Wondrous things can happen when a team of experienced creatives joins forces. And in a city flooded with no shortage of creative-minded people, it was only a matter of time before a community art space like Orlando’s own Goblin Studios came to life.
The studio, which launched as a creative hub in May, works to create and fabricate different props and immersive environments for clients like Red Bull, Universal and even local escape rooms.
Located directly inside Goblin Studios is Van Goghblin Cafe — a Van Gogh–inspired coffee shop with a goblin twist. Ashley DePaul, one of the owners of Goblin Studios, said it was built with the community and other artists in mind.
“We have a large space that is our own,” DePaul said. “We have so much space that we wanted to be able to share it with everyone else and kind of display the gallery. It also kind of serves as our showcase, so you can see a lot of the things that we have built.”
Entirely hand-painted from the floors to the bar, the cafe is also decorated with an 18-foot tree sculpture built by the Goblin team. On the coffee side, the cafe features specialty drinks such as a sunflower latte, made with turmeric, coconut and sunflower milk.
“It’s Van Gogh — inspired, so obviously, by the famous artist,” DePaul said. “And then we have a little goblin twist on it, and that’s why it’s Van Goghblin.”
DePaul described the cafe as a third space where people can go and feel comfortable to express themselves creatively, however that may be.
As a combination cafe and community creative space, Van Goghblin Cafe serves as a hub for various community events, including networking mixers, yoga classes and specialized art classes such as leather-making and portrait drawing.
Although classes can range anywhere from $10 all the way up to $130, DePaul said the studio tries to make its offerings accessible.
“There are classes where we can do really cool things,” DePaul said, “but unfortunately, those materials are very expensive, so the class is going to be a little bit more expensive. But our yoga class is like $10, and then we always have available our $5 like art kits that you could purchase even when we don’t have a class; it’s like a mini canvas or like a little flower Lego that you could do just anytime you’re at the cafe.”
In addition to hosting events, the studio hopes to begin offering their own masterclasses later this year, focusing on more advanced projects such as creating resin tables or molding techniques for creating 3D figures.
Starting on Feb. 5, the cafe also hosts an open mic night every Thursday from 7 to 9:30 p.m.