Minni Quote of the Month

Happy May and Memorial Day Weekend to our Minni community!

We hope you are all taking advantage of these beautiful, bright, and warm days we’ve been having, and that you are all spending some purposeful time together over the holiday weekend.

Just like purposeful family time, creativity requires purposeful time to nurture and grow. At Minni we work in purposeful playtime into all our classes and programs to develop your little artist(s) creativity, and encourage self exploration in art.

If you’re feeling similarly, come host your next party or a playdate in our creative space at Minni!

DIY - 🧲 Magnificent Magnets at Home!

Try this mess-free project at home, perfect for little artist(s) ages 3 and up! Color, cut, and stick it’s as easy as that with this easy to assemble DIY project. Encourage your little one to use many colors and brainstorm shapes to cut out together.

ProjectsTessa DowMay 13, 2024Project, At-home, Craft, DIY, Color, At Home Project, Magnets, Colorful Magnets, DIY Magnet Board

Minni x Duckling Day

Minni is excited to share that we will once again be participating in Duckling Day!

Hosted by The Friends of the Public Garden, in association with the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Duckling Day is a beloved tradition of more than 30 years, celebrating the classic children's book, "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey. Every year, hundreds of children parade through Boston’s most picturesque parks, dressed like characters from the story led by the Harvard Marching Band.

EventsTessa DowMay 6, 2024Minni, Minni Space, minni., Community, Celebrate, Party, Duckling Day

Brand Spotlight: PlanToys 🧸

As a long time favorite at the Minni Shop, we wanted to share a bit more about what makes PlanToys one of our top choices for sustainable play.

At PlanToys, sustainability and child development are top priorities. Their wooden toys enhance both physical and cognitive development by focusing on child safety and age milestones during design and production.

Minni Quote of the Month

Happy April to our Minni community!

April showers bring May flowers…and they certainly have not disappointed! The rain has seemingly been endless but the blossoming trees, budding tulips and hyacinths have brought us back to life and made us ready to party.

If you’re feeling similarly, come host your next party or a playdate in our creative space at Minni!

Minni ShopTessa DowApril 25, 2024Minni, Boston, Charles Street, Quote of the Month, Inspiration, Letter Board, Quote, South End

DIY - 💐 Crepe Paper Flowers

What is better than a bouquet of flowers? How about ones that will last forever!

Decorate your space with these vibrant florals, or give them as a gift to mom for Mother’s Day! This project is best for kids 6+ and we highly encourage parental supervision whenever hot glue guns are involved.

ProjectsTessa DowApril 22, 2024Project, At-home, Craft, DIY, Color, At Home Project, Flowers, Crepe Paper Flowers, Crepe Paper, Bouquets

Minni's Favorite Books - Earth Day 🌳 ♻️ 🌎

This month we can’t help but celebrate mother nature in all its glory! At Minni we strive to be sustainable in everything we do. We often up-cycle materials in our classes and vacation programs, and partner with like minded artists and local businesses.

We love our planet and all the critters and creatures within it! For this month’s theme we wanted to extend that mentality to the books you can read together at home with your little one(s), and share in the wondrous things our world has to offer. From colorful florals, to busy bees, and the wild African plains … we have lots treasure!

Minni Wants Your Recycling! ♻️

At Minni we pride ourselves on steering clear of plastics, whenever possible, and consciously creating with natural and recycled materials. We often incorporate recycled materials into all our curriculum for our classes, vacation programs, and workshops. We also actively work to partner with like minded artists and brands who incorporate recycled materials or make sustainability efforts within their work.

New Product Spotlight: The OffBits 🤖

We are thrilled to share that the Minni Shop carries our favorite robot creations The OffBits. You may have seen these S.T.E.M. forward bots previously at to one of our OffBits workshops, where we used mixed materials in addition to The OffBits kit to create innovative cars and robots.

But first, let us formally introduce you to The OffBits.

Minni ShopTessa DowApril 8, 2024Minni, Boston, South End, Shop, Minni Shop, Gifts, Product Spotlight, Creative Play, The OffBits, S.T.E.M.

Minni Quote of the Month

Happy March to our Minni community! It has been a incredibly rainy and dreary month, but inside the Minni studio we’re staying hopeful that brighter days are around the corner. With that in mind, this month we needed a reminder that even with the rain outside we can have just as much fun indoors using our creativity.

After all, creativity is intelligence having fun!

Minni ShopTessa DowMarch 28, 2024Minni, Boston, Charles Street, Quote of the Month, Inspiration, Letter Board, Quote, South End

Minni's Favorite Books - Collage Based Books 🧩

This month we are bringing our love of art to the forefront and highlighting books that all have an element of collage, either in how the book is illustrated or how the story is told. Collage is one of our favorite creative processes at Minni, where you create a picture using a composition of various materials (such as paper, photographs, textiles, or objects) to create a completely new and unique piece of art. It is all about going with the flow, there is no right or wrong method and if you spill some paint it just makes it that much more unique!

DIY - 3 Unexpected Uses for Tempera Paint Sticks!

We absolutely love paint sticks and use them all the time in our curriculum at Minni!

They’re great for tiny toddler hands to grip as they strengthen hand muscles and develop their fine motor skills, we love using Chunkie Paint Sticks with all ages on collaborative wall murals at Minni.

Team Spotlight: Meet Minni Instructor Lisa!

In an effort to familiarize our community with our full team at Minni, we are starting a new blog series highlighting one team member and diving into what makes them unique. From their creative experience and background to their favorite Minni projects, we hope you will read through our ‘minni’ interview.

Local CommunitiesTessa DowMarch 14, 2024Minni, Boston, Community, Interview, Artist Spotlight, Meet The Team

New Product Spotlight: Sarah's Silk!

We are thrilled to share that the Minni Shop now offers Sarah’s Silks for purchase at our Minni Shop.

Sarah’s Silks inspires imaginative play in children with open-ended toys made from natural materials. Founded in the belief that every child deserves quality materials to create their own play, drawing from the philosophies of Waldorf education and Sarah’s own childhood of imaginative play, Sarah has been designing Playsilks and other natural, eco-friendly wooden and silk toys for over 30 years.

Minni ShopTessa DowMarch 5, 2024Minni, Boston, South End, Shop, Minni Shop, Gifts, Product Spotlight, Sarah's Silk, Creative Play

Minni Quote of the Month

Happy February aka our most beloved month for crafting! Valentines and spreading love to all special friends and family are the hallmark of February, and in honor our quote of the months reflects how we feel about art + love. Treat love like confetti and spread it everywhere!

Minni ShopTessa DowFebruary 26, 2024Minni, Boston, Charles Street, Quote of the Month, Inspiration, Letter Board, Quote, South End

Minni's Favorite Books - For the Love of Friendship 💝

There’s lots of love in the air in February, and while we love to craft Valentine’s for our special someone(s), we also wanted to include books that show other things that we love just as much - our friends, a wild imaginative adventure, and maybe some crafting too!

DIY Valentine's Wooden Cube Puzzle

Create your own multisided puzzle with up to 6 puzzles in one by painting, coloring, or taping the sides of wooden cubes. We themed ours to Valentines Day, so you can create your own as a fun seasonal craft, or a gift to a friend or loved one!

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for All Ages 💞

Though creativity is our favorite kind of Valentine, we also love other traditions like making breakfast together, buying flowers, or exchanging gifts. We have holiday-appropriate gifts in our Minni Shop that check both boxes - creativity + Valentine themed!

Minni Quote of the Month

At Minni we are encourage little artists to explore their creativity, no matter where it takes them or the mess they make.

In fact, the messier the better! Learn more about our upcoming classes, workshops, and vacation programs to find out how we can inspire your child’s creativity!

Minni ShopTessa DowJanuary 29, 2024Minni, Boston, Charles Street, Quote of the Month, Inspiration, Letter Board, Quote

Artist Spotlight: Nell Valle

Meet Nell Valle, a Chinese-American illustrator based in Boston. Nell specializes in the big and small: public art and comics. She is known for her cute characters, bright colors, and bold, fun lines. Nell graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in illustration and a minor in creative writing. She also has experience in art gallery installation and art instruction.

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