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Nicki Novotne
Store Owner

Hi I am Nicki Novotne, owner and artist at The Cre8tive Place and Art on the Go - Your traveling art studio.

I have a passion for sharing my love of art with others. Art on the Go started offering painting parties in 2014 in the Rochester area. That soon caught on like wildfire and expanded to SE Minnesota, Northern Iowa and into Wisconsin too. Art on the Go brings the art studio to you!

In 2020, during the pandemic, I needed to change with the times, and I expanded by connecting with other local artists. The Cre8tive Place began in 2021 as an online website where you could learn and support artists. Once the world started opening back up another big change started. 

In 2022 I took a leap of faith and opened my first retail, DIY craft and art studio in Plainview, MN.  At The Cre8tive Place you had space for artists to teach painting, resin, sugar scrub and stamping classes, (just to name a few).

The Cre8tive Place hosted adults and kids for private events like birthday parties, 4H groups, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, employee teambuilding events, church groups and school art events. I also offered open studio days where anyone could come in to paint either a wooden shape or canvas.

As a community member of Plainview, the studio offered homeschool art classes, afterschool and summer art camps that were open to community. 

Mid-summer there was talk that the local sewing and quilting shop was closing its doors. The word spread quickly, and the community was devastated.  As a small business owner, I was looking to move into a larger space to expand my services. Once I heard the news Belinda Stain and I came up with a plan to help us both, to save the sewing and quilting shop and expand The Cre8tive Place. 

In July, Piece by Piece closed their doors. Belinda sold her sewing and quilting shop to me. I was a bit nervous to jump into something I've never done before, but as a helper, a small business owner, a community member and artist, I moved into Piece by Piece at 401 W Broadway in Plainview.  Quickly I started making changes like first and foremost, the name. Piece by Piece still lives on but just with a new name and new faces. 

The Cre8tive Place officially re-opened on Aug 16th, 2023. We offer a wide variety of art, fabric, classes, yarn, and a place to be cre8tive! 

The crazy world of retail and art means, things are always changing and offering more opportunities to collaborate with artists and with the community.  

Thank you for supporting small local businesses!


 

 

Meet Tina


Hi my name is Tina Zerby.

I moved to Plainview with my 2 daughters and husband 2 years ago from Rochester.

I started painting with Nicki a little over a year ago and have enjoyed learning to let go of my personal insecurities and let my creativity flow. I have taken a greater interest in the oil painting wet on wet style and plan to explore that more with the hopes of sharing my self taught skills and hosting a class here sometime.

I am learning to crochet and sew and have high hopes to become a hobby quilter in the future as well.


Sewing Instructor Meet Gwen!

Gwen Ahern Sewing Biography


Gwen has been sewing since she was a young girl. Her mother taught her and her sisters how to sew when they each turned about eight years old. Those early sewing projects were clothing chosen to meet the local 4-H requirements. Gwen entered her many “hand made” clothing projects for competition throughout her nine year 4-H career. Creating on a sewing machine continued to be part of Gwen’s adult life as a hobby. She made dress clothing for her children, home décor items and Barbie doll clothing for her daughter. However, there were times when her sewing machine sat idle except for occasional mending. That changed about 15 years ago when  her sister, Carol, invited her to a quilting group. Carol’s quilting instructions and projects were scaffolded in a way to continually improve each member's skills. With that and the camaraderie of the group, Gwen was hooked on quilting. In that process, Gwen has sewn bed sized quilts for herself and her three grandchildren. She continues to create quilting and sewing projects in her retirement.

 




   



Quilting Instructor