It was sad to see Mabel Jane’s Vintage Shop close its doors at 10 North Ave. not too long ago. However, it’s nice to know that the storefront won’t stay empty for long, and will soon welcome a new, art-focused proprietor to the village.
The new shop — which will be more like an art studio — will be called Serenity Life Creative Studio. It’s an extension of Serenity Life Counseling Services, which already has two locations at 93 West Main St., and 98 North Ave. Owner Mattye McKibben is working hard to renovate the space so she can introduce it to the Webster community in August.
I asked Mattye to tell me more about her vision for her new studio, and she sent me something so detailed and perfect, I decided I couldn’t write it any better. Here’s what she wrote:
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Serenity Life Creative Studio is built around the concept of Open Studio Art Therapy—an approach that combines the freedom and joy of creating art with the presence and support of trained Creative Arts Therapists in a welcoming, community-centered environment.
Rather than feeling like a traditional therapy office or a typical paint-and-sip studio, we’re trying to create something that blends the best of both worlds. We want people to be able to stop in for a girls’ night, a parent-child outing, a date, a family activity, or simply an hour of quiet creativity, while also knowing that licensed Creative Arts Therapists are part of the environment should they want a deeper therapeutic experience. Our hope is to bridge the gap between clinical art therapy and everyday community life, making creative wellness feel approachable, welcoming, and accessible for everyone.
The studio is staffed by a team of licensed Creative Arts Therapists from Serenity Life alongside Studio Peers whose role is centered on hospitality, customer service, and helping artists have a wonderful experience. We often say we’re blending clinical care with hospitality. We want people to feel genuinely welcomed from the moment they walk through the door.
The heart of the studio is what we call our Art Bar. Instead of walking up to a traditional bar to order a drink, guests walk up to the Art Bar to order creativity.
Artists browse our Studio Menu and choose from curated creative experiences like watercolor, acrylic painting, drawing, clay, seasonal collections, and more. From there, our Studio Peers and Creative Arts Therapists help personalize each experience by recommending projects, customizing materials, suggesting creative add-ons, or helping someone discover a medium they may never have tried before. Every creative box is assembled specifically for that artist before they settle into the studio to create.
The Art Bar is designed to make creativity feel approachable. Instead of wondering what supplies to buy or investing hundreds of dollars before knowing what you’ll enjoy, everything has already been thoughtfully curated. Guests simply choose an experience, and we take care of the rest. For parents, it also means all the creativity without all the cleanup. Families can enjoy creating together and leave the paint, glitter, clay, and mess with us.
It’s also where so much of the conversation happens. Questions are asked. Ideas are shared. Kids excitedly choose their next project. Friends compare what they’re making. Parents discover new activities to enjoy with their children. It’s less like checking out at a store and more like being welcomed into a creative community.
Beyond the Art Bar, we’ve intentionally designed the studio to feel less like a classroom and more like your favorite neighborhood coffee house crossed with a cozy library and an inspiring art studio. Warm lighting, books, comfortable seating, music, coffee and tea, vintage furniture, and thoughtfully designed creative spaces encourage people to slow down, linger, and enjoy being together. We want it to feel calm, welcoming, and restorative—not rushed or crowded.
At its heart, though, this is really about connection.
We’re intentionally creating a place where generations naturally share the same creative space. On any given afternoon, you might find grandparents creating with grandchildren, friends gathering for a girls’ night, parents and children spending intentional time together, teenagers sketching after school, or someone simply enjoying a quiet afternoon with a cup of tea and a watercolor set. We believe making art side by side creates conversations and relationships that don’t always happen in everyday life.
Webster has so many wonderful restaurants and gathering places, and we wanted to contribute something different to our community. We often joke that instead of meeting friends to grab a drink, why not meet them to order some art? Our Art Bar is our take on a modern gathering place—a creative destination where people can celebrate birthdays, meet after work, enjoy a date night, or simply unwind together. It’s another option for people looking for meaningful ways to connect outside the traditional restaurant and bar scene, including those embracing alcohol-free lifestyles or simply seeking a slower, more intentional way to spend an evening.
Ultimately, we’re trying to create something that doesn’t really exist in our area—a true fusion of hospitality, creativity, and clinical expertise. Our hope is that creativity becomes the common ground where hospitality, community, and emotional wellness naturally meet.
We’ll be hosting several community “Get to Know Us” events throughout August before officially opening around the start of the school year. During this introductory phase, visitors will be able to explore the studio, experience the Art Bar, and enjoy discounted creative boxes as a way of getting acquainted with the space. We’ll also be gifting a limited-edition keepsake to our first 100 artists as a thank-you for being part of the beginning of this journey.
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Here’s a selection of photos Mattye sent showing part of the building process and her vision of what the studio will look like when it’s all done.
Check out the Serenity Life website to learn more and pre-register in their system. Pre-registering is the best way to receive studio updates, invitations to their opening events, and be among the first to hear when reservations become available.
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(posted 7/19/2026)
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