Bittersweet goodbye to Artingales, but fret not, April will still be teaching at Valley Art.
A note from April:
Please know I didn’t make this decision lightly, it’s been a last resort option for a couple of years now and a delicate balancing act of late. Thank you to the hundreds of families and individuals who took classes with Artingales over the last ten years, I hope you found yourself enjoying the time creating with me as much as I did with you and yours, and I would love to see you again in classes listed under my name. Much gratitude to the loyal and regular customers who kept coming back year after year, then introducing younger siblings once they were old enough. I’m blessed that former students still say hello and tell me how they’re doing when I see them out and about. I appreciate my friends and customers who shared when Artingales was having a class or camp, and encouraged me to keep going. I’ll always have gratitude for my Harvey Clarke colleague, Mary Lou, who gave the first one hundred dollars in support, plus a bunch of art supplies. Mary Lou, I felt your belief in my ability, and I did keep swimming as long as I could. I’m in awe of the multiple individuals who joined right alongside Artingales in its mission to spread art to everyone by sponsoring kids who suffered abuse or couldn’t afford classes. I’m thankful to the many organizations and venues I’ve had the opportunity to teach in, and am confident some awesome creativity will continue in the few classes I’m offering at Valley Art. This goodbye will never encapsulate the immense joy I had serving this community under the Artingales name. Forever and Fondly, April.
What’s changed?
When April Hoff founded Artingales in July of 2016 it was in response to chronic migraines that were controlling most of her day and night and impeding her ability to work with kids in the SpEd program for the local school district. Running the business gave her the opportunity for a flexible schedule and a later start to the day to support her health, and it served that purpose well. More importantly, it allowed her passion for art and experimenting with mediums to be shared with kids and adults alike, and she got the privilege of still working with the neurodivergent kids she’d come to adore.
Over the last ten years Artingales brought after school classes to local and neighboring school buildings, including Harvey Clarke, Joseph Gale, Dilley Elementary, Banks Elementary, and Gaston Elementary, while also providing regular art clubs, summer camps, and hosting the Community School kids at Valley Art. Artingales even traveled to the coast and facilitated summer camps at Newport, Oregon’s Visual Arts Center a couple of years in a row. By 2019 the business was beginning to prosper to a living wage level and was set to expand into other areas and bring on business partners and employees within five years.
However, we all know the pandemic happened, a major setback for most small and service businesses. Still, Artingales fought to hang on, receiving a couple of small business grants from Covid Relief funding which kept things going for a couple of years until the public was ready to get back to normal and April’s health improved enough to foster growth. By mid-2020 April had another disability, long covid, and taught as often as possible but was no longer able to work 7 days a week and 12+ hours a day like she’d been accustomed to doing. Solo small businesses are like that, owners are the marketers, accountants, operation managers, producers, customer service reps, purchasers, etc. Navigating the limited ability made her realize she was doing too much pre-covid anyway.
Artingales faced its first major competition for summer camps when Forest Grove Parks and Recreation started to expand offerings and had its first Camp Grove in 2023. Cities should be giving its citizens varied options from its Rec. departments, so that was a positive for the Forest Grove community in April’s eyes. Enrollment was still healthy enough at Artingales since it differentiated by offering an air-conditioned space and a shorter camp day for kiddos who couldn’t manage the grind of an all-day, multiple activity, and field-trip kind of camp. Around that same time, Artingales started having its classes in the basement of Gann Bros. Printing.
Though it increased overhead having a monthly lease instead of only percentage of enrollment or flat fees to the school districts, it afforded so much flexibility and the kids still speak fondly of how fun it was. Being there allowed full freedom to make the space look like an art classroom, and Michael was okay with kids using extra paint to doodle on the pillars and play around the deck. The kids loved taking wiggle breaks running up and down the ramp and rolling around on carts, letting Tank the shop dog come down and visit, and going upstairs to see the fascinating old cutting and printing equipment. Just as things were getting into a groove and the month before summer camps would start, asbestos was discovered in the century old building’s basement and Artingales vacated after painstakingly cleaning everything and packing out. Michael was very understanding and allowed as much time as it took considering April’s health limitations, it took months.
Artingales needed to do at least one summer camp in that period to survive, though, and needed somewhere to hold one. It was too late to ask Valley Art since they schedule a couple of months in advance, so April put it out to previous Artingales customers and friends on Facebook. The Miller family graciously offered their fun kid’s basement for a small cam. It was a fun time, with a backyard full of nature and a chicken coop, tree swings, and plenty of shade. This year April got to have the Miller’s kids in a summer camp at Valley Art, and it was good to seem them again and witness how they and their art had evolved and matured.
Last fall’s blow to the business was that a Portland nonprofit solicited Banks Elementary and contracted over the summer to do the after school art in the 2025 / 2026 school year. April always allowed schools to have their first weeks of the school year to get their building logistics down before asking them about doing after school art, thinking it was doing them a favor by allowing time to know which space in the building might be available. Unfortunately Artingales had just renewed the increased insurance coverage their district required.
The Forest Grove School District also started requiring double the insurance a couple of years prior, and up until 2026, FGSD enrollment had always covered the $37.50 per day classroom use fee, “excess” insurance policy, supplies, and snacks. Artingales took on Square loans to pay premiums and April accepted Jeanne Levy’s offers to sponsor students with financial need to stay afloat those two years.
However, going into the next premium cycle and corporate renewal, the enrollment and revenue doesn’t justify holding onto the overhead that is staying incorporated as Artingales. Times are tough for everyone and we see many businesses impacted by the community’s lack of discretionary income. Artingales enrollment has halved over the last six months in most classes. So with heartfelt gratitude for ten years of support, April is saying goodbye to the Artingales name and will no longer be teaching in the school buildings unless a financial boon magically appears to cover all of the required costs. She’s still teaching kid’s clay / wheel and summer art classes at Valley Art, and hopes to continue walking the Forest Grove Community School kids over for classes as long as Valley Art will allow it. She will even start requesting classroom time for adult classes again. She hopes to see you there! Farewell, Artingales name. What a grand time!
What if I was already registered for a future class?
April has that information and will be reaching out soon. You can find her classes here: https://aprilhoff.square.site/classes and on Valley Art’s website.
What if I want future newsletters for April’s classes?
April is in the process of building new registration on her site and will also have a MailChimp newsletter option once that’s done. In the meantime, feel free to email the old addresses before June 1, 2027 expressing interest since the domain is paid through that time. The 503-929-4088 number will stay active as well.