Some people believe that laughter is the best medicine. And Anita Williams-Galiano is one of them.
“We encourage it as often as possible. It is one of the last free medicines out there,” Williams-Galliano said, sitting at a craft table in her Pennington studio, Laugh, Craft, & Be Well.
Galliano describes her studio as place where children and adults can exercise their minds and bodies. Visitors and students can make crafts, paint, exercise, dance, practice yoga, sing and, of course, laugh. Williams-Galiano’s experience has taught her that laughter makes physical activity and the creative process more fun.
The studio uses a multi-generational learning approach and serves kids, parents, grandparents, teens and adults. It’s not unusual for a family spanning three generations to take a craft class together. Williams-Galiano encourages visitors to “learn it and pass it on.” Kids learn from adults and from each other. Adults learn from adults and sometimes from kids. She believes that you never stop learning. It’s a lifelong process.
“It goes back to how I learned,” she said. “I remember growing up sitting under my Mom’s Singer sewing table. And as I learned from my mom, my daughter is learning from me.”
A strong aspect of the studio’s philosophy is its “no bullying or gossiping” policy. The school’s learning environment is based on the Search Institute’s “Forty Developmental Assets for Middle Childhood.” Some of the assets include caring, equality and social justice, integrity, cultural competence and peaceful conflict resolution.
“A child needs to feel safe to be creative,” Williams-Galliano said.
This summer, the studio is offering several day camp programs for kids with new themes every week from June 25 to August 24. Ladies Night Out, an evening of craft, chat and snack, is offered June 1. Contact the studio for July and August dates.
A few of the summer camp craft programs include using items found outdoors to make crafts. Williams-Galiano calls this process “touch-worthy landscapes.”
One project will incorporate the summer Olympics into craft projects by exploring Olympic symbols, ceremonies and flags.
In another project, crafters will make and decorate useful items from objects found in the house, like newspapers and duct tape.
Williams-Galiano attributes her success to lessons she learned from her grandmother, help from family and friends, and from community support. In the family tradition, Williams-Galiano’s kids, her friends and their kids helped get the studio ready for its September 2011 opening.
Her college-bound son Matthew, her 10-year old daughter Alicia, and her business partner’s kids, Sam and Rachel helped unpack boxes, paint and clean up. Alicia came up with the idea of using a tree as the studio’s logo.
Williams-Galiano’s business associates Susan Weiner and Jenneke Vandereree have been supportive from the beginning. Weiner handles event planning, and manages craft and gift sales. Vandereree is the studio’s fabric instructor.
In Williams-Galiano’s early career years, she worked for Universal Dance Camps, teaching dance at universities in the U.S. She worked in the corporate world for 20 years holding positions in operations and conducting business training courses for employees.
“I come from a creative family, five generations deep of teachers,” Williams-Galliano said.
Visit the Laugh, Craft, & Be Well studio at the Pennington Market Shopping Center, Suite 9. Phone: (609) 303-0288. On the Web: laughcraftbewell.com. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 12-4 p.m. Call to reserve times for open crafts, parties, Ladies Night Out, and private sewing lessons.
Pennington resident Stevie Sanderson creates “Princess Fuzzie” at a birthday party at Laugh
