Courtesy of Ilo The wall art at Ilo in Hancock

Ilo, an art store located in Hancock, offers art and craft supplies, nonfiction books, and, perhaps most importantly, art classes.

The shop offers classes on styles including watercolors, oil pastels and acrylics. Ilo opened in Hancock in April 2023, after the owner, Rebecca Paavo, and her husband, Brian, moved to the U.P.

“I am an artist and was so excited to see all of the festivals and art events in the area but was surprised there were not any dedicated store options for art supplies considering all the artists and creative people up here.” Paavo said. “Brian and I often talked about being entrepreneurs after his retirement, but we didn’t have a plan or idea of what we might do. When we saw the lack of art supply resources, we decided that would be a great place to start.”

After making a quick decision on a short timeline, the pair opened ilo. 

Since opening, they’ve had the opportunity to build countless relationships with customers and the other businesses around them.

“We’ve gotten to know so many great people in the community. The city and other businesses have been super supportive and welcoming. We have our regular customers now who we look forward to seeing often,” Paavo said. “And we still have people everyday who say they didn’t know we were here; both sets are excited to have us.” 

Ilo offers a wide range of supplies for many creative pursuits: fiber crafts, clay, origami and more. They also have crafts and art supplies specifically for kids, along with a wall full of books for sale. “We have a large selection of how-to art books, informational and pictorial books on artists and nature and life, as well as a variety of fiction work in children’s, juvenile and YA (young adult) genres. We are a homeschooled family and for us, art and books always went hand in hand. Fantasy worlds and characters can inspire so much creativity,” Paavo said. 

She also commented on one of her favorite parts of ilo.

Paavo said, “One of the most enjoyable parts of owning ilo has been creating our window and wall art. Our wall mural is something I started on a rainy day and has grown to cover much of our open wall space. And I love changing our window art with the seasons.”

As someone who has never held a paintbrush for anything more complicated than painting a house, I decided to try one of their classes for myself. Rather than a quick, color-by-number type of experience, which was what I expected, myself and two other participants enjoyed a slow, detailed, and thorough class. The instructor, Rebecca Paavo, guided us through each step of the process. In the end, we were all left with our own beautiful watercolor flowers. 

Ilo, pronounced ee-low, is a Finnish word, meaning “joy, happiness and delight.” The physical beauty and welcoming atmosphere of the art store/studio truly lives up to the definition of its name. 

Mary Christine Stevens, an intern at the Daily Mining Gazette, can be reached at clerk@mininggazette.com.