by Lauren Merrill

Opening Alpine Arts Center has been my dream ever since I was in high school.  I grew up on Long Island, New York and art was my passion all throughout my childhood. My parents were supportive of my interest in art, and I distinctly remember sitting at the dinner table with my family talking about "what I wanted to do when I grew up" and coming up with the idea to open an arts center someday.  We started brainstorming ideas on sticky notes and filing them in manilla folders for the future.  Everyone in the family chipped in, and before long we had a solid plan for the business.