Make Art | Make Community

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About StarFall Creative Collective

Founded by Ashleigh Byrer and Nova Stewart, StarFall Creative Collective is a volunteer artist-led community group based in Northeast Ohio. We focus on supporting creativity through shared resources, community programming, mutual aid, accessibility, and artist support. Our mission is to connect artists and community members with resources, opportunities, and each other. We do this through free and low-barrier programs, skill-sharing, creative gatherings, resource exchanges, educational projects, and partnerships with local organizations. We prioritize equity, accessibility, inclusion, and community care in the way we design our programs. Whether someone is a practicing artist, educator, student, hobbyist, or simply looking for a place to create, we want StarFall to be a welcoming point of connection. Today, our work includes the Community Art Supply Pantry, twice-yearly Craft Destash Bash events, free monthly Crafternoons, workshops, artist resources, and an online directory connecting people with arts organizations and opportunities across Northeast Ohio. Across all of these projects, our goal is the same: to make creative resources, knowledge, and opportunities easier to access and easier to share.

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Our History

StarFall began in 2023, inspired in part by Crafty Mart, a longtime Akron organization that supported local artists, makers, and artisans through handmade markets, education, networking, and resources for building creative businesses. Seeing the community Crafty Mart had fostered, and the support it provided beyond simply giving artists a place to sell their work, helped shape our own thinking about what artists in Northeast Ohio need to feel connected and supported. As that organization came to an end, we found ourselves thinking more intentionally about the kinds of connections, resources, and support that artists still needed.

We had also experienced firsthand how difficult it could be to form meaningful connections at vendor markets, exhibition openings, and other arts events, even when many creative people were gathered in the same place. At the same time, we saw gaps in arts education around the practical knowledge artists often need beyond developing their craft, including how to find opportunities, navigate professional spaces, access resources, and build sustainable creative practices.

StarFall grew from those observations and conversations. We wanted to create a more informal, community-centered space where people could share resources, learn from one another, connect outside of traditional networking environments, and have access to practical support alongside opportunities to simply make art together.

One of our earliest recurring programs was the Craft Destash Bash, a twice-yearly event where community members can donate art and craft materials they no longer need and take home materials for future projects. The events quickly showed us both how much usable creative material was sitting in homes, studios, classrooms, and storage spaces, and how much interest there was in keeping those materials in circulation.

Our spring 2026 Craft Destash Bash welcomed approximately 120 attendees and 63 donation drop-offs, including one remarkable donation of 43 U-Haul boxes of materials that required three packed vans to transport. In fall 2026, we reached our highest attendance to date, welcoming approximately 200 people to Summit Artspace for what we affectionately call the Great Craft Migration.

That fall event also marked an important milestone: the opening of StarFall’s Community Art Supply Pantry, made possible through ArtsNow’s ArtsForward grant funding with fiscal support from Summit Artspace.

We had wanted to establish a community art supply pantry for some time, and years of organizing the Destash Bash helped strengthen and shape that idea. A large amount of donated material is rehomed during each event, but leftover supplies previously had to be stored privately between gatherings. The pantry now gives those materials a permanent home and allows them to remain available throughout the year.

Housed at Summit Artspace, the Community Art Supply Pantry is a free, year-round resource where community members can access donated art and craft supplies at no cost.

Alongside our resource-sharing programs, StarFall hosts free monthly Crafternoons, creating informal opportunities for people to bring a project, make alongside others, exchange skills and ideas, and build community. Our work also includes workshops, educational programming, artist resources, and tools that help people navigate Northeast Ohio’s creative ecosystem.

That same focus on accessibility and practical support extends into co-founder Nova Stewart’s Making Art Work: A Guide for Artists & Arts Administrators in Northeast Ohio, developed from graduate research and supported in its final publication stages by a 2026 Ohio Arts Council ADAP grant. The guide focuses on accessibility, professional development, entrepreneurship, community building, and practical resources for artists and arts administrators across the region.

StarFall remains volunteer-led, and we are deeply grateful for the grant support, partnerships, volunteers, donors, participants, and community members who make this work possible. We love creating opportunities where people can make, share, learn, and connect, and we welcome others who want to participate, volunteer, share skills, contribute materials, or join us at future events.

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Our Values

 

Accessibility
Reducing financial, physical, informational, and social barriers to creative participation

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Inclusion & Equity
Creating welcoming opportunities for people with different identities, backgrounds, abilities, experiences, and levels of artistic practice.

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Resource Sharing
Keeping creative materials, knowledge, and opportunities circulating within the community.

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Mutual Support
Building relationships where people can share skills, resources, encouragement, and practical support with one another.

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Community Connection
Creating opportunities for people to make, learn, gather, and build relationships through creativity.

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Creative Empowerment
Helping people access the tools, information, and confidence they need to pursue their own creative interests and goals.

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