Cardinal Creative Space is a community art studio and handmade housewares boutique located in the heart of La Porte, Indiana.
Mission
The mission of Cardinal Creative Space is to provide an environment where all people are welcome to explore their creativity. As an Art Educator, Emily Repp offers student-directed classes, meeting students where they are, and helping them along their creative journey. We specialize in ceramics/pottery, fused glass, woodwork, mosaics, drawing, and painting.
Our Story
Emily and her husband Zackary were both raised in Ohio and were influenced to become makers at an early age. Emily grew up attending art classes with her grandmother, a painter, and went on to study Art Education and Ceramics at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Over the next 15 years, Emily went on to teach students of all ages and practice production pottery in several environments, including:
Brazee Street Studios - Cincinnati, OH
Jono Pandolfi Designs - Union City, NJ
UrbanGlass - Brooklyn, NY
Peters Valley School of Craft - Layton, NJ
Katonah Art Center - Mt. Kisco, NY
Zackary's grandfather, a contractor, had Zack working on construction sites doing woodwork for as long as he can remember. Zackary studied Industrial Design and Environmental Studies at The New School at Parsons School of Design in New York City. In 2012, Zackary started his own company building custom woodwork- from fine furniture for homes, offices, restaurants, and catering displays, to exterior planters, benches, decking, and everything in between.
The two met in Union City, New Jersey in 2016 and decided to join forces. In 2018, they got married and moved with their cat, Savannah, to the Delaware Water Gap Area of Pennsylvania. They began traveling to sell their wares at craft festivals across the region, including stops in PA, OH, NJ, NY, MD, VA, and CT.
The COVID-19 Pandemic led the couple to shift focus- Emily got back into teaching art and managed a local CSA farm, and Zack worked on home renovations and became a certified arborist. They also adopted two more cats, Kamala and Josephine, and their wildly friendly Labradoodle, Penny. At the end of 2023, Emily and Zack decided to move to Emily’s family land in La Porte, Indiana, and relocate their business, rebranding as Cardinal Creative Space.
Why Cardinal?
The cardinal is the state bird of both Ohio and Indiana- the states that represent Emily and Zack’s past and their future together. A big inspiration for starting Cardinal Creative Space in La Porte is to commemorate Emily’s maternal grandparents, Richard and Helen, who were residents of La Porte since 1963. Helen was a member of the Michigan City Art League for over 20 years, and many of Emily’s fondest childhood memories involve making art with her grandmother. Rich and Helen also fostered a love of the outdoors with their family and always loved watching the birdfeeders outside their kitchen window, with the cardinal making special appearances.
Cardinals can symbolize loved ones we’ve lost and new beginnings, so they seem like the perfect mascot for Cardinal Creative Space.
What will we create together?