People of the Public Market: Faith H.
Published on July 13, 2026
By day, Faith H. works in IT for a bank, but after hours, she swaps screens and notifications for cozy crafts.
“I like to be tactile,” Faith said. “I get sick of seeing the screen and all the notifications so this is like the polar opposite in a way…there's not a screen, so I love to dabble in like hands-on activities that give your mind a refresher.”
Faith started the “Cozy Hobby Club” earlier this summer to create a welcoming space where crafters could come together.
“I made this club because I wanted there to be a low-key but chill way to interact with people that was also low-cost where you could just show up and be cozy and have a good time and meet like-minded people I wanted it to be as safe space to be creative,” she said.
Faith lives in Lawrence and hosted the first Cozy Hobby Club meetup there, but she recently brought the group to the Lenexa Public Market to make it easier for people from across the Kansas City metro to join.
“I think sometimes when you're trying to make friends, it can be really hard, or it's like you’ve got go drop $50 to go have dinner with somebody to get drinks and it's like, ugh, that can be a lot,” she said. “I created this hoping it could be a nice, chill alternative. But still be able to make friends and do something that is fun.”
The club has brought together a mix of old and new friends for Faith.
“It’s been a mix of word of by mouth and then also Bumble BFF,” Faith said. “I made a group on there and that's where I'm starting.”
To keep people coming back, Faith adds little touches that extend beyond each meetup.
“Things with gold stars can go home with you. On the inside, it's a cozy little bingo for self-care to do until the next session,” she said. "There's also a little passport that everyone gets so when you come and you show up for a session we'll do a stamp at the end of the session so you can keep track. I also have like a little Polaroid camera so you take a picture of what you worked on and like keep track of your journey.”
When it comes to her own projects, Faith gravitates toward crafts by numbers.
“By number crafts makes it very accessible for me, especially when I don't want to think because when you're coloring, I'm that person who would go, “I don't know what colors go well together”, but if I do color by number, the problem is solved. I can just really enjoy, relax and go on.”
Building community and connecting with the people who make the Public Market so special is at the heart of what we do. Our People of the Public Market series highlight these stories, offering a small but meaningful glimpse into the lives of our customers.