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Photos by Sarah Finnegan.
Aerie Lane co-owner Lena Davis pieces together a frame during business hours.
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Photos by Sarah Finnegan.
Aerie Lane is a DIY craft store that allows customers to come in a create home decoration items such as centerpieces, pillows, seasonal wreaths and door signs.
In a world full of Pinterest tutorials and Nifty videos, people want to be able to DIY projects.
“They aren’t crafty, but they want to be crafty,” said Mary Ussery, who, together with friend Lena Davis, opened Aerie Lane, a craft bar in Mt Laurel to help individuals unleash those creative tendencies.
Originally started in Safety Harbor, Florida, Ussery entered the Aerie Lane world when a close friend thought of the idea and opened the first storefront.
“I said, ‘You need to run with that. That’s going to be great,’” Ussery said. They did, and now they have expanded to seven states.
The Birmingham Aerie Lane opened in the middle of September and held a grand opening on Oct. 8 at 100 Croft Street. Ussery said they liked the Mt Laurel location because it was central for both her and Davis and there is a good flow of visitors.
“It’s a community feel, people are out walking,” she said. “We wanted to be able to give this community something more than just eating places.”
As a craft bar, Aerie Lane offers the chance for customers to build their own projects, but with a little guidance. Through workshops, Ussery said people can sign up for the project of their choice and upon arrival, guests will be greeted with a smock and all the tools and instruction needed to create their vision.
“We have it ready for them when they walk in the door,” Ussery said.
Customers can choose from a wide variety of projects, including wreaths, serving trays, framed and painted signs, entryway organizers, reversible tags and seasonal door decor signs. Junior projects are available for younger crafters, too.
“Women like to put things on their doors, but they like to change it out; So we try to give them the biggest bang for their buck,” Ussery said of the reversible seasonal door decor. Prices for the workshops and crafts range from $30-80.
In addition to using the space for crafting workshops and private events, Ussery said people can drop in any time they are open to utilize their public craft bar for a small fee. There, glue sticks, paint, hammers, thread and other supplies sit waiting for crafters.
Some gift shop retail and to-go kits, where Ussery and Davis put together kits for their projects and take them to a different locations, are also available. Ussery said this comes in handy for church groups, women’s groups or work locations.
“It’s the same thing that they would do here, but I’m taking it to them,” she said.
Eventually, Ussery said she and Davis would like to incorporate more event nights in their calendar at Aerie Lane. Mother-daughter and father-son projects are all on the agenda, as are a game night and a princess night featuring Miss Alabama and Miss Auburn.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to share those kinds of things,” she said, and they hope to launch the additional events soon. They are also looking to obtain a beer and wine license to offer drinks during evening hours.
In their upcoming years in Mt Laurel, Ussery said they are looking forward to being busy and active in the community as well as serving as a place to unwind. Crafting can be stressful, but also something that helps people relax, Ussery said.
“When you’re working on something so tedious, it is stressful; but at the same time, it’s a different kind of stress,” she said. “You’re working on this and you leave with something that is so powerful. You didn’t know you could do that kind of thing … When it [the project] is all done, they all say it was relaxing, it was fun.”
Aerie Lane is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 6:30-9 p.m. For more information, go to birmingham.aerielane.com or call 213-8811.
