A palette-able trend

Reno has a crafty new business that just opened downtown.

The family owned The Crafted Palette, located on 130 West St., is a specialty coffee shop during the day and transforms to a “paint and sip” establishment at night.

It is part of the paint-and-sip industry, a business trend that has recently taken hold in northern Nevada. The concept is a simple one: Start with your favorite glass of wine or a microbrew, combine some artistic expression and mix in friends, old and new. It’s a recipe for what seems to be the new thing in the Truckee Meadows: art-lessons-while-you-drink studios.

Leading the charge is the Crafted Palette’s owner Gale Knight. Joining her in the venture is her daughter, Melanie Carrera, who is the operations manager and chef at the Crafted Palette and Knight’s son and Reno musician, Josiah Knight, who is a barista and the music and events coordinator.

The idea to open the business started when Knight went to a paint and sip with her daughter, Felicia, in Denver, Colo. She loved the idea and it inspired her to open one in Reno.

Knight also was intrigued by the history of paint and wine sips. The business model was developed by two New Orleans artists in 2007 to raise funds after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, the concept has spread across the United States.

The Reno business currently has three artists who teach the paint parties with a variety of artistic skills and styles. The public can sign up for a paint and sip night by going to Crafted Palette’s web site. The event costs $35 and includes the lesson, a canvas, paints and brushes.

The business offers parking vouchers for the downtown-parking garage on West First Street for customers who attend the painting parties.

Crafted Palette serves award-winning Temple Coffee, a farm-to-cup coffee roaster located in Sacramento.

“Mom drove all the way to Sacramento to have a shot of espresso,” Carrera said. “When she came back she said, ‘That’s the one.’”

The business celebrated its grand opening this past May with their first painting party and live music event.

“It was really special seeing the dream become a reality,” Carrera said.

The specialty coffee shop is open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Customers can also order online through Grub Hub or have their orders delivered. The paint and sip parties are held between 6 and 9:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.

Eventually the business hopes to expand the days of operation.

“We are excited to be a part of the revitalization of downtown and the opportunity to extend an invitation to the community to join us in this progressive and interdependent venture,” Carrera said.

The Crafted Palette is not the only paint and sip shop to open in the Reno area.

Picasso and Wine opened in December 2012. The business has since expanded to two locations, one in Midtown and the other at the Summit Mall. In recent years, Reno businesses such as the Reno Art Bar, Arts for All Nevada and others have also started offering paint-and-sip classes.

“I believe the reason the paint-and-sip business model has become so popular is because it’s one part artistic adventure and one part cocktail party,” Alissa Woods, an owner and artist at Picasso and Wine, said. “Pairing paint and wine can unlock anyone’s inner artist.”

And Reno is continuing to attract more paint and sips to the community.

Yet another new business in the genre called Pinot’s Palette – Reno West will be opening later this summer. The business will be located at 5110 Mae Anne Ave., Suite 702 and the owners, Nikki and Roger Wise, plan to hold its grand opening Aug. 14.

“We were motivated to bring a Pinot’s Palette to Reno because this area is so rich in culture, art and history,” Nikki Wise said. “With events such as Artown thriving in the region, we just felt that this would be the perfect location to bring art to a larger audience of people in a fun and entertaining atmosphere.”