Ypsi Alloy Studios opened last summer but not in the space where it planned to stake its claim. The small artist community originally was looking in an the area between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. Instead it landed in a small industrial space within the Ypsilanti city limits.
"It's a little bit smaller than the one before but it's perfect for us," says Elize Jekabson, co-founder of
Ypsi Alloy Studios.
Jekabson, Ilana Houten and Jessica Tenbusch are all artisans active in Ypsilanti’s dynamic art scene. They combined resources to come up with a community space for artisans like themselves. They now have 11 people working at Ypsi Allow Studios, including jewelers, metal smiths, sculptors, painters, illustrators, fiber artisans, fabricators, and a multi-media writer. There is a waiting list to get a space in Ypsi Alloy Studios but interested parties are encouraged to inquire at ypsi.alloy@gmail.com.
The artist space is located in Mansfield Road in 2,440 square feet of a metal worker's shop. The group had to make some small changes to prep the space.
"It ended up working much better," Tenbusch says. "It's in the city limits. The landlord has been a pleasure to work with. He understands what we're trying to do."
"We didn't have much to do beyond adding electrical outlets for each individual space," Houten says.
Ypsi Alloy Studios is looking at launching a crowdfunding campaign in the next few months to fund an expansion of its space. It would like to stay in the same complex. It also plans to host an open house in mid December.
Source: Ilana Houten, Elize Jekabson and Jessica Tenbusch, co-founders of Ypsi Alloy Studios
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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