The joy of creating: Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton moves store to prominent Cottage Street location

Peacock’s Nest owner Lauren Grover recently moved her store into larger space on Cottage Street in downtown Easthampton from the Eastworks building.

Peacock’s Nest owner Lauren Grover recently moved her store into larger space on Cottage Street in downtown Easthampton from the Eastworks building. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

Paper quillings made by Lauren Grover, owner of Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton. Grover is planning to offer classes in quilling starting in February.

Paper quillings made by Lauren Grover, owner of Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton. Grover is planning to offer classes in quilling starting in February. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

Paper quillings made by Lauren Grover, owner of Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton. Grover is planning to offer classes in quilling starting in February.

Paper quillings made by Lauren Grover, owner of Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton. Grover is planning to offer classes in quilling starting in February. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

Examples of diamond painting kits sold at Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton. Owner Lauren Grover recently moved the business from Eastworks to a new three-story building on Cottage Street downtown.

Examples of diamond painting kits sold at Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton. Owner Lauren Grover recently moved the business from Eastworks to a new three-story building on Cottage Street downtown. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

The Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton on Wednesday.

The Peacock’s Nest in Easthampton on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTO / DANIEL JACOBI II

By ALEXA LEWIS

Staff Writer

Published: 01-30-2025 12:52 PM

EASTHAMPTON — Lauren Grover has become accustomed to encountering people who think they aren’t creative. They might say they can’t draw, can’t sculpt, can’t make some elaborate decor out of paper or paint or clay. She hears it all the time, but it never makes her any less sad.

What Grover has noticed, is that when you ask a child if they can draw, sculpt, or create — there isn’t any hesitation. They almost always say yes. But at a certain point, a gap grows between what people see in their minds and the outcome they hold in their hands, she explained.

“It’s not a matter of talent, it’s a matter of skill, and skill can be built,” Grover said.

The only problem is, so many people get hung up on perfection, and give up on the joy of creating before they can reap its rewards.

At her store Peacock’s Nest, which moved to a new location on Cottage Street in July, Grover hopes to shift that narrative by encouraging people to make time for creative fun.

“The purpose of art isn’t perfection, but to make art,” she said.

Before moving to Cottage Street, Peacock’s Nest had existed in Eastworks for about four years. Before that, Grover had been a henna artist for about 30 years, and “a crafter pretty much forever.” Henna art is a form of temporary body art that uses a paste made from the leaves of the henna plant to create designs on the skin.

The store is an amalgamation of Grover’s creative inclinations — a community space where anyone can learn a fun new skill, borrow crafting supplies, luxuriate in scented body scrubs and lotions, get pampered with henna, glitter, or face painting, or get to know some new friends over a board game.

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“It’s been sort of a continuing process of ‘I think this is neat, more people need this, I’m gonna offer it,’” Grover said.

Since moving into the new, larger space on the first floor of a three-story, 25,000-square-foot mixed-use residential and retail development at 47-49 Cottage St., Grover has also been able to collaborate with more artists who inspire her by carrying their work in the store and inviting them to teach classes.

Stepping into the store, crafters are greeted with an eclectic assortment of sights: glittering “diamond paintings” that line the walls and windows, whimsical decor and jewelry made of paper or shells, and even paper lamps folded into the forms of dragons and axolotls — all of which they can learn to make themselves.

Grover has become particularly interested in offering access to “folk arts,” which can be done without a lot of training, and often without a lot of expensive materials — which also means they can be continued easily throughout a person’s life. Some of the crafts offered at Peacock’s Nest include paper quilling, Temari balls (a Japanese folk art form of embroidered balls), beading and embroidery.

Outside of classes, Peacock’s Nest also offers drop-in crafts, game nights and socials meant to be opportunities to connect, share supplies and work on projects together.

“I like the idea that I can be a community resource,” Grover said, explaining that, instead of purchasing a crafting tool they might only use once, community members can come into the store and work on their projects with her tools.

Even as she continues to curate the offerings at Peacock’s Nest and looks to expand classes in the future, Grover is continuing her henna and body art endeavors from her original business, Paisley Peacock Body Arts. She has still been traveling to various events to bring intricate designs throughout New England.

Grover has been studying henna intensely for decades — from its origins to its cultural significance throughout the world today — after discovering a fascination with the topic through a class. In her own designs, Grover said she incorporates modern motifs, but keeps most of her work based in traditional designs. Because it isn’t a practice she grew up with, she said it’s important for her to respect where it came from.

Whether customers are interested in trying their hand at a new craft or bringing something made by one of the store’s featured artists into their homes, Peacock’s Nest seeks to make the creative spirit more accessible for everyone who seeks it.

Grover noted that there are crafts available that require varying levels of focus, from repetitive tasks you can complete while relaxing with a TV show, to more intensive ones that require undivided focus.

Whatever kind of creative outlet people are looking for, Grover implores them to keep in mind the most important part of any artistic endeavor: it’s supposed to be fun.

“We’re not serious. We’re just messing with paper or string or whatever,” Grover said. “However you want to create is good, creating is good … For me, it’s got to be fun, or what’s the point?”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.