Hello and Happy Valentine’s Day week of!! ♥ This week on the blog, we are spreading the LOVE by featuring our top fourteen favorite creative spaces from all around Denton, TX that you ought to visit throughout the month of February for all their lovely Valentine’s themed events! Let’s dive in!
1. Patchouli Joe’s Independent Bookstore & their Poetry Nights
♥ Address: 221 W Hickory St, Denton, TX 76201
Everything about Patchouli Joe’s is the best, and we hope to see them stay in Denton longer. They are an independent book store located just off the Square. The Poetry Nights on the first Friday of every month are incredible moments to witness where local talent comes together around an open mic sharing raw poetry from the heart in a warm welcoming environment. Patchouli Joe’s is always fighting on the right side of history, showcasing progressive authors from all walks of life on their shelves. Join them at their events, author signings, and the upcoming 3rd annual Indie Author Fest come the end of March. They are planning on closing due to the stressors of being a small business however, there is a GoFundMe open to save them. We recommend supporting Patchouli Joe’s as much as possible between now and the end of March! We can save them!! We will greatly miss Patchouli Joe’s and mourn this large part soon to be missing from the Denton arts and creative scene. Let’s help before it’s too late!! We love you Patchouli Joe’s!
Visit this weekend ON VALENTINE’S DAY 2/14 at 6PM for the open mic ‘POETRY UNDER NO KING’ event led by the amazing poet and activist @criplyrical / Val Vera and in collaboration with The DFW Anti-War Committee!
2. Thistle Creative Reuse – Secondhand Art + Craft Supplies
♥ Address: 618 West University Dr, Denton, TX 76201
Thistle is where I work and I adore it so much! We simply had to shout them out, because a lot of creative endeavors and the supplies needed to do them can be sourced here ethically at a secondhand cost. Help divert supplies from the landfill while also enjoying more easily accessible things to craft and make art with! Need something fun and small and low stakes? Thistle also has plenty of fun activities and make-it kits that appeal to all skill-levels no matter if you’re just getting started becoming creative or are already an expert. We have something fun for everyone!
For a look into just how affordable and accessible a lot of things become when resold to the public by Thistle, here’s a little journey I had last year acquiring a COLOR PRINTER (Brother!!) from Thistle!!! It was a momentous occasion and huge addition to my Art & Zine Distro family.
3. The Forge Maker Space at the North Branch Denton Public Library
♥ Address: 3020 N. Locust St., Denton, TX 76209
One of the most beautiful aspects of Denton is our well-funded libraries! We have a fabulous maker space at the North Branch Library within The Forge. They are open odd hours but worth going on the right days to sign up for time using the equipment for a few hours at a time (easily extended for longer projects if nobody else is waiting to use your tool(s) of choice.) For our personal experience with The Forge maker space, we often visit to craft 2″ pin back buttons featuring our printed artwork affixed to them. The library owns a standard button maker with 1″ and 2″ button sizes. We also make pronoun pins, and love being able to rent the 2″ button maker and chill out making about 100 or so in one visit which only takes an hour or two. It provides a nice methodical trance to vibe into in a nice room full of cool people or on some days and times rather quiet. They also have many of the supplies needed to run the machinery available at The Forge itself. Avoid buying your own supplies on places like Amazon, where ill-fitted supplies could break the library machinery. Simply save yourself time and check with The Forge first as they often have stuff available at a much cheaper wholesale rate instead of the retail cost. Check out all their equipment available at their website and plan your next visit! Vendors and artists can benefit from this resource greatly and in turn make more profit on their work if not paying a middleman to produce your products for you.
4. The Art Room
♥ Address: 721 S Locust St, Denton, TX 76201
The Art Room is a fabulous addition to the Denton arts scene. We love that they offer art therapy for free for lots of people who qualify, you might qualify today and should check them out! They host many events that help the public access art therapy and the healing benefits of creating artwork and making things in a communal shared space. Veterans and those living with mental health challenges are their most frequently assisted community member demographics. The Art Room not only offers these services to folks in Denton but also facilitates community art projects that everyone can take part in. 2025’s Community Art Project was titled “From These Roots” where they “worked with the American Legion Hall Senior Center (ALH) to beautify their space and to elevate the underrepresented voices of seniors, Veterans, and the Black community by celebrating the history of the American Legion Hall and its importance to Southeast Denton. The project title From These Roots expresses our desire to simultaneously honor our elders, the history of the ALH Senior Center, the gift of wisdom that the past brings us—now and in the future—and how meaningful social connections fuel our well-being.” Read more about the project and see the outcome on their website.
5. Spiderweb Salon, artist collective
♥ Address: Various locations, Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio hosts most of their largest events and sometimes Harvest House too.
Spiderweb Salon is one of the most important creative groups in Denton, doing so much emotional work, handling heavy topics and bringing us together in community to remember our shared humanity by touching our hearts and souls. Spiderweb Salon is an artist collective in Denton headed by Courtney Marie otherwise known as cm. They host fantastic open mics for Coming Out Day and other times of year, do community-driven art events, poetry readings, zine workshops and have a yearly mourning service with Spiderdead happening the end of every October. Not only that, there is open studio group work hours and Spiderweb Salon has a riso club where you can learn how to print in risograph from cm themselves at HQ. If you’re a creative from anywhere in the world, you’re already a part of the Spiderweb Salon honorarily. Join us if you seek out comradery with fellow creatives! You are always welcome.
6. Bewitched Denton
♥ Address: 529 Bryan St, Denton, TX 76201
Bewitched is run by a couple of amazing witches and their fantastic energy that is focused on doing good and doing what is right, not what is easy. Truly remarkable in their steadfast support of Gazan families, Bewitched sells some items that help these families continue their education, get food, and shelter-making items for survival in Gaza under siege still. One of my favorite reasons to visit Bewitched other than getting to see and converse with the amazing folks running it is to see Ouroboros their snake, and also to visit the “take something leave something” altar station. It’s a superb place to find some much-needed glimmers that highlight your day with how creative the offerings left behind can be. From glitter jars to tiny actually readable mini books, the “take something leave something” will always leave you with a big smile. Bewitched has multiple altars that are open to the public, too, including a general “community altar” you can leave anything on and a particular altar for Gaza too is heartwarming during this difficult time. Many things in Bewitched can help facilitate creativity and help it bloom including incense, crystals, books on creative magic and manifestation, zines, art by locals, and more!
7. Here After Tattoo Parlor and their Witch Jar Bar
♥ Address: 209 E University Dr, Denton, TX 76209 (next to the Pizza Patron strip mall)
The Witch Jar / Spell Jar Bar is just the most amazing aspect of Here After Tattoo Parlor and I highly recommend making a jar there, whatever you make it for will come true! I know this from experience, I made a “bring me the perfect dream job” jar and I found my job at Thistle one month after making it. So it typically manifests within a Moon cycle! But these jars are powerful, Here After has some of the most amazing energy in Denton and the creativity fostered by their spell jar bar is incredibly inviting. Come play! Not only this, they have incredible talented artists that you can schedule a tattoo session with too at the front desk! They are hosting some wonderful Valentine’s flash sheets available this weekend!
8. The Secret Garden – Craft Nights
The Secret Garden is a THCA bar where it is safe and legal to partake in and enjoy the herb, liquids, or edibles. They host so many fun events including CRAFT NIGHTS! The Craft Night is only $5 entry and you get to use any and all of the supplies available – and there’s A LOT! – to do whatever you want! You can make zines, draw, decorate a lighter, and more! We love The Secret Garden and all the fun they facilitate at their venue. Membership is affordable too, it is free to join with $5 visits, but your first two visits are free! We hope to see you there next time.
9. The Denton Clowns Events
A brand new event for Denton, one of our amazing friends Dr. Jeanette Laredo (who leads zine workshops at the library and more fun events) originally started the Denton Clowns as a group based around bringing joy to the community. The first meet-up was at the Square where plenty of cool clowns joined in comradery and silliness! The most recent meet was at The Secret Garden where they facilitated a craft night. Every Denton Clowns event is the perfect environment for getting crafty, creative, and having fun. Where there’s clowns, there’s a good time to be had!!! We encourage you to get dressed up all silly and join us next time! Keep up with the announcements at @dentonclowns on Instagram.
10. The Denton Maker Center
♥ Address: 728 N. Elm St., Denton, TX 76201
A wonderful place to visit that is still new to town celebrating its first year anniversary recently is The Denton Maker Center! I also work here and volunteer my time helping it grow. The Denton Maker Center is an open studio as well as a place where anyone in the community to come learn how to make things in an array of fantastic workshops including but not limited to woodburning, watercolor painting, zine-making, metalsmithing, jewelry-making, leatherworking, making your own paper from scratch, crafting nature-based lake paints, making quick and easy cardboard crafts for horns and masks, and more! They vary in cost and many are free too. Along with the workshops the DMC also offers free Dungeons and Dragons meet-ups on Tuesday nights. Free seminars on cool topics are also hosted here from experts in the area frequently. One informative seminar we attended being the history of Vampires during Denton Halloween month and another being on the beauty and vastness of Islamic Art and Art History. There are always tons of amazing opportunities to get engaged with creativity and the arts at The Denton Maker Center. Lastly, the Center sells art from creatives a part of the community all year-long which makes for great alternative gift-giving. Come stop by and check it out! We volunteer on Mondays if you would like to come say hi and get a tour. Oh! And Kalish leads free Life Drawing with a real model in-person at The DMC so don’t miss out once a month! Find all the workshops, seminars, and free events at dentonmakercenter.com
11. The Greater Denton Arts Council
♥ Address: 400 E Hickory St, Denton, TX 76201
The Greater Denton Arts Council is one of the most creative centers in the entire city. We absolutely adore every event they host, and did a lot of life drawing up there in my earlier years of being a frequent visitor of Denton, TX before moving into the city direct. The GDAC also is an art gallery, with two different galleries within it’s walls: the main room and the side gallery, often featuring work from local artists, students in art classes of DISD, and specialty exhibits providing a great way to engage with diverse cultures and creativity all thriving in Denton. One can join the Greater Denton Arts Council and help the community with a monthly contribution, which allows one to be able to apply for the GDAC micro grants of $500 awarded to individual artists or artist collectives working on community enriching projects pitched annually in Spring, awarded in Summer. We want to personally thank the Greater Denton Arts Council for their uplifting of our own artwork with the micro grant award that helped us self-publish our first published work: ‘THE FOX WHO BECAME A GIRL’ written by dear friend Chloe Bear and now a two-time award-winning comic also supported by The Comics Advocacy Group. It is a very special thing to have the support of the GDAC and we don’t take it for granted. We recommend spending time up there and becoming a member today if you’re a local artist or patron of the arts! Kid-friendly events take place year-long too along with sewing groups, art groups, and more.
The GDAC also hosts Denton Zine and Art Party’s ZINE LIBRARY! You can sit in the side room and enjoy reading zines as long as you like. It’s a great way to spend a day, and gain inspiration from what creatives in Denton are making in the form of self-published zine work. You can also submit your own zines to their library for archival purposes. Submit your zine today! And join us at the end of every September for The Denton Zine and Art Party annually at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios!
The ‘PUNK LOVE’ exhibit returns taking place during all of February as a Valentine’s Day specialty! We recommend visiting this month and taking someone you love to see it! The opening reception is this Thursday the 12th at 6PM – 8PM.
12. The UNT CoLAB
♥ Address: 207 N Elm St, Denton, TX 76201
One of the best places in town to get a daily dose of the arts at is The UNT CoLAB! They are a small two-floor art gallery that features the work of local artisans, especially from UNT, the DISD faculty and student body, and also the rest of town too. The CoLAB hosts an all-inclusive community art exhibit annually titled ‘square-d’! You can sign up and pay a small fee to take home a canvas the same size as everyone else’s, adding to it whatever you want! Totally open prompt. Something you make could be Denton-related or personal to you and your artist journey and story. Everyone of every age and of every skill level is welcome to join the ‘square-d’ art exhibit. It’s about community first and foremost! First-time artists welcome. Get your first gallery exhibit experience with the CoLAB!
Read more about the first year of ‘square-d’ on it’s individual blog post from a few years back.
Currently, their exhibit for February is the DFW MFA in Painting 2026 Survey, well worth a visit! Visiting art galleries like the CoLAB are a great place for a romantic date or to build your creativity up and get inspired!
13. The Artist’s Grove
♥ Address: 325 W McKinney St, Denton, TX 76201 (use middle door and they are to the right)
A fantastic tattoo studio that provides a friendly creative environment is The Artist’s Grove! They employ a lot of amazing artists who are locals and have spots available if you are seeking a chair as a tattoo artist yourself. Not only tattoo art, they celebrate all art with their extensive gallery full of purchasable art on the walls of the studio featuring art from the resident artists at the Grove or people who sign up from around the city of Denton. To top it all off the Artist’s Grove frequently hosts free life drawing nights at the Bearded Monk too! Fun comradery, a learning experience with a chance to practice drawing from life in-person which is THE best way to do it! Find out more about them on their cool website or drop by any time.
14. The Willis Library’s Zine Library
♥ Address: 1155 Union Circle #305190, Denton, TX 76203-5017
Last but not least is the Willis Library – part of the University of North Texas – which hosts a beautiful Zine Library in Special Collections on the 4th floor open from 9:00AM – 4:00PM on a daily basis. This is one of the most creative aspects of the library! One could get lost here for hours. It’s best experienced over talked about, go read some zines freely today! Get inspired! Make your own zines!!
Honorable Mentions
15. Rose Costumes
♥ Address: 104 W Oak St, Denton, TX 76201
A fantastic hotspot for all things wearable costumes and handcrafted creative looks to die for! Rose Costumes has a long-running history in Denton, headed originally by the ever-wonderful Judy Smith and now carried onwards by her large team of trusted costumers. The legacy of Rose’s is one of many reasons worth going to their new location right on the Square! Everything within their store is handmade from scratch!
16. The DIME Store
♥ Address: 118 E McKinney St. Denton, TX 76201
The DIME store is focused on all things handmade within their four walls packed to the brim with creativity and plenty of opportunities to take part too! Join them for a specialty workshop to learn a new skill or technique from friendly professionals in the arts from the locality of Denton and DFW, TX. The DIME Store also functions everyday as a gift shop too – well worth visiting!
17. Wildflower Art Studio
♥ Address: 715 North Locust Street Denton, Texas 76201
Lauded as one of the best places in town to get creative, Wildflower Art Studio offers fantastic hosted birthday parties at their venue with all the supplies needed, individual workshops throughout the year, and kids Summer Art Camp that can’t be missed!
Some BONUS FUN can be had during Valentine’s week and weekend around Denton, TX…
Take a photo opportunity with the
Valentine’s Conversation Hearts of Denton, TX!
Here’s the full list of Conversation Heart locations:
Old Bear Vintage (114 N Locust St.)
Patchouli Joe’s (221 W Hickory St.)
Three Roses Tea Room (221 W Oak St.)
UNT Co Lab (207 N Elm St.)
Palm Tree (119 N Elm St.)
Harvest House (331 E Hickory St.)
L’Amitié (529 Bolivar St.)
Wolff’s Park (108 Industrial St.)
Hannah’s (111 W Mulberry St.)
Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum (110 W Hickory St.)
Rose Costumes (104 W Oak St.)
Shuck Me (311 N Elm St.)
Dime Store (311 N Elm St.)
Union Bear (215 S Bell Ave.)
NCTC (316 E Hickory St.)
Wildflower Art Studio (715 N Locust St.)
Spread the Love This Week
and Year-Round by Donating
to the Little Free Pantries In Town
Using The Map Lovingly Created
by Tracy Runnels of Interfaith Denton!
