Screen Free Time: How we, as founders, disconnect from work.

The Paint Club was born from a simple but powerful desire: to share the joy of art with everyone and create a space where people could come together, slow down, and reconnect—with themselves and with others. At its heart, it’s always been about accessibility, creativity, and community. We believe that art should be for everyone—not just the professionals, the trained, or the ‘naturally talented.’ Everyone has a creative spark, and we want to help people find it.

Over time, The Paint Club has become more than just a creative outlet. It’s also become a moment of calm in the chaos—for our customers and our team alike. In a world where screens dominate our attention and notifications constantly pull us in every direction, these sessions offer a rare chance to unplug. Phones go down, laptops close, and we come back to the physical, sensory world in a mindful, present way. The simple act of painting—mixing colours, making brush strokes, focusing on one task—can feel like a deep breath. And these days, that’s something more and more people are telling us they need.

There’s growing recognition of the link between creativity and mental well-being. Creating art can help us process emotions, express ourselves, and experience that magical state of flow—when time seems to melt away and you're fully immersed in what you’re doing. It’s calming, grounding, and incredibly nourishing for the mind. Studies have shown that engaging in creative activities can reduce anxiety, ease depression, and improve overall mood. In short, art isn’t just fun—it’s healing.

As co-founders, we understand the tug-of-war between digital demands and real-life connection all too well. Between an ever-growing calendar of events, supporting our amazing HQ and artist teams, and managing the endless tide of emails and admin, it can sometimes feel like we live inside our inboxes. Screen-free time isn’t just a nice idea—it’s something we’ve had to consciously build into our lives.

You might notice that we’re not always super active on social media. That’s not because we don’t care—it’s just that when things are busy, finding the time and headspace to create meaningful content can feel like another item on an already full to-do list. We’re learning to prioritise authentic connection over constant visibility. Protecting our own time, creativity, and mental well-being is what allows us to keep showing up for others in a meaningful way.

We’re big believers in the power of micro-adventures. Whenever possible, we carve out time each month for little escapes—something simple to look forward to that shifts our focus away from the daily grind. The mountains of Eryri are a regular calling; we head there often to walk, breathe, stretch our eyes across the landscape, and reconnect with nature (and ourselves). It’s our way of pressing reset.

The Paint Club brings us so much joy. What started as a small idea nearly a decade ago has grown into something truly special. With a brilliant team of 40 artists and a dedicated HQ crew, we now host events all over the UK. We see firsthand how our sessions light up our customers—giving them a chance to put down their phones, tap into their creativity, and simply be present.

Behind those joyful events, though, is a lot of hard work. From admin and financial planning to day-to-day operations, there’s a constant hum of activity behind the scenes—and a lot of screen time. That’s why we’ve come to see our own need to unplug as not just helpful, but essential. The irony isn’t lost on us: we provide spaces for others to disconnect, while often needing that same disconnection ourselves. It’s a work in progress, but one we’re fully committed to.

We hope to share more with you about this in future blog posts.