--- title: "Former Children’s Theatre Group Volunteer and Nurse Lindsay Sullivan Brings Iowa’s First Kidcreate Studio to Cedar Rapids" url: https://burnaze.com/article/d5c2f91a-db4f-4221-a854-9832c88c6efe source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/former-childrens-theatre-group-volunteer-and-nurse-lindsay-sullivan-brings-iowas-first-kidcreate-studio-to-cedar-rapids-2711963 category: "Enrichment & STEM" industry: "Education & Childcare" segment: "Enrichment & STEM" published: 2020-01-03T15:10:02.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:28:40.256Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/b4ec4c085a062fb3ea31f26487c27ef13348.jpg --- # Former Children’s Theatre Group Volunteer and Nurse Lindsay Sullivan Brings Iowa’s First Kidcreate Studio to Cedar Rapids **TL;DR:** Lindsay Sullivan, a former nurse and children's theatre group volunteer, has opened Iowa's first Kidcreate Studio in Cedar Rapids. The studio offers arts and crafts classes for children aged 18 months to 12 years old, and has been well-received by the community. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2020-01-03. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/former-childrens-theatre-group-volunteer-and-nurse-lindsay-sullivan-brings-iowas-first-kidcreate-studio-to-cedar-rapids-2711963).* ## Story Iowa recently welcomed its first Kidcreate Studio in the city of Cedar Rapids thanks to first-time franchisee Lindsay Sullivan. The children’s arts and crafts franchise opened in March 2019 and so far, Sullivan has had nothing but success. With the high value that Cedar Rapids places on the arts, Kidcreate Studio was a great addition to the city’s array of museums and theatres. Since its founding in 2008, Kidcreate Studio has expanded to eight locations across five states and currently has more studios in development. Children aged 18 months to 12 years old are able to build their confidence, problem-solving skills and social skills through the creative and innovative kid-friendly model offered by Kidcreate Studio. From the franchise’s art-themed birthday parties to its creative activities, children are able to create fridge-worthy masterpieces through fun and unique learning experiences. Sullivan has always had a passion for kids—in fact, when she was growing up, she wanted to be a pediatrician. For 15 years, Sullivan was a full-time nurse and once she had kids of her own, she began working part-time. Her entry into the world of the arts happened when she began volunteering at Playtime Poppy, a children’s theatre group in Cedar Rapids. As a volunteer, Sullivan helped advertise kid-friendly shows that Playtime Poppy put on for local high schools. “I helped organize a lot of different events, but one of my favorites was Operation Backstage, where we’d expose children to the whole theatre experience,” said Sullivan. “From the production staging to lighting to costumes, we showed the children all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that isn’t typically shown at a show.” In 2018, Sullivan was seeking something different and began to look for opportunities that allowed her to serve her community/ That’s when she stumbled upon Kidcreate Studio. It was important for Sullivan to find a job that not only aligned with her morals, but had a valuable offering to her community. “Kidcreate Studio has the whole package,” said Sullivan. “I was attracted to the flexibility it offered in terms of work and social life balance. I saw that it had a great offering for Cedar Rapids—there was nothing else like it in the community.” Sullivan’s three kids attend schools within the Linn-Mar School District, and one of them happens to also be enrolled in classes at her Kidcreate Studio. Not only does Sullivan enjoy seeing a familiar face in the crowd of kids that come to her location, but she loves hearing her little one’s feedback on the projects and activities. “From a kid’s standpoint, I really value what my 7-year-old daughter has to say about the art projects that I have the children do,” said Sullivan. “She loves the unique projects because they’re more evolved than something she would learn at school. We incorporate a lot of pop culture references in our art projects, which children love. With Frozen 2 coming out, we have all these classes coming up that relate to the Frozen sequel.” Sullivan is a firm believer in the positive effects that art has on a child’s development—and she’s not the only one. A 2019 study found through a randomized controlled trial with over 10,500 students enrolled between 42 schools across the Houston area, “art-learning experiences benefit students in terms of reductions in disciplinary infractions, increases in compassion for others and improvements in writing achievement.” According to Sullivan, the Cedar Rapids community is extremely family-friendly, and because of the large number of families in the area, her Kidcreate Studio was the perfect gap-filler for families who wanted to enroll their children in extracurricular art classes. Along with the city’s demographics making her location a prime market for the brand, her Kidcreate Studio sits next to Collins Aerospace Day Academy, a prominent daycare center in Cedar Rapids. “I think that families who bring their children to Collins Aerospace Day Academy will also be interested in my Kidcreate Studio,” said Sullivan. Sullivan believes that Kidcreate Studio is “really catching on and spreading like wildfire,” and she’s thrilled to be offering elementary, intermediate and early-middle school children an option to tap into their creative side. “There’s not a lot of art enrichment activities other than orchestra, band or sports for children,” said Sullivan. “That’s where Kidcreate comes in and gives kids the chance to be artistic and as creative as they want.” ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - franchise expansion (topic) - Education & Childcare (sector) - community development (topic) - children's education (topic) - Kidcreate Studio (company) - Cedar Rapids (location) - arts and crafts (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/former-childrens-theatre-group-volunteer-and-nurse-lindsay-sullivan-brings-iowas-first-kidcreate-studio-to-cedar-rapids-2711963). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/d5c2f91a-db4f-4221-a854-9832c88c6efe).