Stephanie Spear Jenlene Nowak took her first mosaic class on a lark in 2001. Now, Jenlene is a full-time mosaic artist and instructor. Jenlene’s business, Mizz Mozaic, is based in Herndon but her craft kits and courses can be found all over Northern Virginia and the US. We got the chance to chat with Jenlene to learn more about her journey to becoming Mizz Mozaic, and how this ancient art form still has relevance in the modern world. Read on for more from Jenlene and her journey to become Mizz Mozaic.
About Jenlene
Jenlene, pronounced Jen-lean, is originally from near Buffalo, New York. She arrived in Arlington in 2001 to begin her career working in non-profit organization management. “I was living in a group house in Clarendon and there was a store nearby that was like a paint-your-own pottery studio but for mosaics,” she said. “After walking by every day for several months, I decided to go in and see what it was all about.”
Jenlene learned how to make mosaics and loved it. She started working at the store, and by 200,2 she was the manager. “I was teaching classes through the store and through Arlington and Fairfax County Adult Education courses,” she said. The store eventually shut down, but customers were still asking Jenlene to teach courses, host parties, and thus Mizz Mozaic was born.
Jenlene still takes art classes every year, and her educational pursuits have taken her to, among other places, Greece, and to Chicago, where the Chicago Mosaic School is located. “The Chicago Mosaic School is the only accredited mosaic school in North America,” she said. In terms of staying inspired, Jenlene says that she tries to see as much art as she can in a variety of media. “I try to go out and see as much as I can in terms of art,” she said. “I have a lot of creative people in my life so it’s really easy to go to art shows, plays, and gallery openings,”
Mizz Mozaic
Jenlene continued teaching mosaics and accepting commissioned work all while managing her full-time career and her family. Jenlene left her career in the non-profit world in Fall 2019, thinking she would focus full-time on Mizz Mzsaic. “I had a space here in Herndon at Rowan Tree, which was a shared workspace,” she said. “It was a lot of women-owned businesses [in the space] and I met a lot of amazing people there.” In early 2020, Jenlene partnered with another Herndon business, the Elden Street Tea Shop, to host a mosaic pop-up. “It was so cool, and it was right here in Herndon,” she said.
When it seemed like Jenlene was starting to find her footing with the shared space at Rowentry and pop-ups at local businesses, covid hit. “All of my supplies were locked up at the shop and I couldn’t get to it,” she said. “I had to pivot.” Jenlene finally picked up her supplies and turned Mizz Mozaic into high gear. “That’s when I designed my website, started an online store, my Etsy shop, and a Shopify shop,” she said. “Turned into virtual workshops. Sending kits, and doing virtual lessons. Delivering mosaic kits during the pandemic. People would do porch pickups at my house.”
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It all clicked, and Jenlene was on her way. Eventually, she started to expand into doing in-person markets and craft fairs. “I go where I think it’s going to be a cool crowd or I’ve worked with them in the past and I know it’s a good experience,” she said. “I can customize what I bring to each market depending on the audience.”
Now, Mizz Mozaic‘s business has five categories: in-person markets; events; kits including mosaics by mail; virtual lessons; and commissioned work.
The private events are fully customizable to whatever the host wants. “Mosaics are so adaptable. I’ve done mosaic kits for bachelorette parties, corporate events, and milestone birthdays,” she said. “I bring everything, set it up, and clean up when it’s done. Everyone gets a little treasure to take home.”
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Perhaps most surprising about all of this is that it’s really just Jenlene behind the business 95% of the time. She will sometimes hire a team or get some friends to help out, but generally it’s just her. “I have to be a Jen of all trades,” she said. This includes loading and unloading the mosaic materials for events, such as thousands of tiles, which can weigh hundreds of pounds. “I used my events background, but I knew I had to be a one-woman show, and be able to do it all myself. My husband helped me but I have everything set up so that I can load my car myself, unload, roll it up the street,” she said. “I have special packing material to insulate. Everything is a manageable weight so I can do it myself.”
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