Make Nice: an interview with Erin Kleinlein

Make Nice: an interview with Erin Kleinlein

By Francesca Boston

Erin Kleinlein is an important part of the Jacksonville community and she also started a new side business called Make Nice. The main goal of Make Nice is to bring new and exciting craft projects to all of the Jacksonville area.

What is Make Nice Jacksonville?

Make Nice is a collaborative side project that offers “makers classes” in the Jacksonville area, often partnering with local businesses. For example, we have hosted terrarium workshops at the Soap Co. Coffee Shop and Our Town Books.

Photos/Special to The Source Erin Kleinlein, standing, talks and instructs while hosting a past workshop at Our Town Books in Jacksonville.

While hosting the workshops, we strive to have an interactive event by providing all materials and instruction that is needed so the participants only need to show up and have fun! Chelsea Watkins and Jessica Gale have helped with many of the terrarium workshops and Samantha Bobor and I are working on brainstorming some different types of workshops for the future.

We hope to continue hosting workshops and pop-ups (like our current DIY terrarium kits at Our Town Books) while expanding the type of projects we offer. The main goal of Make Nice is to keep the projects and events affordable while fun so as many from the community (both adults and children) can participate as possible!

How did you get started with your business?

I moved to Jacksonville from South Carolina about six years ago and was looking for a way to meet new people and interact with the community. I would also call myself a “serial hobbyist” – I like to try different things as a creative outlet, but understood that it is not sustainable to keep obtaining all of the materials to try a project once or twice. I figured that others might feel the same, so Make Nice became a way for a group to get together and try something new (or just for fun) without the large investment up front. I have been fortunate to meet several people by hosting the workshops and hope to make more friends along the way!

Photos/Special to The Source An example of a terrarium made at one of Make Nice’s past terrarium workshop “makers classes.”

What do you do outside of Make Nice?

I am the chief operating officer and project manager at Turner Painting & Construction, a family business based in Jacksonville. I very much enjoy participating in the Jacksonville community in many ways. I am a member of Kiwanis Club of Jacksonville, Habitat for Humanity and other organizations. These organizations have so many tremendous people that strive to work within and give back to Jacksonville. I love spending time with my family and friends, especially outdoors, and I spend a lot of my free time cooking and baking.

How can people support you and your business?

We are currently working on scheduling some events and workshops for the next few months. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@MakeNiceJax) for photos of our past events and updates for future ones! Please also reach out for any requests! We are happy to do private events or partner with businesses to host workshops. We can be contacted at makenicejax@gmail.com.

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