Get Creative With curio. Gallery & Creative Supply This Summer
By Kylie Stoltzfus
Since opening their doors in 2019, curio. Gallery & Creative Supply has cultivated a space where Lancaster artists can flourish.
Founders and Artists Matt Allyn Chapman and Nicole Duquette both graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design in 2008. Now, they contribute to the vibrancy of Lancaster’s ever-growing arts scene through their gallery and supply store neighboring their alma mater.
When the couple set out to open their gallery, Chapman and Duquette envisioned a contemporary space where local and regional artists across many mediums could show their work and find the supplies needed to actualize their ideas.
“Every exhibition we've done has been wildly different, but the connecting thread is that the artists that we're showing are really passionate about what they're doing and they are skilled at what they're doing,” Chapman says. “With so many different viewpoints and so many artists in Lancaster County and beyond, we feel like it's part of our mission to show as many different sides of the creative process as possible.”
To ensure the highest level of quality and usability, Chapman and Duquette handpick every item sold in their shop.
“There is not a single thing on our sales floor that we don't know inside and out,” Chapman says. “When you come in, you might see two or three variations of a similar thing, but each one of those things does something different that the others don't.”
If you don’t know where to start, Chapman recommends picking up a pencil—a Blackwing pencil, to be specific.
“I always recommend that people draw. We did it as kids and it was so uninhibited and free,” Chapman says. “You didn't care what it looked like. You just loved that the color was there and you could see the mark happening in front of you. It's like magic and then as we get older, our brain space gets taken up by other things and we're asked to do other things. New responsibilities come into focus and that takes time and sometimes that takes you away from drawing.”
When people walk into curio. and ask how they can reconnect with their creativity, Chapman and Duquette recommend picking up a sketchbook, a 2B and 4B pencil (both of which are stocked in the shop), and a high-quality eraser.
“That's everything you need to start going out there and trying to capture the world around you or record your thoughts or make something that never existed before,” Chapman says. “I think that's the beauty of drawing. Anything you draw, it doesn't matter what it is, has never been made before in the history of people. We could all sit in a room and we could all draw the same still life, but everybody's version is going to be totally different.”
For people who want a more structured creative practice, curio. stocks creative prompts that provide added direction to any art session.
“If you don't know what you want to do, but you want to do something, open this box, pull out one card [and] there you go… You can hand yourself over to the fates,” Chapman says. “People love prompts and it's nice because it takes away the pressure of having to decide what to do for yourself and yeah, it's kind of fun that way.”
As you begin to reacquaint yourself with creativity, curio. also offers a rotating selection of workshops, introducing people to new mediums through the work of local and regional artists. Each event is an opportunity for people to gather with other artists, shake off perfection, and have fun. Sketch Club is their signature event, happening Thursday evenings from 7-9 p.m. The event is always free and does not require registration to attend.
“We set up a still life in the middle of the room. We circle everything in chairs and just invite anybody to come down,” Chapman says, noting that all are welcome – whether they are a seasoned artist or they’ve never picked up a pencil. “It's a really great community builder because it's non-instructional, but there's always instruction in the room if you need it… We don't want people to feel intimidated by the room. Just come in and sit down and enjoy yourself.”
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