This month marks one year since the trio of women opened Ypsi Alloy Studios, a small makers space for local artists, and they’re looking for more.
Ypsil Alloy Studios has renewed its lease for 2,440 square feet of light industrial space at 564 Mansfield Road. It currently has 11 artists working out of the space and is about to sign a contract with the 12th artist, putting it back to capacity.
"We have metal smiths, fiber artists, sculpturers, wood workers, a fabricator, and a 2-D mixed-media person," says Jessica Tenbusch, co-founder of
Ypsi Alloy Studios.
A couple of the original artists transitioned out of the space this year, one moved to California and another to Finland. Ypsi Alloy Studios was designed to act as a place local artisans could call home. Whether they choose to make it long-term or temporary is up to them, so there is always fluidity to its community.
Tenbusch along with Elize Jekabson and Ilana Houten make up the core team that launched Ypsi Alloy Studios. Now that that have gained some solid footing on it they are looking to do more outreach this year, such as hosting market days at the studios so that patrons can see their tenants' art on a regular basis.
The three women have also cemented the core of their community to help ensure its longevity. Their advice to anyone looking to do something similar: form a team and build on it.
"It's important to have a couple people doing this with you," Houten says. "Don't try to do everything on your own. It definitely requires more than one brain."
Source: Elize Jekabson, Ilana Houten and Jessica Tenbusch, co-founders of Ypsi Alloy Studios
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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