Stacey Bank & Sarah Sendlbeck
Photo provided
Stacey Bank and Sarah Sendlbeck want you to settle in and take it slow.
As co-proprietors of Slow Season, Lockport, NY’s first crafting cafe, the two friends’ shared ethos centers around seasonal living and natural materials, connection with self and community through handwork art, and of course, the powerful nature of a great cup of coffee.
The two women first connected in 2021, when they both found themselves navigating a world of shutdowns with small children at home. Sarah, a former music therapist turned traveling wanderer living that van-life turned beloved Buffalo restaurateur, had opportunity to create a space to safely host a small group of children for a scout camp of sorts above her then restaurant, Root + Bloom (to be rebranded Big Mood during the pandemic).
we need to find a space to hold this new thing that people are clearly feeling called to.
“I wanted to teach children about lost skills and in a way that the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts weren’t really doing. It was a very bootstrap organizational endeavor,” she said. That first year, in 2020, she hosted eight children. The next year the group increased to 50. Folksy Scouts was officially born.
“We would do things like rolling these wax candles and making lanterns and cooking together and do knife skills and fire building. It was really, really beautiful.”
The group quickly outgrew the space above the restaurant around the same time the end of the restaurant was coming to be. It turns out, being a young mom of two while running Buffalo’s first 100% vegan restaurant during a global pandemic proved to be just a bit too much to take on for a sustained amount of time, but Folksy Scouts was exactly the right vibe. Sarah decided to pursue that passion project full tilt.
“I was like, oh my God, we need to find a space to hold this new thing that people are clearly feeling called to,” Sarah said.
Through a series of serendipitous moments Sarah secured the carriage house behind the cottage house she had always admired on visits to her folks in the hamlets of Clarence, NY. The cottage had served as inspiration for the space she envisioned for her program, something cute and wholesome that reminded one of an English countryside home.
She got a bunch of people together to help renovate the space, which had served as a former Italian restaurant. While renovations were occurring, her restaurant was fading away, she said.
The expanded Folksy Scouts was held in the evenings while Sarah tended to the restaurant’s final months during the day. Once things were buttoned up in the city she was able to imagine a full-time curriculum at the Scout House, which coincided with her daughter’s kindergarten school year.
But this school year was going to be a weird one for the kids – half-digital, masked up. Not really that much fun. What if she kept her little home that year and instead immersed her in Folksy Scouts programming? And, was there anyone else in the area thinking the same thing?
“Stacey entered the chat,” Sarah laughs. They had both decided to homeschool that year and met through a social media post asking if any other parents would be interested in Sarah’s vision – Folksy Scouts, but with expanded daytime programming that could accommodate a larger group of children in various age ranges.
“She’s like, ‘I’ve got this vision,’” Stacey said. “Folksy Scouts was in existence, but she wanted to build a homeschool program rooted in nature, inspired by Waldorf – all of these things that I was also searching for.
“So we met at a coffee shop, and the rest is history,” Stacey laughed.
“We decided to form a little co-op,” Sarah said. “Folksy became a little community for someone searching for something a little bit different for their kids and for their families,” added Stacey. “Really, like, leaning into those lost skills, using your hands, using your heart, rooted in nature, you know. And it grew and grew and grew.”
You don’t really mean for things to grow, but when people feel called to a mission, it kind of just happens.
“You don’t really mean for things to grow, but when people feel called to a mission, it kind of just happens,” Sarah said. Folksy House is now a full-fledged cottage school, with 100 children enrolled and 60 more enrolled in the Scouts arm of the organization.
“It’s like a whole operation over there. And we’re actually outgrowing that space now, which is amazing.”
The parents were wistful for the experiences their children were having at Folksy House, telling Sarah and Stacey that they wished they could take part in something like it. “I wish I had that when I was younger,” they’d say. “We heard this over and over and over again,” Sarah said.
On queue, a Folksy parent approached Sarah and Stacey one day, telling them she was moving out of her retail space in downtown Lockport and that they really should come see the building. “I was like, no, we have our hands full. We are good. We’re good,” Sarah laughed. “And Stacey was like, ‘Let’s go see it.’”
Stacey was able to convince Sarah to come with her to the building for a “clothing swap,” which just so happened to also be the perfect ruse to get her to fall in love with the space.
“I walked the building and was like, so pretty,” Sarah laughed. “I was like, I could really see this being something beautiful. And so I said, yes.”
With Sarah’s background in restaurants it was almost a snap to get an artisanal coffeeshop up and running, and with Stacey and Sarah’s expertise and background in teaching and craft art, an ultimate alliance was formed.
It’s never too late to learn a lost skill, learn how to craft, learn how to do these beautiful things.
“It’s never too late to learn a lost skill, learn how to craft, learn how to do these beautiful things,” Sarah said. “We wanted to create a sanctuary for adults. And so that’s why we’re here now,” she said.
“We did the place for kids,” Stacey said. “Now, this is the place for adults to become connected with nature and use their hands and have that community.”
Reflecting on the connections she gained from pursuing Folksy House, including the acquaintance of the former proprietor of Motherland on Main Street in Lockport, Sarah mused, “That’s how things in the universe happen, right? It’s just like all these little connections that lead you,” she said. “I firmly believe in the universe steering you in places and telling you – despite what you might think you want sometimes – exactly what you should be doing.”
Slow Season opened this past spring, with the soft launch of the ground-level cafe on April 29, 2025, and the upstairs craft space on May 2. The grand opening was on the summer solstice, June 21.
The community response to this new third space in town has been incredible, to say the least. A space that invites one to slow down, explore creativity, and be one with themselves and each other, a space that offers love and self-care in the form of a warm mug, a space that allows for myriad ways to get cozy and calm.
“Everyone in Lockport is so welcoming,” Stacey said. “We’ve also had people travel to Lockport [to visit the space]. I think that’s really exciting because people are discovering Lockport. There’s so much for Lockport to offer people,” she said.
I firmly believe in the universe steering you in places and telling you – despite what you might think you want sometimes – exactly what you should be doing.
“It’s really becoming quite bustling. It’s like a small town feel in a small little city, you know? Everyone’s super kind. It’s been really, really, really nice.”
Sarah remarks: “I have been so blown away – They’re such a tight-knit community here that really, really want to see Lockport thrive and they really, really believe in it and they come and support,” she said. “There are all these cool people doing cool things and opening cool shops and stuff. It’s just giving this a really nice vibe.”
Sarah’s roots in the food and beverage business are in the earth. Sourcing locally whenever possible, her rotating selection of coffee drinks reflects the season in which they are to be enjoyed – both the environmental season, and the celestial one.
A recent limited-edition specialty latte, the Cardamom Squash, featured squash grown by Root Down Farm in Clarence, and another, only available right now – from late November to late December – is her ode to Sagittarius season, the Persimmon Thyme Honey Latte.
“I really love local ingredients,” Sarah said. “They shine much brighter than anything you buy at the store. And it really is important to me to feed people good things. Also, when you come and drink our drinks, I want you to be able to taste what I say is in the drink.”
She continues: “I want to make sure that our drink menu and our offerings are also in season. So, despite people loving our strawberry syrup for their matchas, I won’t serve it in the middle of winter because it doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s not strawberry season.”
I want people to feel like what they’re putting in their bodies is truly rooted in what we’re experiencing outside.
This philosophy of seasonality builds on the work they’ve done at Folksy House, a place focused on lost skills and seasonality, Sarah said. “I wanted to bring that here too because I want people to feel like what they’re putting in their bodies is truly rooted in what we’re experiencing outside.”
Stacey, a self-proclaimed “active connoisseur” of coffee, is happy to be the receiver of Sarah’s creations. “Sarah’s just really good at everything she does, quite honestly,” Stacey said. “She could pick anything, and it would be amazing.”
The coffeehouse portion of the business called to both of them when they thought about what they might want from a place like this. A place to go, to work, to be, open in the evenings that wasn’t necessarily a bar or restaurant. A return to the coffeeshop heyday of the ‘90s.
“It’s all part of settling into our bodies and taking a minute, you know?,” Sarah said. “As adults, especially these days, we’re all kind of pressed for time…And I just want people to have a sense of calm, like a little hug for a minute.”
While you can stop into Slow Season just for a ‘simple’ coffee drink and a bite from their build-a-board charcuterie menu or baked goods selection curated by Savage Wheat Bakery, do yourself a favor and try to carve out an extra hour or so of time to experience the upper floors of the space. This is where the full vision of Slow Season comes into view – a space dedicated to the lost art of slowing down and immersing yourself in creation while among community.
On any given visit you can choose from a “Craft Menu,” which features a rotating selection of attainable crafts for even those among us who have never considered ourselves crafty or artistic.
“There are a lot of people that come in and say, ‘I’m not crafty,’” Stacey said. “‘What’s the easiest project?’ Literally any of these things are – they’re intentionally attainable for everybody. No one has left here without something they were proud of. Everyone that comes in here is like, ‘I needed this.’ We all need it.”
An art major who was always an “artsy kid” and “a little outside of the box,” Stacey has curated an approachable way to introduce, or reintroduce, adults to handwork.
Everyone that comes in here is like, ‘I needed this.’ We all need it.
Featuring projects like watercolor painting, bookmark stitching, clay molding, loom weaving, needle felting, woodworking, whittling, wrapping, charcoal sketching, paper collaging, and more, adults can choose their inspiration and spend an hour or two with the project over their choice of a latte, small bite, and good conversation with others. Projects include all the supplies and a short video introduction on how to work with the supplies to make your vision come to life.
For those who’d like to delve into a creative practice a bit more they offer a monthly “Stitch Club,” where folks of all levels are welcome to join and learn (or continue working on) fiber art projects such as crochet, knitting, weaving, and embroidery. They even have a member who recently cleaned, dyed, and spun her own fiber from raw sheep’s wool.
Lockportian Kim Fending has been coming to Slow Season since they first opened and has recently joined the Stitch Club. She learned to crochet from Sarah, because her granddaughter expressed interest in learning. In one session she had completed a lovely potholder.
“It’s a way to just have creativity that you never knew you had before,” Kim said. “It’s just nice meeting other people, and just engaging, because it’s a comfortable space. This has brought me so much joy, that this came to Lockport.”
At this monthly meetup Sarah is on hand to provide project instruction, and throughout the month members are welcome to use the third floor space to continue working on their pieces, as well as provided all the materials needed to finish a creation, for a monthly membership fee of $65.
But getting your craft on is not a requisite to enjoy this historical building with its large windows and high ceilings. Slow Season also offers a “Coffee Club” for folks who just want a great space to sit and work on their own thing, whether that be work work, or crafts, or writing, or just sitting and staring into the void with something warm in their hands.
home is like a really good cup of coffee, something warm in your hands, and a heartfelt experience.
“I feel like it’s been a nice way for the community to support us as a new business, but also to get out of your house and have somewhere to go with beautiful lighting,” Stacey said.
For the monthly $65 membership, Coffee Club members have access to the space and are free to be and do on the ground and second levels of the space, with free drip coffee or tea provided every two hours (nominal upcharge fee for espresso or matcha).
Why exactly does the Slow Season formula work so well and feel so needed and yet like it’s always been? Maybe it’s obvious: crafts, coffee, and community just go together. Too, though, it’s the quality.
“It’s the quality of the whole picture,” Stacey said. “The vibe when you walk in, the actual ingredients that we use, the way it tastes, the overall experience. You know, you can come and go in and out and you can come and stay a while and either way have a really, really good experience. And that’s something that we wanted.”
Sarah chimes in: “What does home feel like outside of home? To me, home is like a really good cup of coffee, something warm in your hands, and a heartfelt experience,” she said. “To me that’s why coffee and crafting go hand in hand together, because they’re this marriage that takes care of the complete human being. It stretches us on a creative level. It warms us at a soul level.
It’s just a lot of fun and we want to spread the fun.
“There’s something about caretaking, feeding the soul with good food, with a warm drink, coming in and taking time for yourself for two hours with no phone near you and unplugging. So that’s why for me it works. And it’s fun,” Sarah said.
Stacey concurs: “It’s just a lot of fun and we want to spread the fun. And other people are having fun, you know? And when you’re having fun, I think it works.
“That’s really it. We get to do all the philosophical things, but we’re just having fun.”
Visit Slow Season, 17 W. Main St. in downtown Lockport, NY (the Motherland building), and be sure to check out their new Makers Market retail corner, where you can pick up all manner of crafting supplies and their brand new Handwork Kits, including a Weaving Kit, Friendship Bracelet Maker, Needle Felting Kit, Sun-Dye Jar Kit, and Spoon Carving Kit, while supplies last.
Visit Slow Season’s website to learn about their coffee house, crafting cafe, classes and workshops, private parties, and monthly memberships, and be sure to follow their social media accounts (IG & FB) to experience a beautiful bit of the Slow vibe in photographic form.
Written by Kristy Lock
My name is Kristy and I’m an American journalist, specializing in profile writing. I’ve told the stories of frenetic & fascinating people in Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California, and my hometown of Western New York for two decades. Feel free to drop me a line! I would love to hear your story sometime.
Photos by Kristy Lock unless where noted.