Help the Aya Fiber Studio relocate

Hi,

My name is Suzanne Connors. I am the owner of the Aya Fiber Studio in Stuart, FL. The Aya Fiber Studio is Florida's premier waterfront fiber workshop destination. We have been in our present location for 7 years and over 3000 people have traveled to Florida to study with some of the finest fiber artists in the world. The Studio is a magical place! Many people have made lasting friendships here and we have a strong community. The studio has been having a difficult time surviving this pandemic, we have had to reschedule or cancel almost every workshop from the last 17 months, and now just as we are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel, and we have a pretty robust season ahead of us- we have to move. We have lost our lease effective 12/31.

I love our current space; I have done everything I can think of to make the space inviting for all fiber artists in all mediums; however, we have a flooding issue, and every year it gets worse. Unfortunately, nobody wants to address this issue and it is getting harder and harder for me to clean up everything afterwards.

We have been dealing with this flooding for the last 5 years. Besides being a huge liability, it is a problem getting more difficult to live with. Our dyes cake up, our fabrics feel damp and the floors stay pretty dirty. Our building recently sold to new landlords and we thought they would fix the issue, but instead of fixing this, they have decided to not renew our lease. They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but in this case, the squeaky wheel gets taken down.

We have some great classes scheduled for winter 2022, and for the 1st time in 17 months we will finally be able to meet again. ( with necessary precautions) they say that one door closes and another opens,

I'm staying positive and hoping this is true and that we will have an EVEN better studio after all of this passes. But, I need your help- this could not have happened at a worse time! Especially, coming out out a 17 month pandemic. And then there is the problem of getting things up and ready by January 1st. Those of you who know me, know that my partner Steve has done all the work in the studio and transformed it from a dirty warehouse to the beautiful space it is now, but Steve is not feeling so well right now and I will need to be able to bring on some skilled help to assist him to make this happen. Luckily, most everything we have is ready to moved, but we still need to make the space just right, and I'm listening for suggestions from everyone! I also will accept any physical help anyone can give so that we can make a speedy transition.

I've dedicated everything into making this space what it has become and we have really established a nice fiber community. I've been anxiously awaiting for everyone to return, and I even made some nice improvements to the space during the shutdowns. I'm so excited that the workshops will finally be starting again. I'm pretty sure our Instructors are also excited about returning to work. If you are able to help, I thank you and I want you to know that without our community, there is no studio!

While we all love our current location, we will love the new spot too. Home is where the heart is and also where our stuff is.

Thank you so much for anything you can do, Suzanne