Displaying items by tag: Catherine Hover

Thursday, 16 July 2020 13:19

Saratoga Paint and Sip Day Camp

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Local Paint and Sip studio announced the start of its weekly Kids Day Camp Painting program. 

Hosted every Tuesday and Thursday, each class features a different theme to incorporate different painting techniques. The students will create and complete different paintings each class. 

“We’ve never done summer camp at Paint and Sip before, so its been a whole new world for us to start this journey,” Catherine Hover, owner of Paint and Sip said. 

A main focus of the day camp is to give an outlet to kids who are ready to get out of the house. Socialization is important and right now everyone is losing that aspect as time goes on.

“It’s important to provide these programs that will get kids out of the house and get them creating. It’s a great therapy for kids who are feeling frustrated too,” Hover said. 

There is limited seating allowed to practicing safe social distancing. The camp will be offered through August, and a schedule of the July camps can be seen on their website. Each camper will be seated six-feet apart and have their own set of brushes to use and keep. A painting will be completed each class on 11×14 inch canvas panel to bring home. Paints will also be portioned out into 2-ounce paint tubes the campers can keep. 

Amanda Demarco of Paint and Sip said interested community members can sign up directly on their website. Currently classes run from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. but Demarco said the hours will change to 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for the month of August. 

“The camp is $50 for the week and includes equipment the students can take home. Tables are six-feet apart and although seating is limited, parents can request to sit with friends or family they are comfortable with,” Demarco said. 

Hover added: “[the campers] are accumulating different arts and crafts and by the end of the session we’ll do a little art show, which may be done digitally.”

Located at 80 Henry St. in Saratoga Springs, the studio can be reached at paintandsipstudios.com by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 518-584-8244.

Published in Business

SCHENECTADY — Palette café announced a new location in Schenectady slated to open at a later date.

Owner of Palette, Catherine Hover, announced new partners as she prepares to open her second co-working space alongside the one she currently owns on Broadway. Hover’s first co-working space opened in November 2019. 

Denise Gonick, former president and chief executive officer of MVP Health Care, and Steve Gonick, co-owner of Steve & Nicole, LLC and co-founder at Passport for Good, have teamed up with Hover for Palette’s expansion to Schenectady. The local couple has vast experience coaching business and not-for-profit organizations. Recently, the Gonick’s have directed their efforts toward local entrepreneurs promoting socially conscious businesses, adding leadership and funding to help bring these concepts to market or expand their reach. 

“We believe in the vision Catherine has created for Palette,” said Denise Gonick. “Our local communities thrive when there is support and collaboration. This and Catherine’s endless positive energy are what attracted us to Palette. She is driven to better the community and the women within who aspire to be their greatest selves.” 


Denise Gonick worked her way to the top after getting her bachelor’s at Hofstra University, and her Law Degree at Albany Law School. Denise enjoyed a successful career in health care, spending nearly 25 years at the nationally recognized, not-for-profit health insurer MVP Health Care. Denise was a game changer at MVP becoming the first female CEO in 2012 and diversifying its portfolio of offerings, including the early adoption of telemedicine. She currently serves on several corporate and non-profit boards and is a frequent speaker on leadership. 


In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Steve Gonick recently did a stint as Executive and Entrepreneur in Residence at Ithaca College, where he has provided mentorship and opportunities to hundreds of students, many of them based in the Capital District. 


“Catherine laid out an impressive strategy where Palette can be a valuable resource for their customers as we embark on an economic recovery for the Capital Region,” Steve Gonick said. “She is a unique entrepreneur who has been able to flex and thrive during this challenging time. When we heard her plans, we wanted to be a part of it.” 

Hover is leasing about 4,000-square-feet in the Foster Building located at 508 State Street in Schenectady. Palette will also utilize space on the first floor for a café. The cafe will offer coffee, light fare, baked goods, and cocktails in a comfortable setting. It’s a place that will continue to celebrate culture, shared ideas and connections. 

“Denise and Steve are the perfect partners for Palette,” said Catherine Hover. “They fully understand what my team and I envision and have worked hard to provide in our community. Through their experience in successful business growth, we will be better positioned to bring my concept to the next level. This is just the beginning of a beautiful business relationship.” 

Hover created Palette to support local women but the cafe is open to the community. While the café offers coffee and bites to eat, Palette Upstairs is designed as a larger co-working environment. Conference room and areas for larger event gatherings are available with event programming and membership opportunities.

Palette will be open to members who hold yearly, monthly and even day passes which include access to concierge services, programming and other perks. Corporate memberships will also be available.

Published in Business

Catherine Hover will tell you that, before moving to Saratoga, she had never experienced what it was like to live in “small town USA.” A native of New Orleans, she and her husband, Mark, came to Saratoga after living and working in New York City.

After being here for nearly 10 years, you can still hear faint wisps of that languid “Big Easy” drawl creeping into her conversation. We are sitting in the comfortable members only Palette Upstairs co-working space, part of her newest venture, Palette Café, which opened last summer.

My goal was to learn more about this spritely young woman with seemingly boundless energy and her latest venture at 493 Broadway. By the way, don’t let her youthful looks, bubbly manner and business title, “Purveyor of Fun,” blind you to the fact that she is a business powerhouse. In the relatively short time she has been here, Catherine has introduced the region to the “paint and sip” phenomenon, and Palette Café is the next step in her journey of what she calls empowering women.

Catherine recalls first moving into town in 2011 with Mark, whose career as a hydrographer had brought them here to work on the Hudson River dredging project.

“We had an apartment on the top floor of the Algonquin building and I remember watching the 4th of July parade on the street below. It was a totally new world to me!”

The couple originally planned to live and work in Saratoga for five years and then return home. Not one to ride on her husband’s coattails, as she puts it, Catherine began searching for an entrepreneurial adventure. Growing up in New Orleans, she and her mother would often frequent paint and sip cafes in and around the city, and she soon realized that there was nothing of the sort to be found in the Capital Region.

“Now, I don’t know one woman who doesn’t drink coffee or wine,” she says in that slow and easy cadence. A year after moving here, Catherine opened Saratoga Paint and Sip Studio on Henry Street, with two more locations in Burlington and Latham opening in the next few years.

“It totally changed the trajectory of our lives.” Today, Mark is her business partner and co-caregiver of their three young daughters.

So, we all know how successful her Paint and Sip Studios have been. But I wanted to know what makes Palette different from other coffee venues and why the focus is on women. 

“It’s about bringing women together in a safe environment,” she begins. Catherine’s sense is that, for many women, once we get to a certain point in our lives, we forget to try new things and often we become our own worst enemies.

The genesis of Palette Café came about after Catherine heard of Sky Oro, a co-working community and event space in Bozeman, Montana, dedicated to advancing the personal and professional lives of women.  Catherine realized that, like the paint and sip studios, there really wasn’t anything like Sky Oro available to women in Saratoga.

However, Catherine is quick to point out that Palette Café is open to everyone and kids, guys and puppies are always welcome! Even so, the focus of the space is on helping women in a variety of ways, and the vibe is one of inclusiveness and opportunities that may be lacking in other environments.

 “What Palette offers that no one else does is a community where patrons are encouraged to make new friends, team up for new ventures or learn something new,” says their website.

Catherine’s vision for Palette Café and Palette Upstairs, which opened in November, is to offer workspace to the mobile workforce, as well as programming and classes that will be offered by women (and an occasional dude) from the local community. Workshops are geared to women at all stages of their lives, from early career women, to stay at home moms, or those looking to “re-invent” themselves in a new career trajectory or personal lifestyle.

There are also book clubs, moms meetups, courses in financial literacy, all geared to bringing women together for dialogue, interaction and empowerment.

“Women don’t ask for help,” says Catherine. By creating a space where support systems for women can flourish, Catherine feels she is bringing something unique and necessary to the area. 

Although Palette Upstairs has only recently opened, Catherine held a live event at the Café in July, where people could tour the space and learn more about Catherine’s and her team’s vision for it. Forty-five women showed up for the event, with ten joining that first night. Now, there are 60 founding members, including several corporate founding members who contribute services to the café and its patrons.

Each new member has an hour and a half onboarding session to learn about the features of Palette Café and Palette Upstairs and the opportunities for enrichment, networking and collaboration amongst members. Palette also offers a concierge service for its members. If you’re starting your own business and need someone to run for office supplies, or you forgot to buy a birthday gift for your child’s teacher, Kiki, the virtual concierge is there to get the job done.

Catherine hopes that Palette Café and Palette Upstairs will grow along with the rest of the community and provide the experiential resources necessary for that growth, which she believes is lacking in the lives of so many women. 

“There’s nothing in life that we shouldn’t feel comfortable controlling or taking charge of.”

Published in News
Thursday, 30 May 2019 11:45

For Women, By Women: Palette Cafe's Vision

Photos by SuperSource Media, LLC. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Palette Café, a new collaborative workspace and café in Saratoga Springs, is slated to open on Wednesday, June 5. Owner and creator of the new space, Catherine Hover, hopes the Palette Café will create social destination dedicated to successful women in career and in life.

Hover, decided to create Palette Café after attending a Girl Boss rally in New York City last year. “It just lit me up,” she said.

“You need a palette to create everything, and that’s what we hope to provide for any woman or man who wants to do better for themselves... Just have an inspiring place, a new innovative place to hang out and to be, that isn’t a bar,” says Hover and adds that the name is also a play off another business she owns, Saratoga Paint and Sip Studio.

Palette Café, located at 493 Broadway, will serve up a variety of coffee drinks, wines, cocktails and even boozy coffee drinks along with grab-and-go snacks and desserts on its first floor. Also on the first floor is a semi-private workspace complete with a private phone booth. Here, guests will be able to connect to Wi-Fi and grab a drink.

In the space, is also a gallery wall dedicated to an artist in residence. The art is for sale and the artist will receive 70% of all sales while staff receives 10% commission. Hover also plans to host painting in the patio events once a month.

“My thought was, I needed decor and why not put bad ass art on the walls,” said Hover.

Hover plans to expand in the coming months for a phase two of the new business, which will be located upstairs and will be a co-working community space. Phase two will include elevated amenities like high-speed Internet, a full-time concierge, a conference room and desks, as well as a community space for programming, events and speakers.

“I always meet people out at coffee shops and I’m not being met with what I personally need and I felt like I couldn’t be the only one,” says Hover about her inspiration behind Palette Café.

The Palette Café will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and celebrate a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, June 5.

Published in Business

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