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Friday, April 17, 2026
Feed Your Soul at War Streets Art Salon
Pittsburgh Magazine: The menu at Clarise Fearn’s Central North Side business includes charcoal, air-dry clay, floral candlesticks and watercolors.
Come hungry — for a creative experience.
What a wonderful idea! As a crafty person myself I have a ton of art supplies I've collected over the years. But this made me think if you're not an artist or do an art form as a hobby what art supplies would you have access to? What art/crafts would you even know how to do? This cafe solves those problems. It gives visitors all the necessary supplies and instructions they can follow at their own pace. I think we could all use more craft time in the world. Unplugged time off our devices, doing something present. I wonder if they have textile arts as well. I'm a big fan of macrame and crochet. It looks like they mostly have wax and paper crafts.
The War Streets Art Salon comes across in this article as a thoughtful response to a real social gap. It interested me how the salon emphasizes creativity as something accessible and restorative rather than something that requires skill or formal training. By framing the experience as a restaurant, with a “menu”, perhaps it removes a lot of the intimidation people often associate with making art. I also think focusing on adults is smart. So many creative third spaces are geared toward children; like public library activities, but this recognizes that adults also need outlets for expression and community; especially outside of typical nightlife settings. I am always looking for a third space to spend my evenings on the weekends, that isn't a bar, so this is good to know. The salon feels like an interesting addition to Pittsburgh’s arts scene, one that prioritizes connection, mindfulness, and creativity in a low-pressure way.
I will take any opportunity to spend my time doing a new craft. This specific shop is really inspiring because it lets people work at their own pace and not necessarily follow a step by step process to create a singular outcome. Art is supposed to be individual and I have always found it demeaning when someone holds a crafting event and each participant comes out with identical looking products. Being able to spend a chunk of your day just relaxing and creating something that relates to yourself and your emotions leaves you both in a better mental state and with a fun little trinket. Although people will judge places and people who enjoy crafting claiming that it's childish, my response is always short. Even though we are all adults, it is still human to create and spend time decompressing from our busy schedules in a way that is fun and productive.
I saw a video on the War Street Arts Salon and immediately turned to my friend and said “we’re going.” I love the idea of a place that is a space for art and creativity that supplies all the materials you need for a craft. Art is something that should be used as a way to create community and this space does that. As much as I enjoy doing art in my own home, creating art in a space that has been beautifully decorated with mood lighting and is filled with other people who enjoy art is very appealing to me. Honestly the prices are a lot cheaper than I was expecting them to be. Plenty of places that decide to do this could have exorbitantly high prices and pass off the place as a high class limited experience, but this place has decided to make it more affordable to do art. The prices are still higher than if you were to go out and buy the materials yourself to use, but the price also includes the experience of the place.
4 comments:
What a wonderful idea! As a crafty person myself I have a ton of art supplies I've collected over the years. But this made me think if you're not an artist or do an art form as a hobby what art supplies would you have access to? What art/crafts would you even know how to do? This cafe solves those problems. It gives visitors all the necessary supplies and instructions they can follow at their own pace. I think we could all use more craft time in the world. Unplugged time off our devices, doing something present. I wonder if they have textile arts as well. I'm a big fan of macrame and crochet. It looks like they mostly have wax and paper crafts.
The War Streets Art Salon comes across in this article as a thoughtful response to a real social gap. It interested me how the salon emphasizes creativity as something accessible and restorative rather than something that requires skill or formal training. By framing the experience as a restaurant, with a “menu”, perhaps it removes a lot of the intimidation people often associate with making art.
I also think focusing on adults is smart. So many creative third spaces are geared toward children; like public library activities, but this recognizes that adults also need outlets for expression and community; especially outside of typical nightlife settings. I am always looking for a third space to spend my evenings on the weekends, that isn't a bar, so this is good to know. The salon feels like an interesting addition to Pittsburgh’s arts scene, one that prioritizes connection, mindfulness, and creativity in a low-pressure way.
I will take any opportunity to spend my time doing a new craft. This specific shop is really inspiring because it lets people work at their own pace and not necessarily follow a step by step process to create a singular outcome. Art is supposed to be individual and I have always found it demeaning when someone holds a crafting event and each participant comes out with identical looking products. Being able to spend a chunk of your day just relaxing and creating something that relates to yourself and your emotions leaves you both in a better mental state and with a fun little trinket. Although people will judge places and people who enjoy crafting claiming that it's childish, my response is always short. Even though we are all adults, it is still human to create and spend time decompressing from our busy schedules in a way that is fun and productive.
I saw a video on the War Street Arts Salon and immediately turned to my friend and said “we’re going.” I love the idea of a place that is a space for art and creativity that supplies all the materials you need for a craft. Art is something that should be used as a way to create community and this space does that. As much as I enjoy doing art in my own home, creating art in a space that has been beautifully decorated with mood lighting and is filled with other people who enjoy art is very appealing to me. Honestly the prices are a lot cheaper than I was expecting them to be. Plenty of places that decide to do this could have exorbitantly high prices and pass off the place as a high class limited experience, but this place has decided to make it more affordable to do art. The prices are still higher than if you were to go out and buy the materials yourself to use, but the price also includes the experience of the place.
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