About Us

Our story

In 2015, I went to the Wadsworth Atheneum to listen to Mark Bradford in conversation with Ruben Ochoa. Both artists talked about how they found materials for their art. They used materials from hardware stores and in dumpsters. They didn’t choose these materials as “found objects” — it was what each of them could afford. There I was, listening to acclaimed artists call out the inaccessibility of making art. As someone who has always felt the need to create, but hasn’t always had the disposable income to do so, this resonated.

Five years later, I was reminded of this conversation. The world was experiencing a global pandemic 100 years in the making and we were all on lockdown. To make sense of the chaos, I made things. Some things were better than others, but I kept my hands busy. I took up painting, knitting, brush-lettering, paper making, and macrame weaving. The start-up costs of these new found hobbies were so expensive.

Then, I stumbled on a TikTok video posted by the Sacramento artist collective known as Broad Room. The founder, Claire, was showing us their free art supply closet. A lightbulb went off for me — we could do this in Connecticut!

– Gabbie Barnes, Founder (gabbiebarnes.com)