Lone Star Workshop plans to expand into teaching crafts

By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

From the smallest of jewelry making and repairs, to painting large murals covering walls both inside and outside, Lone Star Workshop has enjoyed three-plus years of success with its variety of unique products made by owners Allison Geneser and Leanna Ford while also implementing the works of other artists from the region.

Now, Geneser and Ford are planning to teach classes to aspiring artists in various fields. Ford plans to teach jewelry making, while Geneser plans to teach linocut print making as well as watercolors and perhaps oil painting. The classes, planned to be scheduled soon, will likely take place at Lone Star Workshop on a Thursday or Friday evening.

Geneser, of Austin, and Ford, of Monterey, Louisiana, met in Austin while cleaning houses. Geneser had taken over the business, but soon found she and Ford had an appreciation for different forms of art. Geneser sold the business in 2018, and after finding an available office on the Lockhart square – 105 E. San Antonio Street, the two opened Lone Star Workshop on April 13, 2019.

Geneser was originally into music and dance and didn’t really get into painting until returning to the University of Texas from New York where she was doing print making. “In my last semester, I really got into painting,” she said.

Ford developed a love for jewelry at a young age thanks to her mother and has been tinkering and making things since she was about 19. “I never looked back,” Ford said.

Ford went to jewelry school at Austin Community College, something she deemed “amazing.”

Geneser said Ford had a “very unique style,” as she believes her art is, too.

The two are very excited about expanding into the teaching of their crafts.

“I went to jewelry school (Austin Community College) and really hope to start teaching classes soon,” Ford said. “We’ll have other classes, too.”

Geneser has loved art her entire life and has become a big fan of murals. She’s painted some at her house and friends’ houses, and recently had a team, mostly Lockhart High School students, help paint murals on the bathroom walls of Lions Park.

“I do like to do them,” Geneser said of the murals. I love making big botanical murals and hope to do more.”

She likes the variety of the shapes of plants and flowers and thinking of different color combinations for the murals. “Working on a large scale is particularly fun,” she said.

Geneser said Lone Star Workshop allows artists from Central Texas to come on board and begin wholesaling their products while she and Ford continue to sell theirs, too. “I always wanted a business that was focused on supporting fellow artists,” Geneser said. “I wanted handmade stuff.”

Ford is also into jewelry repair. “All kinds,” she said. “You can bring anything. I grew up in a family where I always did stuff with my hands, so this came natural for me.”

Geneser said she too came from a creative family.

Ford and Geneser have made the most of the 770-square feet Lone Star Workshop operates from, yet it doesn’t appear cramped. However, Geneser does most of her work at home. She loves oil painting and often combines them with her linocut prints.

Ford worked for three metalsmith/jewelry makers, and even worked as a lab assistant while at ACC. Her various techniques include fabrication, wax carving, and much more, in fact, making her own wire and sheet metal for the jewelry. She particularly loves gemstones, but also enjoys repair and restoration of jewelry.

Geneser’s aunt, Cynthia Thompson of San Antonio, will have her art exhibited at Lone Star Workshop. Thompson said she is guided by her intuition, producing vibrant paintings and tapestries reminiscent of folk art. Her product has been shown throughout Texas. Her Woodland Sprites and Their Habitats exhibit opens Friday, Sept. 2, from 6-9 p.m.

Lone Star Workshop also donates often to the Lockhart Animal Shelter and is a big advocate of the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center.

LSW can be found on multiple social media platforms, including Instagram (@lonestarworkshop), Facebook (search Lonestarworkshop), and Yelp.