Long before Jared Neff became the chief operating officer for As You Wish, he was a young boy painting a picture frame for his father at one of the company's studios. Across the top and bottom, in bold red letters, he wrote: "I Love You Daddy."
More than 25 years later, the frame still sits on his father's desk.
Michaela "MJ" Jaskowiak, As You Wish's social media and PR director, has a keepsake of her own. A snowman ornament she painted when she was five or six years old at an As You Wish studio still hangs on her family's Christmas tree.
"It's fallen off the tree a few times and been glued back together, but I still have it and put it on my tree every year," Jaskowiak says. "It's really sweet."
For more than 30 years, As You Wish has served as a gathering place for Valley families, friends and multiple generations. Today, it operates eight locations, including one in Queen Creek.
Friends gather to paint gifts and keepsakes. Grandparents bring grandchildren for one-on-one outings. Families preserve handprints and pet paw prints on mugs, plates and ornaments. Even grown children return with their parents for an afternoon of creativity.
Fostering creativity, Jaskowiak says, is a great way not only to unplug but also to work the muscles in our brains. For younger children, painting can help strengthen fine motor skills while encouraging self-expression and problem-solving.
"I think everyone is looking for a reason to put their phone down," Jaskowiak says. "And, you know, as cliché as it sounds, we all want something tactile that still keeps our hands busy and keeps us focused on something that's better for us."
As You Wish staff regularly witness the kinds of conversations that are easy to postpone in everyday life. Friends reconnect over a shared project. Grandparents share stories with grandchildren. Families carve out time to be together amid the busyness of everyday life.
In an era dominated by screens, those moments matter.
Whether guests leave with a hand-painted mug, a holiday ornament, a pet paw print dish or a gift for someone they love, the finished piece often becomes a reminder of the time spent creating it.
Perhaps that is the real appeal of As You Wish. It gives people the chance to slow down, create something with their hands and spend a few uninterrupted hours with the people who matter most.
That could be why a picture frame painted by a little boy still sits on his father's desk more than 25 years later.