Meet Meryl Hamilton | Co-Founder/Owner

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

Hi Meryl, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Our business is unique to the Ocean Beach community, and we bring together people in a creative and inspirational way by hosting a variety of art classes to people of all ages. Our space and business model encourage people to step outside their box and gather in a group to make unique artwork of all types. We are motivated to continue to encourage and uplift people by teaching them to make beautiful art, gather in community, and lean into their artistic and creative side.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets us apart – Our art school is more of an open invitation. It’s an invitation to come inside, learn a new skill, have fun, get messy, and create. We are a studio that is open to all levels. From beginners to advanced, there is a class, workshop, or event for anyone. We can guarantee there is at least one thing our schedule that you will be interested to learn or experience. Our teachers come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences and are always willing to explore the creative edge with their students.

Proud of? – When we started, we launched a small children’s extra curricular program in a tiny location here in OB. We have since then doubled our community by introducing a thriving adult arts program, and a large pottery studio! We are not located in a much larger location that can offer more classes, and allow all of our students and teachers to spread their artist wings!

Has this been easy? – Of course not! There’s always bumps in the road along the way, however we continue to pivot and make the best decisions for our business with the support of each other and our amazing management team when we face adversity.

Lessons? – Want to be a business owner? Don’t quit your day job! You’ll need awhile to get your business off the ground.

Brand/Story? – Both of our backgrounds are rooted in sales. We know how important it is to make sure you are the face of our company. It’s really important for both of us to be present and involved with not only our student’s lives, but our staff too. We take seriously that our staff is our family, and we try to treat them as such. What works best about our brand is that we as a staff make it our top priority to get to know every person that walks through the door. It’s the personal connections that make this place tick.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The ideal Ocean Beach day looks like this…a morning walk along Sunset Cliffs, followed by coffee and breakfast at the Little Lion. A must is to walk down Newport Ave., have a drink overlooking the Pacific at OB Surf Lodge and then head to beach to catch some sun and surf. Of course, we would walk the beach to the end to visit the happiest place on Earth…Dog Beach! At night, we would grab dinner and a drink at Voltaire Beach House and then head on over to The Artist Outpost for one of their weekly classes! If you’re feeling up to it…Winston’s or THC for some dancing and nightlife!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Yes! Many years ago we got our start by working for a local OB kids art school called Young at Art run by the infamous Miss Kim!

Website: www.theartistoutpost.com

Instagram: @theartistoutpost

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

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-artist-outpost-san-diego