When Gabriel Cruz and his wife, Liza, first opened Honest Art in 2021, he could not have imagined that the creative business would see record growth and six franchises sold within five years. What started that year as 3,000 children attending art classes, workshops, after-school clubs and parties has become 10,000 students walking through the studio's doors annually. But Cruz admits he can't take all the credit for the sudden growth.
"I don't know exactly what fueled us to this level, but I would say that there's something bigger going on," the chief executive told Newsweek in a phone interview. "Maybe with everything going on with the world, the impact of social media, as well as just people's overall desire to have their kids off screens for some period of time." As governments mull social media bans for children and researchers raise concerns about the impact of screen time on childhood development, parents are turning to screen-free activities and products. In 2025, screen-free activities for children were worth $35.40 billion and was projected to reach $61.41 billion by 2034, data by the market research group Fortune Business Insights showed.
Cruz says Honest Art saw 50 percent growth in the past year, compared to an average of 25 percent growth in previous years. He attributed that success partly to its unique business model, where he hires professionally trained artists as teachers and has a payment plan ranging from $60 drop-in classes to unlimited monthly classes for $399, much like a gym membership. "This year has been remarkable in comparison to past years.
It just created a good feeling of confidence. It was either we open more studios or we get other people to do it through a franchise model," Cruz said. "Franchising is much faster for growth, so that's what we did, and we've had an amazing result," he added.
"Six franchises from the zero is a pretty good year." Consumers are increasingly choosing experiences that make them feel connected, relaxed or excited, according to a 2026 report by global consulting firm McKinsey & Company. "The consumers in our survey consistently say that when choosing experiences, they prioritize factors such as spending quality time with others, relaxation, excitement, and learning," the State of the Consumer 2026 report said. Last year, U.S. landlords leased more commercial space to service-oriented tenants than to retailers, McKinsey added, with experiential, wellness and fitness businesses among the top performers.
This rings true for Cruz, who had six franchises sold earlier this year. Two franchises are scheduled to open next January, and there are plans to expand overseas, he said. It's not only children who are going offline.
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