Moneek Pines has always been an artist, but business is something she is still learning.
It’s an ongoing learning curve for this self-professed people person. Pines owns the Artrageous child care center and the Artrageous Brush and Flow Art Studio in Germantown.
“My mom always told me don’t complain about something, do something.” So when Pines used to be an assistant teacher and noticed children not being fully prepared for kindergarten, she started her own program.
After an initial home daycare in her Germantown residence where her and her family have lived for the last 13 years, she expanded into an official space. The art studio was a fun project to do on the side.
“I just wanted to bring people together. I first started doing it [art] with kids. I’m so used to working with kids, it’s my comfort zone. Then I realized I could teach adults about art too,” Pines said.
Pines incorporates her degree in 3-D art and sculpture from Moore College of Art and Design in both the daycare and the art studio. One of her current projects is using different textile elements in her own paintings and in the children’s projects. She is trying to bring more sustainable art supplies in her studio and the daycare, from starting composting to using recyclables in projects.
“I’m thinking about using recycled fabric scraps for ballerinas in the kid and adult art,” she said.
As president of the Germantown Business Alliance, Pines thinks continual networking with other business owners is key. She loves the quaint mom-and-pop shops and trees that are such an integral part of the neighborhood’s landscape.
“I could talk to Jen from the Frosted Fox and she could give me advice on accounting … all of us can work together to help each other.”
As Pines sits and brainstorms, ideas about incorporating art and the vacant storefronts on Germantown Avenue start to come together.