MORGANTOWN — Lisa Fiorini Ahmad and Carol Atkins were classmates at Morgantown High School, where they were also teammates on the volleyball court.
They both earned teaching degrees and taught school for a time — Carol teaching kindergarten and Lisa, middle school science.
They both became businesswomen, each owning and operating more than one area company.
Lisa and her husband, Mudassar Ahmad, have Mountaineer Zone and Mountaineer Nation.
Carol and her sons, Chris and Nick, have City Neon and Commercial Land.
Their shared interest in arts and crafts led them to a joint venture — Make it Awesome Craft and DIY Studio.
The two opened the business — owned by the Ahmads and Atkins — at 18 Commerce Drive in Westover about three months ago.
“We were always getting together to do crafts of our own and thought it would be fun to have a place like this,” Atkins said.
“We couldn’t find a place like this,” Fiorini Ahmad added. “I was always going to Pittsburgh to do this and would think, ‘We could do this here.’ ”
This is a space for people to sit down and make their own crafts or artwork. A place where anyone can learn to paint on canvas or macrame or weave.
Atkins and Fiorini Ahmad teach classes at Make it Awesome. A new list of what’s available goes up on Facebook every Monday. The shop is closed Sundays and Mondays, but there are classes or open studio time just about every other day of the week.
There are at least 30 projects available at any one time. Groups can pick a planned project to work on in a class, or they can pick something they’re interested in.
A class can be as few as two people, but they’ve had as many as 22.
Fiorini Ahmad said she had a group of mortgage lenders come in together and work on small houses.
Atkins had a group of 12 ladies who get together regularly for different activities. They decided to take one of her classes together.
“If someone has an idea, we’re more than happy to figure out how to do it,” Atkins said. “We are willing to try anything.”
They are looking to start stained glass and art journaling classes.
They offer sessions for bachelorette parties, baby showers, team-building, Scout groups and just about anyone else.
Among the projects, one might find gifts for parents, grandparents, teachers and friends.
Fiorini Ahmad does most of the painting classes. If the group wants, she’ll sketch the design on the canvas and then show them step-by-step how to paint it. Or they can forego the sketch and she’ll give instructions on painting it freehand.
She said people are often nervous when they first come in, questioning if they have the ability to complete a project.
“Lisa has an amazing imagination,” Atkins said. “Quite frankly, I invested in her.”
Fiorini Ahmad has dabbled in art for fun for years. She thought about art school, but decided on an education degree.
The space itself is an artistic mix of repurposed materials.
The tables are old doors someone was throwing away. Fiorini Ahmad saw them and stored them in her garage until she had the perfect project for them. They are covered in thick plexiglass that was left over from a City Neon job.
The mix-matched chairs were bought at area thrift shops and painted white. Fiorini Ahmad then made cushions for them, using old quilts and blankets she and Atkins had.
Pendant lights hang over each table. They are made from mason jars a friend had just sitting in her basement.
There’s an old walk-in freezer — this location used to be a Western Sizzlin’ restaurant. The freezer is now a storage closet for all the wood they use. The best part of that, according to Fiorini Ahmad, is no spiders can get to it.
Some of the prized wood pieces are cut from the bleachers that surrounded the old Mountaineer Field, when it was downtown. Fiorini Ahmad is trying to think of the best use it.
But that’s a project for another day.
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