BY SKYLER, DEB & TIM SMITH
StudioMOVE ~ Last week I was half way through my visit to the Mendon Academy, the old cobblestone building just north of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church on Mendon-Ionia Road in the hamlet. That historic building is now owned by Chris Brush whose StudioMOVE business offers a variety of health, educational, and social activities. Chris has also offered some of her space to Barb Amering where Barb operates the COOP, a local co-op featuring the works of over fifty Mendon vendors and artists.
As Chris takes us on a tour of the building we are amazed at all she has accomplished. Check out this list of physical activities taking place at StudioMOVE . . . in this one location a person may participate in jazzercise, spinning (stationary bike), yoga, TRX, BodyPump, Functional Fitness, PiYo, Barre, cross-training, Pilates and fitness workshops. There are also educational components which include artistic and culinary opportunities for both adults and children. And on a social level there are bridal and baby showers, birthday and paint parties, and if you’re bubbling over with originality and imagination you can take advantage of the “create your own party” option. At this point we are almost out of breath typing the list above, but if you’re still healthy and hungry you can also rent the kitchen.
And after you’ve exhausted your mind, body and appetite you can stop and shop at the COOP. The hits just keep on coming and you don’t even have to leave the building!
THE COOP ~ What would be the one place in Mendon where you could go into a single location and peruse the works of 55 local artists and vendors? That would be the COOP which is located in the Mendon Academy building.
The COOP first came to roost in late 2015. Under the ownership of Barb Amering, the endeavor was originally located in the office of JEC Construction in Scheifen Plaza. After one year there, the COOP made the move to its current location in December of 2016. Barb likes the new location because while she shares the building, the space she occupies is all her own.
I asked Barb what she thought was the most unusual item the COOP had to offer. She thought it might be the metal artwork done by a lady who actually takes scrap metal and turns it into colorful works of art.
As I examined the many distinctive offerings on display, I was amazed by the diversity of what I saw. Need an American flag for your place? How about one that is painted onto the actual inside bark of a tree trunk? Don’t have enough dandelions in your yard already? How about a beautifully detailed 3-dimensional metal sculpture with ten more dandelions?
StudioMOVE, Final Chapter ~ In talking with Chris she mentioned a theme which seemed to link all of the phases of her building in a significant fashion. As a schoolhouse the building fostered childcare and education. When it changed to the town’s firehouse it became a building of community service. In the final pre-Chris era, when it operated as an art gallery, it became a center of creativity. Chris sees her current operation as uniquely encompassing those three previous lives. Mendon’s classic cobblestone building now serves to host a wide variety of activities that range from educational to creative to community oriented.
