The act of being creative can happen anywhere, but it never hurts to have a dedicated space specifically meant to support it. Which is exactly what The Nest was designed for. This new space opened on May 10th in Upper Arlington and was created to host meetings, exhibitions, classes and many other similar functions.
We spoke recently with The Nest’s owner Lauryn Byrdy to find out more about the new venue.
Q: First things first… can you tell us what exactly The Nest is?
A: The Nest is a bright, open and uniquely versatile art gallery and community-gathering place located in the historic Mallway in Upper Arlington. The Nest is an intimate space to host pop-up shops, meetings, events, parties, yoga classes, art camps… anything the community can dream up.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your personal/professional background?
A: I have a degree in marketing, and started my career working in branding and advertising with two prominent Columbus agencies. It was during that time that I discovered my passion for using photography to tell a story. I started taking pictures as an “off-hours” creative outlet, and was successful in the wedding and portrait industries. In 2009, I reached a critical decision-making point: maintain the status quo or turn my hobby into a full time business. I’m a risk taker, so I took the risk. And it paid off. I grew my wedding and portrait business, and used my ties in the world of branding and advertising to build a national commercial clientele. I’m so happy that I get to spend every day doing what I love.
Q: So how did the idea for The Nest come about?
A: I had a vision of a bright, open space in Columbus that would bring people together in a variety of creative ways – artist meet-ups, networking events, intimate family gatherings, weekend store-front space for a group of shops looking to pop-up in Columbus. Each individual or group who uses The Nest designs it to fit his/her needs.
Q: What types of ongoing creative uses will The Nest be host to?
A: The Nest offers regular gallery hours from 11 am to 2 pm Tuesday-Friday, displaying a unique and thoughtfully curated body of local art work. Our gallery director, Amber Lucci has a great year of art planned for The Nest. The Nest is also home to yoga and pilates classes offered by Yoga on High three nights a week. We are offering a three-day summer art camp for kids in June and a high school fashion photography camp in July. And we are working on firming up details for private family and corporate events, live music nights and pop-up retail shops. We have big plans for the summer and beyond.
More information can be found online at www.thenestgallery.com.