Paper cutouts, unspooled yarn and splattered paint have been lifelong companions for artist and business owner Lisa Schafer. With her store Wildwood DIY Boutique, she hopes to inspire others to pick up a brush or pair of scissors and join the creative journey with her.

Growing up in beautiful South Lake Tahoe, the lake and surrounding Sierras were a constant inspiration for Schafer. Her dreams of becoming an art student in the Pacific Northwest were fulfilled when she graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.A. in Art Education.

Schafer has been teaching arts and crafts ever since leaving the Arcata forests. Hosting numerous potluck craft nights for family and friends inspired her to take her teaching and creativity to the next level, opening Wildwood DIY pop-up workshops in the summer of 2014.

When a spot opened up next to Schafer’s friends at Gaialicious Boutique in South Lake Tahoe, she decided to make her operation more permanent and set up her dream workspace and shop. With a home for her business, Schafer is now able to support the artistic endeavors of artists and locals who have done so much to support her.

Wildwood DIY Boutique specializes in giving local and independent artists and craftspeople a place to show and sell their work. With beautiful works of art and handmade crafts surrounding customers, Schafer hopes the space also serves as a way to inspire people to engage with their own creativity and their community at large.

To spark its customers’ creative undertakings, Wildwood carries a small selection of craft supplies for projects and also holds three to four DIY workshops every month, which are listed on its website (www.wildwooddiy.com). The community is also invited to First Friday events Wildwood hosts with its neighbors Gaialicious Boutique, in which a featured artist from each shop is given a booth to display art and small workshops are offered to anyone who visits. “I believe that everyone has the ability to be creative and I enjoy seeing the excitement and satisfaction in each individual as they finish a project they thought they could never do,” said Schafer in an email.

Be sure to join Schafer at the next First Friday event on August 7th, where you can check out the new mini yarn store, Knits and Knots, as well as Live at Lakeview where she will have a booth for Wildwood DIY Boutique. Web browsers can check out Wildwood DIY Boutique on Facebook and Instagram.

Written by: Garrett Bethmann