Union Street Studio To Open Saturday, ‘Add Joy’ To Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Kristine Aylmer will fulfill a decades-long dream when she opens the doors to Union Street Studio on Saturday in Doylestown.

Admired by her family for her ability to plan events and manage fundraisers, the former teacher is ready to take her talents into the professional realm.

Union Street Studio, located at 224 N. Main St., will be a creative space that “adds joy to people’s lives” through a variety of programs, workshops and meetings, Aylmer said.

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The studio can also be rented out as a venue for special events and parties, or whatever else customers would like to do with the space. Union Street Studio is “a community space that brings folks together with love, acceptance and creativity,” she said.

Aylmer is set to run two afterschool programs — one on Mondays and Wednesdays, the other on Tuesdays and Thursdays — where kids can work in a variety of artforms. She also plans to host “DIY Days” for kids to learn how to make jewelry and magnet flowers, draw with chalk, build decoupage and much more.

Aylmer is planning to leave Fridays open for programs that allow kids with special needs to connect with other teens.

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By hosting these programs, Aylmer is hoping to “plant some seeds and watch them grow beyond what we can imagine.”

Aylmer said the studio’s programs and workshops will provide “an opportunity to sort of disconnect from phones and social media and the pressures of being a teen.”

Aylmer first explored the idea of opening a studio space two years ago, but then “paused” due to the coronavirus pandemic. After months of hard work and planning, Aylmer is “very nervous, but very excited” to welcome guests into Union Street Studio.

“I’m just ready to fulfill that dream of mine,” she said.

Aylmer’s inspiration to open the studio came from her mother, who “taught me how to be creative and kind and fearless.”

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Though she’s never run a studio, Aylmer has a wealth of skills and experience from her 10 years teaching and her time running an interior-design business. She said her accounting degree from Lehigh University also gives her confidence she will succeed as an entrepreneur.

Aylmer said she loves working with kids and being creative, so she’s “marrying those two together” to create programs “that will connect people in a positive, sort of celebratory, way.”

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She also hopes the space can help local residents reconnect after being socially isolated throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Aylmer wants Union Street Studio to become a cornerstone of the Doylestown community for years to come.

“Success for me would be building community,” she said.

Aylmer will start that process Saturday, with help from her family, by inviting Doylestown Arts Festival guests a few blocks north to check out Union Street Studio.

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