Kristin Williams arrived on the streets of Paducah as an economic developer to create more corporate activity for her new hometown. She then crafted a relationship with John Williams, Jr. that led to a marriage of 13+ years. And for many companies in this region and beyond, Kristin artfully orchestrated strategic plans for business growth and development.
Kristin Williams arrived on the streets of Paducah as an economic developer to create more corporate activity for her new hometown. She then crafted a relationship with John Williams, Jr. that led to a marriage of 13+ years. And for many companies in this region and beyond, Kristin artfully orchestrated strategic plans for business growth and development.
But when her 50th birthday rolled around Kristin felt the fabric of her life was a bit frayed. “The consulting business was beginning to feel lonely and unfulfilling,” Kristin remembers. “I just felt kind of depressed about turning 50 and that sometimes turned into an excuse to eat French fries and that wasn’t good. So I began to believe it was time to explore an idea that had been lurking in my mind for a long time.”
As a child arts and crafter thanks to a motivational mother who took Kristin to lots of classes and exposed her to many varieties of multi-media endeavors, Kristin had always had a certain penchant for the creative arts.
“For awhile I had been toying with the idea of a business model based on a space for arts and crafts workshops and classes. And when I would get stressed out about work or a project, that’s where I would go in my head. I finally decided that I had thought about it long enough and talked about it long enough. It was time to do it.”
Kristin really began to cozy up to the idea of spending time with “like-minded folks who enjoy arts and crafts.” The prospect of spending time with people who were as energized as she was about taking cast-off items, vintage photos, bits of scrap paper, and old buttons and then bringing something totally new to life became a driving force to the eventual opening of Ephemera Paducah.
Now Kristin is inviting master craftspeople from all around the country to bring their insightful ideas and skill sets to Ephemera Paducah and to share those artistic instructions with students who are open to working with new materials in ever-evolving ways.
“I want the space to be a destination filled with people who are not intimidated to try something totally new,” Kristin explains. “I want people to be able to say, ‘Oh yeah, I made this at one of the classes at Ephemera’ or ‘my friend came back with this really cool object.’”
Really cool objects are in full view and on hand just inside the light-filled studio on the ground floor of the new space. When Kristin says MIXED media she is not exaggerating. Already the new owner has hosted instructors who have led classes in the felting of adorable little critters to collages crafted from bits and pieces of flea market finds to a planned workshop based on the encaustic art of working with beeswax. And that’s only the beginning.
Out the back door is a courtyard just waiting for those who might like to plan a crafty child’s birthday party or one for grown-ups for that matter. As a matter of fact, Kristin is planning a wedding “party” in the spring so that brides and friends can learn how to hand-make unique items for the many facets of wedding accoutrements.
To learn more about all the artful things going on at Ephemera Paducah LIKE the Ephemera Paducah Facebook page or visit www.ephemerapaducah.com where you’ll learn all about what’s happening inside the wonderful world of Kristin’s imaginative LowerTown locale.
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