Government Street is about to get a whole lot groovier. A disco-themed craft bar—playfully titled DIY Disco—debuts this week. The brand-new hangout spot combines ‘70s nostalgia with easy art projects to create a one-of-a-kind experience for parties, dates, girls’ nights and more.
Follow the call of the disco ball to 3101 Government St. for the shop’s grand opening this Saturday, Dec. 10. Guests can get creative with 14 crafts to choose from in various materials like paint, clay, yarn, leather and more.
Inside the space, you’ll find a wall of repurposed records, completed crafts on display and paper-covered tables with enough room to accommodate 40 customers. The shop plans to get its liquor license in 2023, and in the meantime guests are welcome to bring their own drinks. Once its bar opens, it will be slinging disco-themed drinks, such as the Disco Fever jalapeno margarita and the Foxy 75, a fruity take on a French 75.
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Visitors can book a spot in advance online, or walk in for a craft if there’s room available. Once you get to DIY Disco you can pick your craft, get your supplies and instructions and start creating anything from trinket trays and earrings to luggage tags and sunglasses cases. The best part is, you don’t have to clean up your supplies when you’re done.
“There are crafts for anyone,” owner Chloe McMahon says. “There’s woodworking and leatherworking. If you just want to paint, we have painting. We also have polymer clay, for jewelry, and we’re doing a Christmas ornament this year. They’re supposed to be crafts that you actually use or display in your home. And they’re supposed to be fun.”
All of the crafts have been tested by McMahon and her friends to ensure even beginner crafters can make them. McMahon says the selection of crafts will rotate and that she hopes to expand to include a total of 25 fresh ideas to keep up with trends and keep the selection fresh.
“I’m just really excited for people to come in and actually start doing the crafts because one of my favorite things about this is that I have gotten my friends to help me test a lot of the crafts,” she says. “In my mind, these are what the crafts look like, but every time one of my friends does them, they turned out completely different. It’s so cool to see what they had in mind for it, because it’s just never the same.”
The idea to open DIY Disco came to McMahon during the pandemic. With a mother who was an art teacher, McMahon has always been crafting. She was looking for a way to reinvent her career with a business that combined her favorite things: disco music, parties and fun projects. So, she set out to start a crafty cocktail spot where customers can relax with art while listening to fun music by ABBA, Donna Summer and more.
“I actually decided to do this in August of 2020, while I had COVID,” she says. “At the time I was working in oil and gas, so I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this for the rest of my life.’ I really like arts and crafts, and I started doing that a lot during quarantine. I also really liked throwing parties.”
This new venture gave her the space to throw party after party while growing her love for art. She began business planning in 2020, signed her lease in 2021 and began construction this year. Tucked right into Government Street, McMahon says she knew Mid City would be the perfect spot to open DIY Disco.
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“I just wanted to be around here because I thought it was the right vibe and the right kind of people who want to come to this type of business,” she says.
McMahon says DIY Disco is the perfect place for locals to bring their visiting family and friends to create a one-of-a-kind experience this time of the year. DIY Disco will also be open on New Year’s Day if anyone needs something to do for the holiday.
Crafts at DIY Disco range from $30-$45, and all reservations will receive 20% off for the opening weekend. You can reserve time slots online ahead of time. DIY Disco is at 3101 Government St. and will be open Thursdays through Sundays. Follow the bar on Instagram for more updates.