Michelle Hair is the creator and founder of the Neighborhood Arts + Crafts Crawl. She is a local glass artist, teaches fused glass classes, and owner of New Earth Beads residing in the Divine Redeemer neighborhood in Colorado Springs. In 2019, Michelle had the idea of trying to gather artists/makers in her surrounding neighborhoods to open up their creative spaces to the public. Her mission was to create community among her neighbors by highlighting local artists so other neighbors could learn about their craft, visit their spaces, and have the ability to purchase their artwork – all within walking/biking distance from each other. 

To recruit artists/makers, she sent emails, posted on social media, and shared the idea with friends. Soon she had a group of 15 artists that participated in the first October event spanning 10 locations in mainly the Divine Redeemer, Patty Jewett, and Shooks Run Neighborhoods. Michelle partnered with the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region for an Arts Month event and some of the artists were interviewed by Peakradar and highlighted on their social media pages. 

A Neighborhood Arts + Crafts Crawl Facebook page was created and the event was highly advertised through social media. A printable and online “passport” and map was available to the public to follow along the Crawl route.

The Crawl occurred again in 2021 - this time with 13 artists and 8 locations and was even MORE successful with attendance. The 2023 Crawl featured 16 artists at 14 locations including live music and a local food truck. The 2024 Crawl featured 18+ artists/makers, CC Mobile Arts, an interactive art activity at Columbia Elementary School, and a local food truck.

View Media coverage from the 2021 Crawl here. Media coverage from 2019 here.