Although ArtJamz was one of the first of many paint-and-sip studios to crop up in the D.C. area, it’s unlike any of the others. Owner and founder Michael Clements, who will open a new ArtJamz in Crystal City this Friday, is determined to break the typical paint-and-sip mold that caters to 25- to 40-year-old women and their friends equipped with a bottle of wine and gives them a space to paint under the guidance of an instructor. Instead, Clements describes ArtJamz as a combination “gym, restaurant, bar [and] art studio.”
At ArtJamz, each participant customizes his or her experience. When making an online reservation, customers sign up for the $15 hour and a half studio pass and select a canvas priced according to its dimensions. The cost also covers paint and all other materials. Or, painters can bring their own canvases and pay a reduced fee for the materials. Finally, customers pick a drink from ArtJamz’s “Liquid Inspiration” menu and select add-ons like a canvas bag, artist mustache, beret or branded smock.
When customers step into the studio, they’re greeted by the work of previous painters that decorates the walls.
“We have a living, breathing studio,” Clements says. “You can paint on the walls. It’s a really simple thing, but you can’t paint on a wall in a restaurant.”
The studio’s unique design also encourages interaction between participants.
“We want people to meet other people,” he says. “By having people stand, it creates more flow and energy. Also because it’s not a class, we can turn up the music. It’s more social, it’s more fun. It’s less educational.”
ArtJamz also offers painting classes for adults and children. Classes are offered throughout the year, and the studio hosts specialty holiday classes for Mardi Gras, Mother’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day—to name a few.
After spending seven years as the executive editor of Washington Life Magazine and interviewing inspiring young professionals taking on creative projects in the D.C. area, Clements decided to become one himself. He founded ArtJamz in 2010 as a roving startup that held pop-up paint sessions across the region. Clements’ decision to open a studio was also driven by his personal experience with art. Although he isn’t a trained artist, Clements finds his center by turning on jazz, pouring a glass of wine and putting a brush to canvas after work.
“I loved that feeling,” he says, “so I thought, ‘Can I marry that feeling with this concept?'”
In 2012, Clements quit his job and opened ArtJamz’s first franchise location in Dupont Circle. After a couple of years spent solidifying its identity and mission, ArtJamz is now growing, with a new venture each year. The Brookland location opened in 2014, and a mobile studio that hosts pop-up events launched last year. The newest location will open its doors in Crystal City on July 15.
“This location represents the prototype: the look, the feel, the layout,” Clements says. “This is it. We’re ready to grow in scale with this look and feel.”
Clements decided to expand to Virginia, due to the market for studios and Crystal City’s welcoming neighborhood, which has been the site for ArtJamz pop-ups for years. And Clements already has his sights set on more locations in the future.
“We know that we want ArtJamz everywhere,” he says. “Our mission is to make the world a more creative place. It’s a big mission, but it drives who we are.”
