Starting Friday, December 5 with Becky Bump and Carl Tosten.
The Carpenter’s House is a new creative collective and arts event space in downtown Olympia. The founders are Justin La Gra, who is a woodworker and designer; he is an experiential creator who designs and produces immersive events, whose work is pivotal to the identity of Carpenter’s House. Cooper Murphy is a performer whose job it is to engage the community by facilitating meaningful experiences for anyone who sets foot in their art space. Chis Ruiz is a producer, strategist and systems architect who develops long-term structures that sustainably support artists.
They’re orchestrating a space so that art, music and craft, are strengthened by communications between disciplines, all under one roof in an ever-evolving hub in downtown Olympia.
The Carpenter’s House was envisaged by Justin, who wanted to manifest a warm, intimate, and inclusive community space for creativity and art made for real people with real materials. Murphy and Ruiz joined the project, with their own specialized skills, resulting in a multifarious creative venue, involving a functioning carpentry studio, an art gallery, a live music venue, a community gathering space, and a developing broadcast and media studio. They say that it began as one person’s original idea that grew stronger with a collaborative vision, which was shaped by the community around them.
They note that Olympia is overflowing with extraordinarily multitalented artists, musicians, makers and storytellers. They believe these artists deserve a venue that honors and amplifies their work and voices.
The Carpenter’s House members work as a collaborative team, working as one but holding their distinct areas of responsibility. La Gra curates the gallery, the house identity, aesthetics, and experiential design of the art space. Murphy is responsible for community engagement, vendor and artist relations, and guest experience. Ruiz oversees media and broadcast production, also the operational foundation, and long-term strategy. They all have their own distinct roles in operating this beautiful space, but they emphasize that they work as a unified team, they each have their own ideas, but they make decisions collectively, and their concern always is first and foremost, for the artists and the arts community. They say the space is a living ecosystem, not a single-purpose venue providing gallery and retail space for local artists, a music, performance and workshop venue, an artisanal woodworking and makerspace, and a hub for creative events and gatherings. They hope to uplift Olympia’s creative community, giving artists and musicians a professional, polished and supportive space to showcase work, with and aim to build recurring events that create momentum and engagements for Olympia talent. They hope to platform both established and upcoming artists, bridging barriers of age, ethnicities, varied backgrounds and disciplines, of artists and audiences, through shared experiences inspiring connection and belonging for all who crave community. They’re working toward being a cultural anchor in the heart of Olympia, where creativity is nurtured, developed, displayed and celebrated. It’s a great model.
The Carpenter House is actively seeking local artists for gallery placement and for future showcase events, they encourage musicians to be their featured musical guest. They are always looking for new talent to forefront. They would love to connect with filmmakers, photographers, writers, educators and other creators who want to collaborate. They also welcome local artists to apply to vendor events and encourage any volunteers who would love to get involved in helping host evets, assist artists and be a part of the creative journey.
The Friday December 5th multidisciplinary event is the launch of their new monthly Artist Showcase Series, featuring the curated art of Becky Bump, a local painter who uses luminescent colors in oil and acrylic creating art inspired by nature and the cosmos, she will have a special giveaway. Their featured musician this month will be world-renowned contemporary folk guitarist Carl Tosten, whose soulful voice is accompanied by his creative guitar percussion techniques. His lyrics are described as observational, speaking to the individual as well as the collective. There will be interviews and storytelling, a market of local makers, coffee served by Campers Coffee, and hors d’oeuvres served by Octapas. There will be a live broadcast-style production of the evening. This event is family friendly; all ages are welcome.
WHAT:
Multidisciplinary arts event featuring artist Becky Bump, folk guitarist Carl Tosten, interviews and storytelling, arts market and refreshments
WHEN:
Opening event Friday, Dec 5, doors open at 5 p.m., show starts at 6 p.m.
WHERE:
212 Legion Way SW, Olympia
HOW MUCH:
Opening event tickets: Single $72.42, Multiple $61.46, gallery free to public outside this event.
LEARN MORE:
Opening event tickets: https://tickets.venuepilot.com/e/artist-showcase-series-launch-2025-12-05-the-carpenter-s-house-olympia-0e455d
http://thecarpenters.house
https://www.instagram.com/thecarpentershouseoly
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584087036691
www.beckybumpart.com
https://www.facebook.com/Moonbeamsbright
http://www.carltosten.com
https://www.facebook.com/CarlTosten