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Art and coffee? Add in some great sandwiches and that’s what you’ll find at the TReehoue Cafe and Art Studio in Travelers Rest. KAG’s Kristina Hernandez stopped by so she could tell our readers all about this unique cafe. Learn about the coffee, food, and activities they offer in this review.

I love coffee, I love art, and I love it when my kids aren’t fighting with each other. So it was definitely love after two full hours of coloring, painting, playing, and eating grilled cheese sandwiches at the TRee House Café & Art Studio in beautiful Travelers Rest.

If you want to support a local small business in town, from my own personal experience with Kristen, the incredible owner, this is the place to do it. I cannot say enough good things about this woman and her love for the community and her guests. If I lived closer to TR, I’d seriously go here multiple times a week.

About TRee House Café & Art Studio

The café and art studio is located where Leopard Forest Coffee used to be (they moved down the street), two doors down from Sidewall Pizza, and right off the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The location is ideal but the true gem is once you walk through the doors.

I’ve been in lots of cafes but none as interesting as this one. There is an entire art bar down the center of the café, strewn with crayons, paint brushes, coloring books, paper, and brightly colored ornaments and painted rocks. There are checkers and a few Mr. Potato Heads. My kids made a beeline for the art bar as soon as we walked in and started coloring and drawing.

That made me happy.

On the far wall, there are shelves full of blank canvases ready for your inspired paintings, plus tons of paint and brushes. The table next to the shelves has been decorated to look like a painter’s palette, which I had to admit I was a bit jealous of because it was so cool. The owner, Kristen, told me she had it made years ago to remind her of her dream to open a café and art studio.

Opposite the shelves is a cozy nook with a fireplace, more buckets of crayons, and comfy chairs. It’s quite inviting. And of course, there is the food and drink part of the café. Gene runs the kitchen and he’s a culinary genius using pretty simple ingredients. I’ve never been disappointed with the food here.

I ordered a grilled cheese with chips for my two kids and I had the Chicken Pesto panini with chips and chamomile tea. The grilled cheese was enormous and plenty for my kids. It was a good size and very tasty, way better than I expected. They also sell bagels, pastries, and muffins.

So what in the world did we do for two hours? Not even everything the café had to offer (which means we are going back, yay!). We painted rocks – the ones that people hide at random places around town, we drew and colored, my kids colored parts of the cardboard house and played inside, they tried hula hooping, played with the Mr. Potato Heads, and I blissfully colored by number Van Gogh’s famous painting “The Starry Night”, which was beyond therapeutic.

The café sells canvases in various sizes that you can paint, along with other projects to paint.

Kristen is an art teacher by trade and she was so engaged with not only my kids but the other kids who were there enjoying the café. She has a seemingly endless amount of patience and encouraged us to try anything we wanted to do. Their Facebook page is the best way to stay updated on what’s happening there, for special events and more.

The café also has wifi available, which I saw many patrons using as they tapped away on their laptops. I was almost unhappy I didn’t bring my laptop to do the same since my kids were so occupied but then I would not have been able to enjoy my own coloring adventure!

For up-to-date info on events and hours, follow the TRee House Café & Art Studio on their Facebook page.

TRee House Café & Art Studio 27 South Main Street Travelers Rest, SC 864.610.2266

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 8 am to 5 pm.

Would your kids love a visit to TRee House Café & Art Studio?

???? Check out More Places to Make Art Near Greenville, SC!

Inside: One local mom reviews the art opportunities for kids at TR Makers Co.

Looking for a place to make some art in Travelers Rest, SC? TR Makers Co offers art activities for both children and adults. You can plan a birthday party or girls’ night here, or take advantage of summer sessions, playdates and even homeschool classes.

Looking for more fun places to make art in Greenville, SC? Check out our 10+ Places Kids Can Make Art in Greenville post!

“I want to help people express themselves,” Kristin LaRoy told me at her shop in Travelers Rest called TR Makers Co.

I sincerely hoped that did not mean she would let my fiery toddler express herself by banging the mallet on Kristin’s finger as she held the print stamp in place for the handmade design my daughter was attempting.

That’s some serious trust and she won me over quickly.

In 2019, Kristin was brought into the SmartARTS program organized by the Metropolitan Arts Council, which is a pretty big deal. She uses her style of multi-disciplinary arts integration teaching to educate students in schools across Greenville County. And she also received the 2019 Carrie and Skip Gordon Emerging Teaching Artist Award for my work with SmartARTS. Brava!

Become A Maker

TR Makers Co. is right on Main Street in downtown Travelers Rest and is home to a beautiful little shop that sells goods from local artists, including soap, printed shirts (that are the softest I’ve ever felt, by the way) and sweatshirts, jewelry, dolls, and pottery. But the coolest part, at least for the kids, is all of the neat stuff Kristin has for the art section of TR Makers.

Seated at an art bar, my kids were able to make their own designs for cards and paper. They designed what the art on their little handbags would look like, and with Kristin’s help and patience, had a lot of fun becoming little makers themselves.

Adults also can get in on the action. TR Makers offers Play Dates for groups of one to six people. These can be for families or friends or girls night outs – pretty much anything. Grown-ups need to play, too. TR Makers also offers homeschool classes, art camps, and tons of art experiences for kids and grown-ups.

If you have a young child wanting to explore art, the Mini Makers program will help! One Saturday and two Tuesdays a month, TR Makers Co. offers Mini Makers, where your child can explore a theme through art. Parents participate as well, and your kid can take their art home after they are finished.

TR Makers Co offers homeschool classes called Arts Lead Learning.

Classes are held throughout the fall and spring. Each half day arts-integrated lesson covers an age-appropriate academic study in areas of either Science, Math, English, Social Studies, or cultural studies.

Students get the opportunity to make 2-3 projects during the lesson and come home knowing more about the chosen topic of study. Detail on current classes as well as general information on this program can be found online: Arts Lead Learning at TR Makers.

TR Makers also offers Summer Maker Camps and Summer Maker Days for students age 5-11. Camps are half-day events with the kids meeting from 9 am- Noon and or 1-4 pm. Classes are a 5 day week long.

The Summer Maker Days are flexible. Students can join for one, two, or more classes during the week. They offer discounted passes for 2-Day maker days.

Summer classes and camp this summer look like a lot of fun with hands-on creating, problem-solving, and eating all in the name of art.

TR Makers also offers unique birthday parties where the birthday boy/girl receives a special block print t-shirt made during the party. Parties include art instruction and materials for 9 guests ages 4 and up and cost $250. Options are available to add food but parents can also bring in their own food or order in (Sidewall Pizza is just down the street, you know, for reference).

TR Makers Co has always carried local goods, jewelry, art pieces, and unique gifts. They are always adding a ton of new items to their inventory, including DIY at-home art kits, new items from local, regional, and global artists, and artisan gifts. They offer free local pick-up daily as well.

If you’re in Travelers Rest, be sure to stop by TR Makers Co., or make a trip just for this place. It’s definitely worth it. Travelers Rest has so many gems. Don’t miss any of them.

TR Makers Co. Website3 South Main Street, Travelers Rest864.610.0996

Open Monday 10:30 am – 3:00 pm Tuesday – Saturday 10:30 am – 5:30 pmClosed Sunday

Are you looking for more fun things to do in Traveler’s Rest, SC? Check out our Kidding Around Guide to Travelers Rest.

Does a play date at TR Makers Co. sound like a great night out to you?