About Craft & Yap
Building Community Through Creativity
Craft & Yap is an Austin-based creative event company bringing people together through interactive experiences designed to spark connection, self-expression, and a little bit of play.
What began as a volunteer craft night making Valentine’s Day cards for seniors has grown into a creative community offering public craft events, private parties, corporate team-building experiences, university events, traveling charm bars, custom creative stations, and brand activations.
From intimate gatherings to large-scale events, every Craft & Yap experience is thoughtfully designed to feel welcoming, engaging, and memorable. Guests do more than make something cute—they slow down, try something new, meet new people, and leave with a keepsake tied to the experience.
Our mission is simple: building community through creativity.
About the founder
Founder + Creative Director
Gabriella Castro is an artist, event producer, and creative strategist with a background spanning fine art, visual design, hospitality, teaching, sales, UX/UI, and digital marketing.
Her love of creating community through art began long before Craft & Yap. While studying art in Massachusetts, Gabriella organized a fashion and art fundraiser that brought together designers, artists, photographers, performers, sponsors, and local businesses to raise money for a child who needed a service dog. That experience showed her how powerful creativity can become when people gather around a shared purpose.
After studying mixed-media art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and later moving to Austin, Gabriella continued blending creativity, hospitality, marketing, and experience design.
In 2025, she gathered friends and community members to create handmade Valentine’s Day cards for nursing-home residents through the Cupid Project. The energy and connection created that day inspired her to continue hosting creative gatherings—and Craft & Yap was born.
Today, Gabriella leads the creative direction behind Craft & Yap’s public programming, private events, partnerships, custom concepts, and brand experiences.
More Than a Craft Event
Craft & Yap was created to make creativity feel approachable and social.
You do not need to consider yourself an artist. You do not need to bring a group. Many guests attend events solo and leave having connected with someone new.
Whether we are hosting a laid-back craft night, creating a custom station for a private celebration, or producing an interactive experience for a brand, the goal remains the same: to create moments where people feel welcome, inspired, and connected.
Creativity With a Purpose
Giving back has been part of Craft & Yap from the beginning.
In addition to public and private events, Craft & Yap has organized donation drives, community-centered gatherings, and Crafted for a Cause initiatives supporting organizations and causes including nursing-home residents, Caritas of Austin, and Pug Rescue Austin.
As the company grows, that commitment to creativity, connection, and community impact will continue growing with it.
