Woo, an Arts District design studio and retail boutique, has ambitious plans to incorporate local artists into its operation.

Staci Woo and Mike Badt, the husband-and-wife team that started Woo 15 years ago, has launched a Kickstarter campaign aimed at raising $45,000 to turn the warehouse space in the back of their store into a workshop where they can host local artists, many of whom have left the Arts District amid increased gentrification and the construction of several large mixed-use developments.

“We want to offer other artists miniresidencies where they can build their craft and at the same time have a forum to sell at retail,” Staci Woo said. “‘Artist’ here is a very broad term; it could be a designer, woodworker, or a letter-press operator.”

Woo thinks her customers will benefit from following the artistic process from creation to sale. She said the space, which currently serves as her personal design studio and product-finishing area, already attracts the attention of customers.

“There’s already a tiny little window where you can glimpse the warehouse,” said Woo. “For years we’ve seen people pressing their foreheads against it trying to see what’s going on in back, they’re fascinated by the process of creation.”

Kickstarter donors pledging between $10 and $5,000 can expect to receive everything from a Woo bumper sticker to a lifetime 40 percent discount at the store.

“We’re trying to keep the arts in the district, that’s really what the soul of this area is about: artists,” said Woo. “It seems natural to foster the growth of our community with the space we have.”

– Carter Stoddard