Lacey Buccellato

Hi! Tell us about you!

My full name in Elizabeth Lacefield (Peckenpaugh) Buccellato :) I moved to Maplewood with my husband Phil, and my baby Felix in 2014.

I started piloting Oh! Canary classes out of a shared space in South Orange in 2017, and it has truly rooted our family to this community.

12 years, three boys, 1 dog, and 2 studios later, we absolutely love it here. We just moved to a new home in Maplewood along with my mother in law, Mary- who we can not live without.

In a paragraph, tell us about your business.

Oh! Canary has two studio spaces in South Orange and Montclair. There are infinite discoveries available in art materials, and our studio is a space to joyfully explore materials and the innate human desire to play and create, freely. We offer loads of art and play classes, camps and parties for children ages 9 months to about 13 years old and carefully curated adult workshops featuring local artists.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the small town of Henderson, Kentucky in the 80s/90s amongst a big extended family and tight knit community. I'm a middle child with 2 brothers, and spent a lot of time as a kid on tire swings and four wheelers, drinking RC cola at ballparks, and building forts on the bank of the Green River. My parents were public school educators, so teaching feels like an extension of my upbringing. I am so lucky to have had my childhood in that time and place.

How did you find yourself doing this work?

I got a BFA in film photography in 2004, so my early career ideas became obsolete pretty quickly! I waited a lot of tables, and then landed at a photography gallery job in Soho. Being around images all day was compelling, but the culture was not. I wanted to get closer to humanity, so I earned my Master's in Art Education at Brooklyn College. Working with young children felt like coming home. I taught in progressive preschools and then public school for a while- I really thought I would spend my career being a public school art teacher. While I was searching for a full-time job here in New Jersey, I independently started Oh! Canary classes out of a shared space once a week, and little- by- little it grew. It has grown 100% organically ever since.

What's a proud moment in your business journey?

I'm really proud of our growth during the Covid years. In 2020 we had just signed a lease on our South Orange space and our overhead was going to quadruple! Those first few weeks felt bleak. We started making art kits with accompanying video lessons... Phil, my husband, works in film, so it was a family collaboration and the videos are just gorgeous. We brought so much connection into local homes when folks really needed it, and in- turn, our community kept our doors open. We ended up pivoting in many other ways during that time, and learned so much about the benefits of staying flexible, fluid, and reading the community. We often talk about how persistence, resilience, and divergent thinking are habits that comes from working through art processes, and we have really flexed these habits over the years!

What have you learned about yourself since becoming an entrepreneur?

Jeez, what haven't I learned?! The Oh! Canary journey has held up a such a crystal clear mirror to my strengths - I'm brave, steady, flexible, capable. And of course the things I need to improve upon- organization, clarity, communication, decisiveness, etc, etc!

What are 3 things that contribute to a successful work day?

coffee, problem- solving, and joy

What's the weirdest thing on your desk right now?

A bubble machine

What's your go-to celebration meal when you hit a milestone?

Oysters and a Negroni

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

My 10 year old self

What's your most prized possession?

When I was 20 years old I made this little footed ceramic box in a clay studio in an old monastery space in Cortona, Italy. It lives in our bedroom, and every time I gently open the lid, I take a mental trip back to that time ... a magical summer that changed my life in so many ways.

What was the last gift you gave someone?

A venus fly trap

What’s your favorite ’90s jam?

REM Nightswimming

Best biz book/podcast you’d recommend

I'm enjoying Brene Brown and Adam Grant's Podcast "The Curiosity Shop". They have some great conversations around lots of topics related to leadership.

A quote you live by

My mom used to say "If it doesn't matter in 10 years, it doesn't matter." I come back to this in big and small moments when I need to decide what to invest in vs. what to let go.