Mystic Mill Valley

06/02/2026

Morning,

Once again, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about, so I pulled from a few recurring themes: seasons, energy, community, and trying to make time for the things that actually make us feel alive.

I’ve written before about feeling like a seasonal introvert. I love my quiet time. I need it. But lately I’ve been feeling a little more awake, a little more social, a little more ready to be out in the world. I’m feeling the pull of activity, and honestly, I’m not mad about it. It probably has a lot to do with the shift in seasons, even if Mill Valley weather is doing its usual dramatic thing: 80 degrees one day, frigid the next.

I’ve also been trying to pay more attention to what gives me energy and what drains it. Do you notice that? How certain people, places, or activities leave you feeling more alive, while others leave you totally depleted?

I’m a recovering people pleaser (or maybe just a current people pleaser who is working on it), so this is not always easy for me. I tend to take care of other people before I take care of myself. It’s probably why I love the service industry so much, and why you’ll find me endlessly offering you pastries and tea in classes and events.

But I’m learning that community should not just be about giving everything away until you are empty. The good kind of community gives back. It fills you up. It reminds you who you are. It makes you feel a little more like yourself.

My calendar is full to the brim before I leave for my trip, but somehow I don’t feel totally depleted by it. I’m trying to do as much as I can in the studio before I go, and I really hope I get to see you before I head out.

Last night was our Community Co-Working Night (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/community-co-working-night/63EQFJ2IPOIP2W22RACTCAQC) . We are hoping to make these a monthly thing: a cozy, low-key evening for finally tackling the tasks you keep putting off. Bring your laptop, your notebook, your pile of admin, your endless accounting (one day I will be caught up), or whatever you need to get done. Sometimes just sitting around other people doing their work helps you actually do yours.

We also have two Collage Clubs coming up, one at Madrona Bakery (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/collage-night-at-madrona-bakery/JTAIF7F4OCK6FAOQA7OSOPX2) and one in the new B-SIDE Studio (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/mon-6-8-26-6-15-7-45pm-collage-club/WANFEBSQZ3L7PM3N2GIWDYVM) . These will be my last before August, which feels wild. If you’ve been wanting to come collage with me before I leave, grab a spot.

And this Sunday is our Craft Swap (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/craft-supply-swap/KY4FUJ6KHT5ITYD7JKBO7FT2) ! Bring the extra supplies you’re not using and give them a good home. Take home some new-to-you treasures. It’s one of my favorite kinds of events because I love keeping things out of the landfill. (I am also totally an anti-consumerist shop owner. Yes, this is an everyday internal struggle.)
More details here. (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/craft-supply-swap/KY4FUJ6KHT5ITYD7JKBO7FT2)

So, come by. Come make something. Come co-work. Come swap supplies. Come sit at the table with us before I disappear for a bit. Classes will still be happening this summer! Actually, there are SO many classes I am bummed I will personally miss. (Please come take them and then tell me all about it!)
Our team will be holding it down this summer and I am so utterly grateful to them.

Hope to see you soon,
Andrea

HERE IS A PREVIEW OF WHAT IS COMING UP:

FOR THE KIDS

Fall programming is here! Summer camps are filling up! Sign up today!

Click here for an update from MYSTIC!

05/26/2026

Morning,

I’m not totally sure what I want to write about this week, but I keep coming back to connection (a recurring theme for me). I usually start my Tuesday mornings not knowing exactly what I want to say, just a few bullet points I know I need to cover, and somehow it turns into a newsletter.

I took the Neurographic Art + Sound Bat (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/neurographic-art-sound-bath-with-sound-garden/AZFSZMORWRJRL7APCUBHORBX) h class with Sound Garden (https://www.soundgarden.co/) last Friday. I even got a babysitter, which is rare, and I am so glad I did. It was so relaxing. So grounding. And it felt really good to be in the studio as a participant.

It also felt really good to collaborate with another local business. That is one of the things I’m most excited about lately: finding ways to work with other wonderful people and small businesses in town. Life feels so much better when we find ways to connect and support each other.

The evening combined two of my favorite things - intuitive art and sound baths. If you have never done a sound bath before, I highly recommend it. It is an experience. You can take the next one with us in June (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/neurographic-art-sound-bath-with-sound-garden/AZFSZMORWRJRL7APCUBHORBX) , or visit Sound Garden (https://www.soundgarden.co/) just down the street off Blithedale.

As for other cool collaborations, we also have a Stick + Stitch workshop (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/tue-6-16-6-9pm-stick-and-stitch-sashiko-at-cypress/G6MBVC5A2YJCRG6AP56PMCQD) with Embroidered Panda (https://www.embroideredpanda.com/) coming up at Cypress (https://www.cypressmillvalley.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqSO1VIDv-scD_EFR7pWbe_9qt3XcYtAyI7lLwnwMmBE_U63_O8) , a clothing shop just down the street. We are excited for more of these kinds of partnerships. Send ideas our way!

Somehow we have been open for 19 months now, which is wild. I know I say this all the time, but where does time go?

And speaking of the future, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes on programming for fall and the year ahead.

Kid's After School Art Club (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/art-club-monthly-membership-2026-2027-/WAAPPTLFIO2LOHQV7EZAH3I2) will be back in the fall, and this time it will be 5 days a week! We are creating a place I always wanted as a kid - a place to drop in, hang out, and make art.
The studio will be open after school until 5:15pm and you can sign your child up for either 5 flexible hours a month or 15 flexible hours a month. We are offering an early sign-up discount if you register before August.

Summer camps (https://www.mysticmv.com/shop/summer-camp/LVBAC6UYLKNHEW3H73L4BOWW) are also filling up, so if you are thinking about signing up for a day, a few days, or a full week, take a look soon.
We even have conference week drop-ins on the website! (And no school day drop-ins if you really like to plan ahead...)

I’ve been feeling really excited by what is happening at Mystic lately. The shop feels like it is finding its groove, which feels amazing. And the studio is still growing, still becoming, still finding its rhythm. It is such a labor of love, and every person who signs up for a class helps us keep building this creative community space.

On Sunday night I hosted Collage Night at Madrona Bakery (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/collage-night-at-madrona-bakery/JTAIF7F4OCK6FAOQA7OSOPX2) , and one of my favorite things is watching people who don’t know each other start connecting over glue sticks and magazines. Truly. It is the best.

Collage Club (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/mon-6-8-26-6-15-7-45pm-collage-club/WANFEBSQZ3L7PM3N2GIWDYVM) in the studio has also become something I look forward to every month. It is often the same wonderful crew, and I love watching that little community grow.

Maybe that is what this is all about. Connecting with one another. Learning things. Making stuff. Spreading a little love and joy where we can. I don’t have the answer to the meaning of life, but that feels like a pretty good place to start.

So come take a class.
Come alone. Bring a friend. Make something. Meet someone. Sit quietly. Laugh. Surprise yourself a little.

We have so many good ones coming up, and we would love to see you in the studio soon.

With love,
Andrea

HERE IS A PREVIEW OF WHAT IS COMING UP:

FOR THE KIDS

Fall programming is here! Summer camps are filling up!

Click here for an update from MYSTIC!

05/25/2026

hope to see you in the studio soon!

05/21/2026

Our B-SIDE studio is pretty dreamy ✨

05/21/2026

Fabric Paint Workshop with in the new magical B-SIDE studio.
You don’t want to miss it! Link in bio.

05/20/2026

🌈✨

05/19/2026

Morning,

I’ve been thinking more about last week’s newsletter, about community and belonging, and what we are really trying to create here at Mystic.

Mystic is not just here for people who already think of themselves as artists.
It is here to help people remember that creativity is already in them. We are all born creative. We are creative beings.

Yes, we are an art shop. Yes, we are an art studio. Yes, we sell supplies and host classes and workshops and lots of other fun things.
But underneath all of that, I think what we are really trying to do is help people feel creatively alive again.

I want someone to walk into the shop thinking, “I have no artistic talent” (even though I really do not believe that is true and I really don’t want people to think that), and leave feeling even a tiny spark of inspiration.
Maybe they buy a notebook and go sit somewhere beautiful and draw or write. Maybe they scribble something messy. Maybe they sign up for a class they were a little nervous to take. Maybe they meet someone new. Maybe they remember that making things does not have to be perfect or useful or impressive.

It can just be yours.

I want someone to walk in and think, “Maybe I’ll take this sketchbook on a hike and paint wildflowers.” Or start collaging. Or learn to knit. Or write again. Or notice color a little differently on their walk home.

That is the part that lights me up...
Helping people feel inspired, hopeful, connected...a little more joyful and awake to the world around them.

Maybe that sounds overly positive. I don’t think I’m unrealistic about life. I for sure have a healthy amount of pessimism in me, too. But I do tend to look for the good in things and in people. Sometimes to a fault, probably.

But honestly, I would rather live that way.

The world can feel heavy enough. Life is hard. We need places that remind us to make things, to connect, to daydream a little, to try something new, to be bad at something and still enjoy it.

So if you have been needing a little something, come by.
Wander the shop. Come talk to us. Take a class. Come to open studio. Bring a friend. Come alone. Make something messy and imperfect.

You might surprise yourself.

Hope to see you soon,
Andrea

HERE IS WHAT IS COMING UP IN THE STUDIO:

FOR THE KIDS

Fall programming preview is coming soon! We are working so hard behind the scenes to bring some amazing kid's programming to the new studio. Stay tuned! In the meantime, we hope to see your kids at summer camp!

Click here for an update from MYSTIC!

05/15/2026

05/12/2026

Morning,

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about community and belonging. I guess I actually always am...

I’ve written before about how much community means to me and how much I love creating spaces where people can gather, connect, and feel inspired. But at the same time, if I’m being honest, I’ve also spent a lot of my life feeling like an outsider. Like I exist somewhere in-between.

I’ve always kind of done my own thing, which I think can be both beautiful and lonely.
And honestly, maybe a lot of this just exists in my own head. But maybe other people feel this way too? Do we all secretly feel a little outside of things sometimes?

Someone recently told me that I seem like the kind of person who does their own thing and doesn’t really care what other people think. Part of me felt proud hearing that. Isn’t that what I want for my own kids? To be independent. To trust themselves. To not shape their whole lives around other people’s opinions?
But another part of me felt strangely singled out by it. Because I think, at the end of the day, most of us just want to feel like they belong somewhere.

Honestly, I’m a grown adult with businesses and kids and a lot of responsibilities, but sometimes I still feel like a kid wearing an adult body suit trying to figure it all out.

Maybe that’s part of why I create these spaces.

And honestly, I’m really proud of what we (and by “we” I mean my incredible team and this amazing community) are building here at MYSTIC. We’re collaborating with neighboring businesses, trying weird and creative ideas, beating to our own drum a little bit, and building connection in our own way.

And maybe that’s enough. Maybe belonging doesn’t always mean perfectly fitting in. Maybe it means finding people you can be yourself around.

That’s what I hope the shop and studio continues to be...

A place to meet like-minded folks.
To make art together.
To connect.
To feel a little less alone in whatever weird, beautiful in-between space you exist in.

We have some really wonderful classes and gatherings coming up, and I hope you’ll join us. I'm excited about what we are trying to make happen.

And speaking of belonging…
I’m also getting ready for something I’m incredibly excited about. I’ll be heading to Portugal soon to spend six whole weeks with my family. It’s where I spent my summers growing up, and one of the places in the world where I truly feel at home.

Maybe that feeling of “home” is what we’re all searching for in one way or another.

Until then, join me for these next couple of Collage Clubs (https://www.mysticmv.com/product/mon-5-18-26-6-15-7-45pm-collage-club-donation-based-/O2L4L2JDOFBETAL6FDCROEYX) before I disappear for a bit.

Onward.

Hope to see you soon,
Andrea

PS. A quick shout out to our friends at The Phoenix Used Bookshop (https://www.phoenixusedbookshop.com/) , who officially open tomorrow! They are opening a used bookshop dedicated to kids and teens ages 0–16 at 501 Magnolia Ave in Larkspur, and an all-ages shop is already in the works.
They are having an opening party on Saturday! Go show them some love.

HERE IS WHAT IS COMING UP IN THE STUDIO:

FOR THE KIDS

Click here for an update from MYSTIC!

05/12/2026

Polaroid Emulsion Transfer = newly obsessed with this process.
Come try it out!