Meet Rianna Alvarado | Creativity Teacher & Gardener

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rianna Alvarado and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rianna, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work life balance is such an interesting topic and one that really fascinates me! Personally I think the struggle is in the assumption in the question itself in that life and work are somehow not one of the same. Our western culture is really good at compartmentalizing everything into tidy boxes when really it all flows together. Our work is our life and our life is our work….or at least that is the goal. So for me as a homeschool mother, wife of an entrepreneur, small business owner and creative it all swims in the same pot. Work for our family is something we try to integrate into living. So on days where my husband runs a night market in town, we all pitch in to help set up….we do life together and some of that life is work. When I have classes or workshops, my older children have various roles they help in whether welcoming guests or passing out supplies.
I realize these examples are unique to our businesses but I think there is something to be said about the mindset behind work/life balance and how we can think differently about it to help us achieve a more unified way of living while working and life-ing : )

What should our readers know about your business?
Well I run a Creativity Studio in which I teach primarily homeschool students art, nature studies and hands on gardening! We also run workshops throughout the year focusing on seasonal interests like beginner gardening or seed saving for instance. This Studio and backyard farm is pretty unique in that I am combining a few different elements together. The idea of teaching the whole child combined with hands on gardening in a magical outdoor environment is just so fun! Children think and create more freely when outside so by having an outdoor studio we get to really engage children in their element. In addition I like to play out of the box so we do art projects beyond just painting and chalk. We dive into pigment making using rocks, botanical dyes, mosaic tile art, block printing and so on so the child is exposed as many different art mediums as possible. And all of this comes in a wonderful nature themed package so we get to explore topics like SEEDS, DASTARDLY PLANTS, and FAIRES for an entire month while we create.
It wasn’t easy to build this all while also homeschooling my children but I maintain a careful balance in that I don’t work full time in this business, there is no way that I could do that and still be present with my children and husband to the extend that I desire. So I have seasonal classes, camps and workshops and enjoy help wherever I can!
I’ve learned to be flexible, to follow joy and to not take myself or my business too seriously!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Downtown on the weekend to see whats happening. So in my city of Waco I would start out on the first Friday with the Night Market on Webster. Local vendors and music under twinkly lights and an enormous oak tree followed by a short walk over to Balcones Brewery and maybe across the street to Milk Bottle Cookies. Waco Downtown Farmers Market the next morning for killer crispy pastries and all things local food. Waco is full of antique and well curated shops if that’s their thing but we also have a wonderful trail system at Cameron Park alongside the river. There is usually something going down from paint and wine classes to yoga or new artist spotlights happening at Cultivate 7/12 so we could also hop over there. Sunday we would have to eat at the incredible Harvest on 25th for chef quality healthy food.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We have a lovely non profit here in town called Start Up Waco that is such an incredible support and encouragement to new businesses in town. Their doors are always open and they are constantly innovating and discovering new ways to help local businesses thrive. From there free educational events to their wonderful networking meetups there is always a warm smile and helpful answer to greet you. It’s really an incredible asset to our flourishing start up community here in Waco.

Website: http://www.warmhoneytoast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warmhoneytoast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtphoriaStudioGarden

Image Credits
Rianna Alvarado Joshua Palmer