Interview with Kristin Humbargar, Owner and Co-Founder of Essex Hub
Kristin opened her first business, Living Room: Center of Positivity, in the Village three years ago. Inside a tiny studio on Railroad Avenue, Living Room hosted one-on-one coaching, yoga classes, and art events. Kristin founded Living Room with the desire to bring people together in community, to support people in their process, and to elevate creativity.
The spirit of Living Room drove the creation of the Essex Hub for Women & Business, a coaching and consulting organization that hosts three co-working and co-creative spaces in the heart of Essex Junction. Working with her business partner Elissa Koop, Kristin created the first searchable map of women-owned businesses in Vermont. Kristin is also the visionary force for steAmfest, the art and innovation festival that launched in Essex Junction last fall.
The Essex Hub has a goal of bringing together artists and other creative workers. Kristin hopes to help people turn their big ideas into reality. The Essex Hub now encompasses the Main Street Studios (a private artist space and co-working community), Words & Pictures (a community print shop), and has enabled businesses to grow and reside in Essex.
The mission of the Essex Hub is to engage people in the community with conversations and awareness around Essex as a town full of opportunity, art, and culture, so that more people will decide to make Essex their creative home.
Why Essex? “Essex was the closest community to my Underhill home, and had a great culture and walkability. There is a lot of opportunity here,” Kristin said.
Why Essex? is a weekly(ish) column highlighting the people and places that make Essex an interesting and special place. Have an idea for the Why Essex? column? E-mail Darby Mayville at darby@essexjunction.org.