Rachel Manly and Sharon Chandler relax in their new art studio on Ayer Road. The mother-daughter pair will open their new business this weekend. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

It will be a meeting place, a showcase, a gallery, and a studio. It will offer the opportunity for all ages to explore—under expert guidance—silkscreening, jewelry making, sewing, surface design on fabric, and felting. It is Art and Cloth, a new business venture by Bromfield art teacher Sharon Chandler and her daughter, Rachel Manly, and the grand opening happens Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at 285 Ayer Road, in the space formerly occupied by Treasures Attic. Visitors to Art and Cloth will be able to see a wide variety of finished art projects that Chandler and Manly will offer as summer classes, including embellished journals, appliquéd and altered fabric, and silkscreened cloth.

Both Chandler and Manly have been working madly the last few months to bring all of this together, and Chandler could not be more enthusiastic about her mission to foster creative opportunities for young people. Working in concert with Rachel, a senior and printmaking major at the Maine College of Art, Chandler will offer a series of summer art classes for young people from early July to mid-August. Students can choose between a morning or afternoon session, and classes run four days a week beginning on Tuesdays. The advantage of a dedicated space for studio art, Chandler pointed out, is giving students more time with the creative process as well as the opportunity to exhibit work like a professional.

“I want to be the young person’s art gallery,” Chandler said.

To that end, the walls of Art and Cloth are newly painted a pristine white and await embellishment by the works of local young artists, and any student — from kindergartener to college student—is encouraged to apply as an exhibitor.

Art and Cloth will support adult artists, as well, Chandler added. An experienced artist and retailer in her own right, Chandler said she is able to offer technical help with virtually any art project. “And if I don’t know how to do it, I know someone who does,” she added. She is also offering afternoon drop-in classes for adults, which will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The “Suburban Renewal” class will offer students a chance to create a one-of-a-kind handbag from vintage fabric, and the “Art of Adornment” class features instruction in creating unique beaded necklaces from Chandler’s giant stash of unusual and vintage beads. All classes include supplies and individual instruction, and the $40 price tag is something she calls the deal of the century. The jewelry class is also a great opportunity to get a group of women together and have a fun girls’ night out, she added.

This fall, the two women will focus on creating a retail space in the front of the store that showcases the work of local artisans. Knitwear, baskets, stained glass, and Chandler’s popular restyled vintage wool sweaters will be just some of the items featured, she said, adding that she and Rachel are currently accepting applications from interested local artisans. They are looking for things that are both edgy and unusual, Chandler said, that will grab a shopper’s attention immediately. “I want there to be a real ‘Wow!’ factor when they walk into the store,” she said.

From the design of the store’s interior layout by Bromfield eighth-grader Taylor LeBlanc to donations of tables and other furniture, Art and Cloth is already a truly collaborative and creative effort on the part of the community, Chandler said, and she is thrilled to be tapping into that. “I think having new places for art in Harvard is bringing a new life to the community.”