Jan. 30, 2025

Two friends and educators are bringing their love of handmade work to downtown Sioux Falls.

Bobbi Clayton and Meagan Turbak are opening The Maker’s Circle along The Cascade boardwalk at 701 N. Phillips Ave.

Turbak is an art teacher at Edison Middle School and Clayton, a former salon owner, met her when she began substitute teaching in the art room.

“In the last three years, the kids have never had another sub in her art room, and we became friends, and the rest of this is history,” Clayton said.

Bobbi Clayton and Meagan Turbak

Clayton now works full time in another role at the school, and both have small businesses to sell their own handmade work. Clayton also used to work at Unglued, a shop for makers in downtown Sioux Falls that closed several years ago but still has a location in Fargo.

“I miss teaching the class format we did at Unglued,” she said. “We really want our space to be accessible and accommodating.”

That fit with Turbak’s vision to help meet the need for a teen art program in Sioux Falls, especially during the summer.

“My passion is teens — youth and art — and Bobbi’s passion is the adult side of the art business,” Turbak said. “I had a lot of kids coming up to me at the end of the school year wondering if there’s any art we can do in the summer.”

Along with selling work from different makers, they plan to use the space to host make-and-take classes and a summer camp, plus a pop-in station where anyone can stop in and make something on the spot.

“I think it’s a nice fit. They’re very excited about it and optimistic about how the business can perform there,” said Scott Blount of Lloyd Cos., the broker who leased the space.

“There’s also opportunity to expand right within The Cascade.”

The store’s motto is “crafting a stronger community,” and the hope is that the growing area on the north side of downtown, including Jacobson Plaza across Phillips Avenue, will be a good fit for people looking for something different to do and some unique shopping, the owners said.

“Sioux Falls really shows up for its art community,” Clayton said. “We want the community to be involved, and we’re really proud to be part of Uptown where we can open the door and Levitt concerts are flowing through the space. What a great family or date-night activity, so we’re really proud to be part of that whole area … that whole vibe, we love it. We looked at quite a few locations, and this was it.”

The Maker’s Circle is targeting a March 1 opening and is signing up students for its summer camps now. Those are geared toward students entering sixth grade through those who just graduated high school.

The camps start the second week of June and run through July, with each week highlighting a different art medium. Students don’t need to sign up for all the week.

“We really want to pair with local community members, artists and have them come in to show … you can actually get a degree in art and make decent money and do stuff with it,” Turbak said.

Sign up through themakerscirclesf.com.

The Maker’s Circle has 10 vendors set up to carry merchandise there with room to add more.

The plan is to open the store on Fridays once their own school lets out and on weekends during the school year and then expand hours during the summer.