Check Out Julie Martin’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Martin.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Creativity has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up surrounded by several creative and artistic people in my family, and one of my favorite childhood memories is going to Michael’s with my mom every Saturday. At the time, they offered free kids’ craft classes, and she would let me pick out something small to create with while we were there. It became one of those core childhood memories that stuck with me.

As I got older, creating became about much more than the finished product. It became therapeutic for me. I have ADHD, and creating is one of the few things that allows me to quiet my mind, decompress, and focus completely on what is in front of me instead of all of the other stresses and worries competing for my attention. There is something incredibly healing about making something with your hands, and I think that experience has shaped a lot of what Nakama Studio has become.

I’ve also never been someone who wanted to stick with just one type of art. I love learning and trying new things. I started making jewelry in my 20s and continued doing that for many years, while also dabbling in all kinds of other creative projects, especially while my kids were little. Eventually, I began teaching jewelry-making classes at local studios, which gave me the opportunity to share that love of creating with other people.

The opportunity to open my own studio came somewhat unexpectedly. In 2021, my husband purchased a building to use as the warehouse and office for his construction business. There was additional space in the building, and he essentially told me, “Figure out something to do with it that will help pay the mortgage.” My mind immediately went to an art studio.

That became Nakama Studio. I also homeschool my children, so from the beginning the studio has been influenced by both creativity and education. Over the years, I’ve been able to bring in people with different skills and areas of expertise to teach things my own kids were interested in, while opening those same opportunities to other families in our community.

What started as a way to make use of some extra space has grown into something much bigger. Over the past five years, we’ve offered everything from art and stained glass to LEGO clubs, robotics, engineering, summer camps, vendor markets, and even goat, kitten, and puppy yoga. We’ve worked with so many talented local artists, instructors, and small businesses along the way.

But the part I value most is the community that has grown around the studio. Some of my closest friendships today began because someone walked through the doors of Nakama to attend or teach a class. The word “Nakama” is Japanese and is often used to describe friends who become like family, and I don’t think I could have chosen a more fitting name for what the studio has become.

As we approach our five-year anniversary, I can look back and see that the little girl who looked forward to creating something at Michael’s every Saturday is still very much at the heart of what I do. I want Nakama to give other people that same opportunity to discover something they love, take a break from everything else for a little while, connect with other people, and experience how meaningful simply creating something can be.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. When I opened the doors, I had no idea just how difficult it would be to get the word out that we existed and actually get people through the doors. I quickly learned that marketing a small business can essentially be a full-time job all on its own.

In the early days, I hustled constantly. I was posting, sharing in community groups, creating graphics, promoting classes, and doing whatever I could just to meet our five-person minimum to run a class. I’m actually not a big fan of social media, so having to spend so much time on it to promote the studio has never been my favorite part of owning a business, but unfortunately it has become a necessary one.

For a long time, I felt like I had to do everything myself, and I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to make the studio succeed. By 2024, I had pushed myself to the point of complete burnout and adrenal fatigue. I had to slow down, take better care of myself, and really think about how I could continue doing something I loved without running myself into the ground in the process.

A huge turning point came in 2025 when a few of my closest friends started teaching alongside me. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like I had to carry everything by myself anymore. I had a village. We have so much fun teaching together, bouncing ideas off one another, and collaborating on classes and events. Having people beside me who genuinely care about the studio and what we’re creating has made the business much more sustainable for me, but it has also made it so much more fun.

In a way, that part of the journey feels very full circle. “Nakama” is about friends who become like family, and that is genuinely what has happened here. Some of the people who originally came into my life through the studio have become some of my closest friends, and now I get to teach and create alongside them.

We’ve had other challenges along the way as well, including ongoing issues with our property that have made running the business harder than I ever anticipated. Owning a small business sometimes feels like as soon as you solve one problem, another one appears, and I’m constantly figuring things out and fighting to make it work.

But I keep doing it because teaching truly fills my cup. I can have an incredibly stressful week dealing with all of the behind-the-scenes parts of running a business, and then I teach a class and remember exactly why I’m doing this. Watching someone come in convinced that they aren’t creative and leave proud of something they made, seeing someone discover a new hobby, or simply watching people sit around a table creating, talking, laughing, and connecting brings me so much joy.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned over these five years is that loving what you do doesn’t mean every part of doing it will be easy. I’ve had to learn to adapt, slow down when I need to, ask for help, and accept that I don’t have to do everything myself. I used to think making the studio sustainable meant figuring out how to carry it all. Instead, I think a big part of sustainability has been finding my people and building something together. I have that village now, and I’m incredibly grateful for it.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m the owner of Nakama Studio, a creative arts and enrichment studio. I’m an artist and instructor myself, but over the years I’ve realized that what I really love doing is creating opportunities for people to come together.

That actually started long before Nakama. At different stages of my life, I’ve created groups whenever I felt like a community was missing, from a moms group when my kids were little, to homeschool groups, and now a ladies crafting group that meets at my house twice a month to an upcoming Monthly Women’s Craft and Connect Meet Up. Apparently, If I can find a reason to gather people around a table, I will! That same instinct has become the heart of Nakama. Creativity may be what brings people through our doors, but the connection that happens while they’re here is just as important to me.

I’ve also never been an artist who wants to specialize in just one thing. I love learning new mediums and trying new things, and the studio reflects that. We offer a huge variety of creative and enrichment experiences for kids and adults and collaborate with other artists, makers and educators who bring their own talents into the studio.

Over the last year, stained glass has become a major focus for us and something we’re increasingly known for. We intentionally offer some of the most affordable stained glass classes in our community because we want it to be accessible to people who may otherwise be intimidated by the cost of getting started. We’ve now expanded into selling starter kits and supplies, and we plan to begin selling glass before the end of the year.

As a homeschool parent, education and family are also naturally woven into what we do. I love being able to bring in instructors to teach subjects my own kids are interested in and then share those opportunities with other families. I also genuinely enjoy participating in some of our classes alongside my kids. I think adults and kids both benefit from opportunities to learn, play and create together.

What I’m most proud of, though, is the community we’ve built. I love watching someone walk in saying they aren’t creative and leave proud of something they made. I love seeing friendships form around our tables and giving other local instructors a place to share what they love.

The name Nakama refers to friends who become like family, and five years later that name feels more fitting than ever. Some of my own closest friendships have grown through the studio. At the end of the day, I may own an art studio, but I think what I’m really building is community and creativity just happens to be my favorite way to bring people together.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My ADHD brain gets bored pretty easily, so I’m constantly seeking out something new to learn. If something catches my interest, I tend to go down a rabbit hole researching it until I understand it, and then eventually I’m onto the next thing. YouTube is a big resource for me, especially when I’m learning something creative because I’m a very visual learner. Pinterest is another favorite and has definitely been the starting point for many of my creative rabbit holes.

The podcasts I listen to tend to reflect whatever is happening in my life or whatever I’m curious about at the time. A lot of them focus on neurodivergence, parenting, homeschooling and health and then there are the spooky and paranormal ones that I listen to simply because I enjoy them.

I also really love biographies and memoirs. I find other people’s life experiences fascinating, especially people whose lives have been very different from my own. I think there’s a lot of value in seeing the world through someone else’s perspective. It helps us understand experiences we may never personally have and, hopefully, makes us more empathetic humans.

As far as apps go, Cozi is probably one of my most-used practical tools. I use it for lists and keeping track of everything I have going on. And honestly, my alarm app deserves an honorable mention! With ADHD, I rely heavily on reminders and alarms throughout the day. If something needs to happen at a particular time, there is probably an alarm on my phone for it.

I also really value learning directly from other people. Being surrounded by so many creative people through the studio means there is always someone who knows something I don’t. I love collaborating, exchanging ideas and learning from people with completely different skills and experiences.

I don’t think I have one book, podcast or resource that I would say has shaped me more than everything else. I think it’s the constant learning that helps me do my best. My brain may get bored easily, but I’ve learned that creatively, that can also be a strength. It keeps me curious, experimenting, learning from other people and continually discovering something new.

Pricing:

• $48-55 for beginner stained glass projects
• $70 to learn how to cut and grind glass
• SeaGlass classes are $30 for adults and $20 for kids
• Kid camps start at $35

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nakamastudio.org/
• Instagram: Nakama_studio_cincy
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/nakamastudiocincy