PCB Update: March 22nd

​We're all doing it right now- balancing. Balancing the great need for personal and community safety with things like childcare, learning, work or a new search for how to create income for essentials, helping friends, family and neighbors, and our own mental health... Just to name a few things. OK, deep breath. I don't know about you, but thinking of all these factors right now in a time where we have so many known unknowns and unknown unknowns :) can be paralyzing. But I circle back to thinking: What can I do to help? What can I do to keep operating in some capacity in a responsible way for our customers, our staff, and our artists? 

So even though this could change as soon as Monday with the new Governor's order, here's our status as of this moment on March 22nd: we are moving toward a hybrid craft supply delivery + online meeting model during this period of strict social distancing. We'll continue in this vein for now as much as we can but we'll also continue to remain flexible and agile with the changing circumstances and guidance we're all receiving from our local leaders and health agencies. More than you know, I appreciate your patience with all of these changes, and with my reduced availability as I attempt to balance all those things mentioned above (read between the lines: my 3 kids!).

• The PCB studio closed for all in-person activities on Monday, March 16th, and will remain closed until gathering restrictions change.

 

• We are offering a delivery service and online meeting for in-progress projects from our kids' series classes. We are also evaluating our capacity to adapt to a supply delivery + online format for new projects (deliveries available in Portland). If you are a family currently enrolled in a class or class series, you will receive a more detailed communication about this and options for your kid(s).

 

• We are postponing some of our adult & family workshops until we can get back in the studio to access and share equipment, but there are some we can accommodate in a supply delivery + online format. Our first 2 workshops we're going to try online are Resin & Botanical Flat Tag Jewelry & Sashiko Embroidery on Saturday, April 4th at 11am and 3pm, respectively. Register here. I'll deliver supplies to your porch/stoop/curb prior to the online meeting (this is available for locations in Portland) and then we'll meet online for instruction and some virtual connectedness while we all make something awesome together. I can't wait to see you, even if it's just on screen!  

 

• We have a small selection of craft supplies available for purchase and delivery if you are located in Portland. These include block printing supplies, resin jewelry supplies, Sashiko embroidery supplies, rope for rope bowls, and more. We're building an interim online shop on our website where you can purchase these items and as long as you are in Portland, and as long as deliveries are still permitted, I will deliver the items you purchase so you can continue being creative at home! We will continue to expand this online store as quickly as possible with our own kits and additional supplies, so please continue to check back! 

I hope each and every one of you are managing well. I'd love to hear from you- to know anything I can do to help, just to plan for the "after" times, or just a good joke. Please take care of yourself and each other. And please accept a special and heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you healthcare providers out there!

​Sending love,
Leah

Owner, Portland Craft Bar 

PCB Update: March 16th

All workshops, parties and other events in the PCB studio are currently postponed.

We have been closely monitoring the recommendations from our health officials and we continue to make quick changes as needed to follow guidelines and protect the health and safety of all in our community. While we will miss you all like crazy in the studio, we are working on ways we can support you and your creative activities at home. Stay tuned!

With this rapidly changing situation and uncertainty about how long this will last, we are taking things one day at a time. If you have a current reservation for a workshop or party, we will be reaching out to you as the workshop/party date approaches with more information on service credits and/or reschedule opportunities (as available). Please feel free to contact us if you need information more promptly.

These last several days have been difficult to say the least, and we know many others in our community are facing difficult times ahead. If there is something we can do to support YOU, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you all for being part of the PCB community!

​PCB Schedule and Policy Changes: March 13th

We are following the latest news developments related to the novel coronavirus and want to update our community on what we're doing right now. We appreciate that this is a dynamic situation, and as we learn more, things may change. We will continue to update you as needed. Our bottom line: we are doing everything we can to continue to operate and serve our community through this situation. At this moment, here is what's happening at PCB:
 

• Our after school kids classes are cancelled next week (3/16-3/19) due to the PPS closure. I am currently assessing how I can give kids the opportunity to finish projects we were scheduled to finish next week. Some classes will be able to easily roll over project finishing to next term, while others will not. I will be communicating with classes individually over the weekend about plans for necessary make-ups or reschedules.

 

• We are gauging interest and need in our community for kids' daytime workshops next week during the unexpected school closure. If this service would be of interest to you, please email leah@portlandcraftbar.com as soon as possible. Any workshops would be done in the same way as Spring Break workshops (see below).

 

• Spring Break kids workshops are currently still ON. This is ONLY because we limit our kids' groups to very small numbers. In addition, we'll be taking the following extra precautions:
  • All Spring Break workshops will be capped at 8-10 kids.
  • If your child is exhibiting any signs of illness or has been exposed to someone else who is sick, please do not bring them to the studio.
  • We will be suspending snack service during break workshops, so please bring your own snacks and water to your workshop.
  • We will continue with regular hand washing and sanitizing practices of our studio and all common areas in our building.
  • Any PCB staff experiencing or exposed to illness will stay home.
  • In order to help our families who may be experiencing illness, we are temporarily changing our Spring Break cancellation policy as follows: If your child or anyone in your household is sick, compromised, or other circumstances require, you may cancel your Spring Break workshop reservation and receive a credit for future PCB services. If you need to cancel, please let me know as soon as possible. Because we keep our workshops so small, every seat matters, both to me personally as a small business owner and to our community members who may have need for a sold-out workshop seat, so your prompt notice and consideration is very appreciated.

 

• After this weekend, we had a previously scheduled 2-week break from Adult and Family Workshops. Adult & Family Workshops are currently still set to resume April 4th. I think we'll all be in need of some restorative activities around then and I can't think of anything better than getting together with a small group of like-minded people to learn and make something new. We would love to see you in the studio, so please keep watching us on social media and book a seat for an upcoming workshop. Our workshops will remain small (<10 people) and we'll of course continue supporting all health and hygiene guidelines to keep our space safe.

Our ongoing priority is to continue to serve our community and to help keep everyone safe and healthy. We can't do this without your support, so THANK YOU everyone for coming to the studio when you can and continuing to follow the current health and safety guidelines provided by our public health agencies. Please contact me with any questions or suggestions- I always love hearing from you.

Take care,
Leah & the PCB Team