‘Art is for everyone.’ Studio opens in Turlock with unique classes and supplies
Behind a bright blue door, inspired by the famous Frida Kahlo House hue, the valley’s next young artists are starting their creative journeys. Nestled on Main Street in Turlock is the newly opened Paper Moon Art Studio.
The studio is run by former art teacher Victoria Mires and is next door to her store, Paper Moon Stationery and Art Supply.
In 2023, Mires grew frustrated with not being able to find distinctive stationery goods locally. “There’s nothing in the valley like Paper Moon, and I was really tired of having to drive a couple of hours to get something like extremely high-quality Japanese stationery and other loved brands,” she said.
She started with a table at the Turlock Certified Farmers Market selling her handmade journals, cards and stickers, and opened the retail space in January 2024.
“I knew there had to be other people interested in high-quality stationery in the area,” she said. “We found our stationary people, and they exist, and they’re here in Turlock and Modesto and everywhere else.”
Shoppers appreciate being able to sample pens and paper in the store so that they can find the right one. Mires has curated a stationery lover’s dream boutique with hard-to-find brands like Hobonichi, Traveler’s Company, Blackwing, Lamy, MD Paper, Soola and many more.
Mires retired from the classroom last year after over 20 years in art education, ending her time at Merced Union High School, to focus on the store. She knew she was not through with teaching just yet so opened a studio space in another part of town but had limited success at that location. At the beginning of December, the storefront next to her shop became vacant and available.
While a month to renovate and open may seem impossible to most, Mires, with the help of her husband and daughters, spent hours cleaning, building and painting to open the studio at the beginning of January.
She knew she wanted a vibrant front door so she mixed colors to match the signature blue shade decorating Frida Kahlo’s House, now a museum, in Mexico City.
“I’m so excited about how this is going to help build the community that is already here,” she said. “It’s just another avenue for us to come together as artists and as people who are creative.”
Mires said she believes “art is for everyone” and the variety of classes she is launching reflects that ethos. On Wednesdays starting Jan.14, she is teaching a four-week class for students K-8, focusing on different art mediums and education.
Students build on lessons to improve week to week and attend class with their age group. On Thursdays, she is offering classes focused on a specific technique. On Jan. 8, she started her beginners Bookbinding Fundamentals 1 class, a three-week session that will be followed by an intermediate course after the sessions end.
On Fridays through Sunday, Mires plans to offer singular classes that change regularly. The opening week launched with a crochet class in which students made an octopus on Friday, followed by Brush Lettering for Beginners on Saturday and Vision Board Planning on Sunday.
The classes are limited to 12 students so they feel intimate and collaborative, and Mires has set up the studio like a classroom. She sits at a desk with a camera zoomed into her work as students observe on a screen.
Mires has bigger plans for the space; she will be adding retail to the front of the store and offering open studio hours for people to explore art on their own time. “The open studio space is really about having a place where you can come and do art at your own pace, and we will provide materials for it,” she said. She plans to sell day and half-day passes to access the studio and even offer classes online in the future.
Mires kept hearing from her devoted shoppers at Paper Moon Stationery and Art Supply their interest in having a creative space.
The success of the store and enthusiasm for the art studio have allowed Mires to hire more staff, and she is looking for artists who may be interested in teaching a class and sharing their craft with the community. “My vision is to continue to grow our little shop and just to give people more access to art,” she said. “Because art is for everyone. It’s innate in us as humans, and I want to give that space to everybody.
”Classes are announced on the Paper Moon website and on Instagram. The costs range from $15 to $35 for one-off classes and $60 and up for the three- and four-week sessions. Age ranges are listed by class.
Upcoming classes are:
Fountain Pen Meet-Up and Workshop, Fri., Jan. 16 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., $15
Plan With Me: Bullet Journaling, Sunday, Jan. 18 from 10-11:30 a.m., $15
Brush Lettering for Beginners, Saturday, Jan. 31 from 4-6 p.m., $35
Weekly kids classes and bookbinding classes are already in session, though spaces may still be available. Call 209-620-8079 or email papermoonsas1@gmail.com for more information.
For a full schedule of classes and information about the store, visit www.papermoonsas.com.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 10:46 AM.
