Artist 7ove Child (Marlon Davila) with one of his murals.

A Haven for Creativity and Community

By Laurie Pellichero | Art and photos courtesy of Princeton Makes

Creativity abounds at Princeton Makes artist cooperative, located in the heart of the Princeton Shopping Center at 301 North Harrison Street. Opened nearly four years ago with 25 members, it now has 40 member artists who work across a wide range of artistic genres including painting, drawing, stained glass, sculpture, lamps, window hangings, textiles, handmade greeting cards, jewelry, and much more. All the artists are local and must live within a two-town radius of Princeton.

The 5,000-square-foot space features plate glass windows facing the center’s courtyard, 24 open artist studios, and additional display and working areas. There is also a retail store where the artists all work a minimum of four hours a week as part of their membership. All art is for sale, and whenever the store is open, at least one artist is working in a studio and customers can interact directly with them to observe and learn about their process and technique. Couches and conversation areas can be found throughout.

Jim Levine and his stained-glass works.

Princeton Makes was founded in 2021 by Jim Levine, a longtime Princeton resident who had retired from a career in corporate human resources management at companies such as FMC and Church & Dwight and was looking for new opportunities during the pandemic. “I like to create organizations and businesses and help them grow,” he says, “and I missed the social interactions of a work environment.”

A board member of the Arts Council of Princeton, he served as its interim executive director from 2018-2020 before the hiring of current director Adam Welch. Levine is a stained-glass maker who needed a new space to work. He jokes that he started the coop because his wife wanted to “get him, and the glass shards on the floor, out of the house.”

Fabric baskets by Piroska Toth.

He got the idea for Princeton Makes after people came to the Arts Council looking for studios to create their works.

When he first visited the space in the shopping center, which was previously a sporting goods store, it was raw but he saw the possibilities. “I saw an opportunity for myself and others,” he said. “I can’t do anything of value on my own — you grow while working with others.”

“The shopping center management has been an amazing partner and very supportive,” notes Levine, who adds that Princeton Makes was able to get up and running quickly and less expensively with a host of supplies, tables, desks, chairs, racks, and other furniture left behind by Bon Appetit after it closed its location right across the courtyard. “We called our original style early modern Bon Appetit,” he says.

Adriana Groza at work.

To recruit the first members of Princeton Makes, Levine posted a Facebook announcement for a Zoom meeting for artists, which initially received just a handful of responses. “Everyone had to take a leap,” says Adriana Groza, one of the original members. “But soon we grew.” Groza, who creates abstract paintings using fluid acrylics manipulated directly on deep edge canvas by various means, without a brush, was outgrowing the work space in her Hamilton home and welcomed the chance to create larger paintings at Princeton Makes. “I’ve worked up to 3×6-foot pieces,” she says. Groza paints there during the week while her children are in school. She started in a studio on the main floor, but later moved to an area in the basement that can accommodate her works.

By April Zay with her paintings

Another inaugural member is April Zay, a fine artist, designer, and founder of Hummingbird Arts Studio. She specializes in pet portraiture in oils, paper works, and origami jewelry. “April was the first person to respond to my invitation to learn about Princeton Makes, and it was her enthusiasm for the concept that convinced me I was on to something,” Levine says.

The artists at Princeton Makes are of varied artistic and personal backgrounds. Some are full-time artists, while others are not. They all bring different perspectives and interests to the cooperative. Levine notes that it’s a very international community, with artists from Canada, China, Colombia, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Moldova, Romania, and the United States. The members work in their studios at various times, depending on their schedules. “Some can only come during the week, and others on weekends,” says Levine.

Jewelry by Bernadette Suski-Harding.

While the artist cooperative is a community unto itself, with monthly meetings over a pot-luck meal and support and celebrations for each other’s life events, it is also devoted to offering events to engage and benefit the greater Princeton community. These include Art in the Courtyard, Art at Night, the monthly Inside Artist’s Studio artist talks series, Java Jam, and member shows in the Art in the Basement gallery, including the recent “Roots and Radiance” exhibition.

“We want to involve more nonprofits and cultural organizations in the area in Art in the Courtyard,” says Groza, who is also involved in marketing for Princeton Makes.

Ceramics by Zohar Lavi-Hasson – Zorkeramics.

Monthly Second Sunday Poetry Readings and open mic poetry are hosted in partnership with Ragged Sky Press, a local publisher that has historically focused on mature voices, overlooked poets, and women’s perspectives. Yoga is offered once a week, and they have partnered with Princeton Adult School, through which some of the member artists teach classes. “The fun part is that we try stuff, and if it doesn’t work, we try something else,” says Levine.

“The community we have built is strong and supportive, on an artistic and personal level,” he says. “It’s really everything I could have hoped for.”

Princeton Makes artist cooperative is open to the public Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or during special events. For more information and artist applications, visit princetonmakes.com. Questions can be directed to princetonmakes@gmail.com.

Artwork on display.