Middleburg • Local Business
Margaret Panik had told her husband the dream was over. Two weeks and a lot of paint later, Clay County had a new place to make art together.
There is a little studio along County Road 218 where children can get messy with paint, adults can learn something new, friends can gather for a creative night out, and nobody has to walk through the door already knowing how to make art.
That is exactly what owner Margaret Panik wanted when she opened Let’s Create Studios at 4213 County Road 218, Suite 2, in Middleburg.
But the colorful studio almost never happened.
Panik’s original idea began years earlier after she moved to the area. She wanted to teach art and began offering paint-and-sip events and classes from a rented room at the Tea House in Keystone Heights.
She had been teaching there for about a year when COVID-19 arrived and everything shut down. When she was ready to try again, Panik wanted something closer to home and began searching for a permanent location in Middleburg.
Finding an affordable space proved difficult.
Eventually, Panik told her husband she was giving up.
“My dream’s dead. Let’s just move on with life.”
— Margaret Panik, recalling what she told her husband
A few days later, she went shopping with a friend. While checking out, Panik noticed that space at the property might be available.
Something told her to ask about it.
She did.
And suddenly, the dream wasn’t dead anymore.
“Sign me up now,” Panik recalled saying after learning the space was available.
Two weeks to transform a space
Panik and a friend initially launched Let’s Create Studios together, combining painting and crafting.
Once the previous tenant moved out, they had roughly two weeks to transform the space. Hundreds of items had to be removed from the walls, holes filled, everything was painted and new flooring was installed.
About three months after opening, Panik’s business partner had to leave.
That created another problem.
Panik knew painting. Her partner had been the crafter.
“So now I was left with, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I going to do? I don’t know how to do crafts,’” Panik recalled.
Her solution was simple: she learned.
Today, Panik teaches both arts and crafts and brings independent instructors into the studio for additional activities such as sewing and crochet.
Something Middleburg families can actually use
For Panik, choosing Middleburg was also about filling a gap.
Families in the rapidly growing Middleburg and Lake Asbury area often find themselves driving elsewhere for children’s activities and enrichment opportunities.
Panik wanted her children’s programs to remain accessible.
“I wanted to make it affordable for kids,” she said.
That philosophy extends to birthday parties.
Panik told ClayFLNews that she intentionally tries to keep children’s parties reasonably priced because she knows that not every family has the same financial resources.
“Everybody deserves a nice party.”
— Margaret Panik
Parties generally run between 90 minutes and two hours. Panik works with the parent and birthday child to choose a project, then guides the children through it.
Not just for kids
Despite its appeal to families, Let’s Create Studios isn’t simply a children’s art studio.
Adults can take painting and craft classes, and the studio hosts private events, adult birthday parties, paint-and-sip gatherings and recurring groups.
Homeschool groups can also schedule activities at the studio.
For painting events, Panik teaches the project from beginning to end.
Participants don’t need artistic experience. She walks them through the painting step by step.
Guests booking private events can bring their own food and beverages while Panik handles the creative side of the gathering.
Seasonal projects change throughout the year. With fall approaching, the studio is already working on Halloween and holiday projects, including decorative witch hats, haunted houses, ornaments and other crafts.
What you can do at Let’s Create Studios
- Kids’ classes and birthday parties — 90 minutes to two hours, project chosen with the family
- Adult painting and craft classes — no experience needed, taught step by step
- Paint-and-sip nights and private events — bring your own food and drinks
- Homeschool group activities and recurring groups
- Sewing, crochet and more with independent instructors
- Seasonal projects — witch hats, haunted houses and ornaments this fall
Building an art community in Clay County
Panik sees the studio as more than a place to complete a project and take it home.
Asked what she ultimately hopes Let’s Create Studios brings to Clay County, her answer was straightforward.
“I would love to build on the art community, ensure a love of art for the kids and just let adults come in and meet each other.”
— Margaret Panik
Now, inside a colorful little studio on County Road 218, Panik is giving Clay County families a place to learn, make something with their own hands and, perhaps most importantly, create together.
Visit Let’s Create Studios
Let’s Create Studios
4213 County Road 218, Suite 2
Middleburg, FL 32068
Private parties & events: management@letscreatestudios.com
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