We've made it our life's work to treat kids with kindness and respect. Kids are at their best when they feel safe, loved, seen, and cared for and we work to make sure every kiddo we work with knows that they are pretty awesome. We love working with our hands & learning from each other and believe that happy, healthy kids are built in community.

Our lead teacher is always an experienced art educator who is trained in The Shop Model, a set of working practices developed by founder, Delanie Holton-Fessler. These working practices encourage campers to collaborate, to see failure as a learning opportunity, and to share in the mutual responsibilities of taking care of each other and our workspace. Our lead teacher and campers will also be supported by one highly trained assistant as well as one teen intern.

We are dedicated to creating a fun, safe, and nurturing environment for kids of all backgrounds and abilities. All of our staff are committed to treating children with respect and dignity. We love kids! Our staff is also fully vaccinated against COVID,  are certified in CPR and first aid, have undergone a CBI and FBI background check, and are mandatory reporters.

We purposely host multi-age camps for elementary school aged kids. We think of the shop as a one-room schoolhouse. Our younger campers are encouraged by the work of older campers, older campers become experts and leaders, collaboration is fluid, and working to one’s skills rather than age expectations becomes easier. Because of our small group size, our instructors can differentiate and support each camper’s unique needs. Our teen interns are all former campers and serve as role models for the group.

Our camp curriculum is developed by founder, Delanie Holton-Fessler and program director, Anna Loring. We have a combined 35+ years of experience in art education and are leaders in the field of creative build-play. While we carefully plan projects and curriculum, our teachers will follow the lead of the group to explore their unique dynamics, interests, and abilities. 

This will be our 9th summer camp season and we can’t wait!

Each year, we commit to providing at least 20% of our programming at little or no cost to traditionally underserved communities. This includes access to our summer programming. We have a scholarship and sliding scale program. Please reach out for financial assistance or to help provide camp experiences to others. 

We respect and celebrate all children and work through modeling and respectful and positive interactions with our campers. We respect students' pronouns and identities. We understand the needs of neuro-diverse kids and will work with makers and families to support each child to the best of our abilities. We stay curious and our first shop rule is to be kind to ourselves and others. 

We think kids are capable of hard work and personal responsibility. We teach kids safe risk-taking through the use of real tools like low-temp hot glue, hammers, drills, and saws. Makers are taught to be responsible for their safety through expert modeling, observed practice, and gradual, safe independence. 

Because of the nature of our workshops, we may not always be able to meet the unique needs of each child. If you have questions or concerns about if a C&a camp is the right fit, reach out. Let’s talk. We will do our best to provide accommodations.