Disability Employed Businesses
In September I attend a class in a place called Soul Studio in West Bloomfield. I was attending a day long catered event. The facilities and food was amazing. The days I attended the catered menu was Middle eastern. It consisted of an array of nicely seasoned vegetables and meats and the best hummus and garlic sauce I have had in a while. In addition to a conference room the location also houses the Dresner Foundation Soul Studio and Soul Café. The Soul Café is a Friendship Circle project. Here patrons can enjoy a tasty kosher menu featuring gourmet soups, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, pastries and more. The café’s primary focus is to provide vocational opportunities to adults with special needs. Here the adults work with their peers and learn various food service skills, such as food prep, cooking, hosting, and serving.
The building located in West Bloomfield Township also houses the Soul Gallery. Soul Studio provides special needs adults a place where they can explore their art interest and creativity with no previous art experience necessary. Existing and aspiring artists demonstrate interest and willingness to immerse themselves in the art experience. Students can explore a variety of art media such as: painting, drawing, ceramics, weaving, sculpture, woodworking, photography, and digital arts. Artist participation in the program is determined on a case-by-case basis. There is a fee to attend the art program, but scholarships and reduced pricing are available which is determined through conversation with their staff. Along with exposing the artist with the space and materials to find and develop their artist passion, Soul Gallery encourages artist to develop careers as contemporary artists.
Soul Gallery also curates’ exhibitions and produces products by selecting the artwork that best represents the artist and the studio. Approximately 3 to 4 exhibitions are curated a year. They also produce and participate in several exhibitions at outside institutions open to the public. The exhibits allow each artist to interact with the public and see reactions others have to their creative pieces and give them the opportunity to speak about their artistic process to visiting audiences. All artists receive a commission from all sales of original artwork and a one-time artwork recreation fee for images used on products. In our tour I got to meet some of the artists and see the various rooms where masterpieces are created. It was spectacular! Fabrics, sewing machines, yarn, string, beads, paints, brushes, pens, pencils, glues, glitter, clay, wood, canvases and so much more are available to the artist. I was instantly inspired and wished that I had something like this available to me.
I encourage you to learn more about Souls Studio and search for a similar business near you. You can start with: