are already working with local photographer Carolyn Ann Ryan and they hope to feature any other Fanwood residents with talent and possibly host an Etsy trunk show.

Be Craftful will not be overly pampered up, Demian said. The couple plans to paint and seal the concrete floors but let the messes of paint, glue and more the children will create add to the fun aspect of the ‘craft pit.’

For more on Be Craftful, visit their Facebook page or Twitter account.