Wrapping up tonight from fine art to art everyone can create.

What started as two local moms sharing their passion for DIYing Online has now turned into a brick and mortar empire with approximately 80 franchises across the country.

"Carolina Impact's" Dara Khaalid and videographer John Branscum show us how it happened.

(light pop music) - [Dara] We all know that feeling of trying something new.

- It's not going great, but that's okay.

- [Dara] The frustration of wrapping your head around, or in this case, your fingers around a concept you've never encountered before.

- [Alicia] I think I messed up in the beginning.

- [Dara] For many taking the chunky knit blanket workshop at AR Workshop in Pineville, making mistakes is just part of the process.

- You'll learn more from your failures than your successes.

So I'm learning a lot.

- Those failures are okay because instructor Laurie Radke is there to help undo them and get attendees back on track.

- Sometimes people, when they start making it, they're questioning why they did that, but they get the hang of it.

- [Dara] This three-hour class doesn't require any knitting needles, just their hands and a special method.

- [Laurie] You're taking your working yarn, wrapping it around your hand, crossing over, and then you're gonna slide your hand out to create a slip knot.

- [Dara] This creates a braid-like pattern, and as they repeat this process over and over with their fuzzy, colorful yarn, the ladies' blankets come together beautifully.

- I get to meet new people, hang out with old friends, and walk away with something, yeah, that I can use.

- [Dara] Which makes all those initial frustrations worth it In the end.

- They're surprised that they finish it in the amount of time and then they get to take it home, and it's a really comfy, cozy blanket.

It holds you in and makes you not wanna get off of the sofa.

- [Dara] That feeling of accomplishing a DIY project is something AR Workshop founders Adria Ruff and Maureen Pike know all about.

- I've always designed interiors in my own home and lots of DIY, I love DIY.

I love to look at something that you can purchase and think, oh, how can I make this better?

Or how can I make it on my own for less money.

- I would take paint chips and create collages and turn it into artwork, which was really cool.

That was one of my favorites.

- [Director] In 2016 when the two friends opened the doors to their flagship boutique DIY studio in Pineville, they wanted people in the community to feel that same sense of pride, completing projects they made with their own hands too.

- We're happy that they come here for almost like a sanctuary.

We know that we're empowering lots of women to be able to use power tools or to be able to create artwork that they may not be able to do on their own.

- [Dara] Aside from the hands-on classes that the company hosts, there are several other ways for people to explore their creativity at AR Workshop, like the craft bar where they can make jewelry, the hat bar where they can customize trucker hats so they actually look cute, and then there's the newest edition, the pouch bar.

- They pick their favorite color pouch, their favorite size they like, and then we have a whole selection of very quality patches that are actually permanent adhesive.

So, you know, you can pick any color of different icons or your letters.

- [Dara] This fun isn't just happening in Pineville.

There are nearly 80 franchises across the country.

- It was all just through word of mouth, people seeing it in social media, and women and men wanting to feel empowered to open their own business.

I didn't wanna keep it just in Pineville.

It's too great to not share with everybody.

- [Director] Maureen and Adria's business journey together didn't begin in 2016 with a brick and mortar store.

Six years before, they started a design company called Anders Ruff where they specialized in party styling, graphic design, and ran a blog and online shop.

- We just kept getting busier and selling more and doing more with our graphic design, and we got to the point where it was going really well.

We were working with magazines and movie industry, and they were hiring us to do graphic designs for printables.

- [Dara] Everything was going well until a pretty big competitor changed the game.

- Then Pinterest happened.

Once Pinterest happened, people were starting to put graphic design printables on there for free that you could download for free.

And so it started to compete with what we could do.

- [Dara] Which meant the duo had to figure something out.

But instead of giving up, they decided to pivot.

And that pivot led to where they are today.

- We thought let's bring the experience to a brick and mortar and really kind of offer a variety of projects and mediums and everything from your walls, art for your walls to your couch with pillows, and we've evolved over the years to different experiences.

- [Dara] When you see Adria and Maureen laughing together and reminiscing on memories they've made, it's easy to think they've known each other all their lives so no wonder they went into business together.

But the reality tells a very different story.

- And when we first launched our original business, we had known each other for a couple weeks.

I'm not kidding.

- [Director] Yes, you heard that right.

They were complete strangers.

But wait, the story gets even better.

- When Maureen and I met at our preschool open house, she originally thought I was the teacher because I was dressed up and it was kind of comical because I'm so not a teacher.

- If we wouldn't have gone to that preschool open house back in 2010, we would've never met.

- [Dara] And their businesses would've never launched, which means opportunities for these ladies to connect and challenge themselves in this chunky knit blanket workshop would've also never happened.

It just goes to show that being ready to seize any opportunity can truly pay off, not just in business, but in friendships too.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Dara Khaalid.