After 15 years in the film industry in Vancouver, Melanie Ward (the artist, curator and owner of 4 Cats Art Studio) was looking for a new business opportunity.
“My friends opened a 4 Cats in Port Moody, so I went to check it out,” said Ward. “I was interested in doing an art studio of some kind and I wanted to work with kids. Once I went into the studio in Port Moody I knew it was something that Nelson could really benefit from.”
4 Cats is a franchise with more than 50 locations.
“I was hesitant to be part of a franchise at the beginning because I knew I wanted to do something on my own but it’s an amazing company and it wouldn’t be possible to offer this high level of curriculums just with one or two or even five people,” said Ward.
4 Cats offers a wide range of art classes for children and youth from artist of the month workshops to Jackson Pollock birthday parties in the splatter room.
“Artist of the month is where they learn about the artist, the mediums that they worked in and all the different techniques,” said Ward. “It changes every six or seven weeks and then the artists change.”
4 Cats also offers a unique birthday party experience where kids can go into the Jackson Pollock room and create their own master pieces.
“It’s a great option for a birthday party because parents can hold the party here and in two hours it’s all done,” she said.
“We’re really busy. We’ve had over five parties since we started,” said Ward. “We had probably 150 kids through here on our opening.”
For more information visit 4 Cats at 524 Victoria Street.