Startup of the Week: Promoting creativity in a fun way

People are blessed with different talents and skills. It is important to identify and hone them from an early age.
The old education system, unfortunately, was not designed to identify individual talent. In fact, it was meant to produce people with a certain skill set, and believed in the one-size-fits-all approach, which is very detrimental to individual growth.
However, things around the world are changing. Different systems and programs are being introduced to do away with the old. Schools are introducing different ways to encourage children to express themselves and showcase their talents. In addition to schools, individuals and organizations are also taking initiatives to help identify and promote talent using new methods.
 NY Art Studio is one of those places, where young girls enjoy their time while learning art through workshops conducted by Noura Al-Yahya, the studio’s owner.
Al-Yahya told Arab News that the workshops were multi-thematic, but all related to painting.
“I felt that drawing fashion sketches had the biggest turnout. Therefore, I decided to make all the workshops related to fashion,” she said.
Al-Yahya opened the studio in March 2019. “When I opened, I started training kids and adults — the response was great.”
She grew up in an environment that encouraged children to try out new things and to freely express their creativity.
“My parents discovered my hobby when I was 5 years old (I used to paint on house floors) and they were not bothered about it at all. They started supporting my hobby by providing me the tools required for painting,” Al-Yahya said.
“At the age of 16, my mother encouraged me to launch a small project to present my paintings and my artwork. At that young age, I started participating in exhibitions,” she said.
Her education in law did not prevent Al-Yahya from following her passion. “In college, I did not give up, I went to drawing workshops and developed my skills by watching YouTube videos and reading books. While at the university, I decided to attend ‘Training of Trainers’ courses. I worked on training kids in painting and took advantage of my free time in college.
“I started conducting small workshops for young girls at rented spaces. The drawing training was very interesting for me, so I continued to train young girls more often (because my workshops became well-known) and I specialized more in drawing fashion sketches,” she said.
“I got tired of renting halls and transferring materials, so my father suggested that I open my own studio,” she added.
Al-Yahya said her mother supported her financially and morally, and became her partner in the studio, and that she started to help her with administrative matters.
The studio offers special fashion design boxes containing different items with instructions. Al-Yahya said the boxes were an instant hit, and that she sold some 300 in just 5 days.
“Most of the feedback I got from mothers was that their girls really enjoyed their time, it kept them away from their electronic devices and they wanted to order more boxes,” she said.
 Talking about the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on her activities, Al-Yahya said she sent simple images for girls to continue practicing at homes.
A year after Al-Yahya opened her studio, she decided to launch a fashion line for dresses and jellabiyas.
“The line was launched a few days before the pandemic broke out, but it proved to be very successful. I named it Rue by NY,” she added.
The studio is now open for workshops. To register, follow the studio’s account on Instagram @nyartstudio1.