Beyond the 9-to-5 with After Hours Club
A conversation with Riki, founder of After Hours Club.
Welcome to our interview series, Creative Changemakers. Every month, we will be speaking to a different business owner who is using creativity as a tool to build community and create change!
This month, we connected with Riki, founder of After Hours Club in New York City. Born from her own healing journey, After Hours Club creates mindful art experiences for overstressed, overworked people who need an outlet to decompress. In their pop-up workshops, you'll find everyone from finance professionals to overwhelmed creatives—all coming together in a space where perfectionism doesn't exist and the process matters more than the product.
After Hours Club is building a judgment-free community where anyone can shut off their minds, use their hands, and reconnect with the simple joy of creating. Keep reading to learn more about Riki and After Hours Club.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Riki: Hi, I'm Riki. I'm the founder of After Hours Club. After Hours Club is an art and wellness company and community. We started to create an outlet for people to unwind and decompress. I felt that there was a need for people to shut off their minds and use their hands, but no one really knew where to actively seek it.
I really wanted to create a space that was about community and mindfulness. If art was involved, people were really intimidated by the word "art" itself. So I wanted to create a space where you would come and create, and it's a meditative space where it's about being with other people and expressing your emotions through creativity—but it's not about the end goal. It's about the journey you're going on to get there. It's a form of meditation that happens to be through art.
We're popping up all over the city. We create mindful art experiences every single week and have art and meditation workshops to create community, create brand awareness, and we're just getting started.
What inspired you to start After Hours Club?
Riki: Many things inspired me. It honestly started as a concept—I didn't realize I was building a company or a community. It started with me doing this for myself, where I would post paintings on my personal story, and people would DM me and be like, "Invite me next time" or "I want to do this again." People felt really intimidated to go into a space like that or seek it out for themselves, but I realized this was really needed.
I started thinking I should create an art club. Community has really blown up in the last year and a half, two years. But this concept was slowly building from outlets that I use in my everyday life that came from really hard times. I always say that sometimes your cup is full and you need to empty it because it's full of things you don't need anymore. When you empty it, you get to the lowest point, but that's the beginning of a new journey, and then you slowly start to fill it up again with things that actually fulfill you.
About two or three years ago, I hit a really low point because I had to empty my cup again. But I started filling it with all of these outlets that I now use in my everyday life, and they really helped me get through one of the hardest times. If I didn't go through that time, I wouldn't have After Hours Club, because I wouldn't have started meditating every day, journaling every day, or incorporating mindful art. I've always used art in my daily life, but I never thought of bringing meditative art into my practice.
At that time, I couldn't see why I was going through this, but now I'm like, wow, sometimes you don't have that perspective. It was a journey that got me here, and that's what caused me to create this. It's really me in many forms.
Where does the name "After Hours Club" come from?
Riki: I think it's in the name itself. When I wanted to start something, I asked all of my friends—I had multiple names, and they were all like, "After Hours Club." It was cool, it was mysterious, it had this sexiness to it, but it's also something for yourself. It's supposed to be outside your nine-to-five or outside of what you do in your daily life, whether you're not feeling fulfilled or you're having a hard time. Maybe instead of going to a workout class, it's your after hours. It's so simple—it's an after hours club community.
What kind of community are you hoping to cultivate?
Riki: People think we're hoping to cultivate creatives, which we do bring in, but it's people that come into the space—my favorites—that have said, "I haven't done art since I was seven" or "I'm not an artist," and they're so scared of art. I'm like, perfect, you're our target audience. We had a workshop last night, and I would say every single person there would call themselves not an artist, and I'm like, exactly.
Someone in marketing might look at my brand and say your target audience is a New York City creative, and I would argue with them. My target audience is someone who is overstressed, overworked, might have a really hard job and needs an outlet to completely shut off their mind.
We're trying to create this place where perfectionism does not exist. We seek perfectionism in every aspect of our life—our jobs tell us we need to be great at everything since we're pretty much a child to adulthood. I think we left our childhood when we forgot that we could just have fun and do nothing. Kids make art and it's horrible, and they come home and go, "Mommy, look," and they're just having fun. We forget how amazing that is.
That's the kind of community I'm trying to build, where you could come and you don't have to be good, and the end result doesn't have to be good. You could just shut off your mind for two or three hours. When you're trying to pick up a new skill, you're trying to become good at things. Why not just have a hobby where you're not trying to get good at anything?
What would you want first-time visitors to After Hours Club to know about your space and program? What should they be prepared for?
Riki: First-timers should know that everyone is welcome. Something about New York City is there's this exclusivity that comes along with a lot of things you sign up for. We really accept everyone into the space—obviously, if you're going to be disruptive, that's one thing, but every single person is welcome, no matter who you are. We have no requirements. You don't have to be an artist.
We really encourage people to come alone. If you're scared at first, that's amazing. People come into the space uncomfortable and leave feeling so free. If you are new to meditation or new to art, I think this is a perfect place to start. Our meditation is two to three minutes tops. With the art, if you don't feel that the guided practice works for you, feel free to express yourself in whatever works. We have other mediums available if you don't want to do the activity we have planned—draw a cat, you know.
It's really just a space for you to unwind. If you're coming for the first time, I understand you might be nervous. I can't just say don't be nervous, but I will tell you that you will leave not uncomfortable. I think you have to be uncomfortable to start to try new things.
What does creativity mean to you?
Riki: Creativity means expressing yourself in any way. That's really what we're trying to create, and that's why it's not about the art itself. It's about expressing your emotions, expressing your feelings, expressing anything that's within you.
People who say "I'm not an artist"—what does an artist mean to you? Writers, musicians, painters, dancers—there are so many art forms. The way we speak—everyone has the ability to be creative, and if you just come into one of our spaces, I think you will feel like you have creativity within you.
What is your biggest challenge as a business owner?
Riki: My biggest challenge is finding time for myself. I have created an outlet, which I'm so proud of, for other people, and I think I need to create now an outlet for myself and make sure to take care of my own mental health.
I think I'm figuring that out as we speak. I started this new series for female founders, and it's something that all founders struggle with—taking time for ourselves. We constantly are taking care of everyone else. No matter what kind of business you run, you're pouring your heart and soul into what you do, and you forget about yourself. It's ironic because I literally started this to create a stress-free environment for other people.
I'm working on not seeking validation from this business, not letting it mess up my self-esteem. But I do think it's an ongoing struggle, and I don't know if it's going to go away anytime soon.
Thank you Riki & After Hours Club! Check them out on Instagram to stay updated on future events.
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