Getting hands on with a new business
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

(Left) Samantha Thiers, 8, works on creating a dragonfly at a recent birthday party held at Hands On 4 Kidz. (Center) Ashburnham resident Julie Olivari has started Hands On 4 Kidz in Gardner and she and her daughter, Vanessa, spent the summer working on crafts as the business got up and running. (Right) Maria Polcari celebrates her sixth birthday at the craft center. JOURNAL PHOTOS/CAITLYN KELLEHER

It took her a month from the time she decided "I could do this" at a local craft center to opening the doors of her own business.

Now, Julie Olivari is going into her fourth month of operating Hands on 4 Kidz on Main Street in Gardner.

"It was not a long thought plan," said the Ashburnham resident. "I like arts and crafts, but there is stuff here I've never done before."

She has attracted customers from throughout the region in her first months of business and she attracted customers between 15 months old and 64 years old.

"It's going good," she said. "It's a different kind of business (for the area)."

Olivari said one of the things she has learned is that she didn't buy the supplies where people can take the easy way. For example the tie-dye T-shirts are done by creating and mixing one's own dye.

"Everything here is not done the easy way, but it's fun," she said.

The ceramic mosaics start either as pieces or as full plates that artists get to crack. The goal is also to let kids be as themselves as possible.

"I try not to do that flowers are red, grass is green and sky is blue. The goal is to be creative," she said.

Every couple of weeks Olivari has added another area to the center or has expanded on an area she'd already created. For example at the end of August she had added a Fill-A-Freind Station.

"The kids are really amazing," she said. Olivari has made one of the main rules for the store, she cleans up and not the parents.

"We clean up everything," she said.

This month she is also working to start adult only hours. So the mothers that come to the store with their children will get a chance to work on their own project and let those customers without children to come in and work as well. Olivari plans to allow any adult crafters to keep their materials at the store so the stuff doesn't have to be transported back and forth during each visit.

"We want to play on everyone's interest," she said.

The Main Street Gardner location has parking close by and attracts a lot of walkin traffic, Olivari said.

The stores hours are Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sundays are reserved for parties. The store is open Mondays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with Mom and Me Crafts and on Monday evenings for an adults only 6:30 to 9 p.m. work session.

The store is located in at 50 Main St. and can be contacted at (978) 632-2815 or by e-mail at handson4kidz@aol.com.

The store also has a Web site, handson4kidz.

com/HomePage.html.