Creativity can foster both social skills and a sense of community, said Neil Gillbanks, owner of the crafting studio Make It Yourself Copperfield.
A civil engineer by trade, Neil said he always dreamed of having his own educational crafting studio—also called a makerspace—for community members. In December, he opened Make It Yourself on Cherry Park Drive, which he runs with help from his wife, Heather, and daughter Melissa.
Make It Yourself offers educational, guided creativity classes to help people get started with making their own craft projects out of paper, wood, plastic, cloth and other media.
“We’ve had a full range of ages of crafters, from 11 years old to 70,” Neil said.









