Sometimes people just need a place to finish that craft project, learn something new in community with others, or bedazzle a four-inch concrete penis. Welcome to The Resting Bitch Place.
The brainchild of Amanda Harman, The Resting Bitch Place (RBP) started out as a dream and a Google document. That is where the concept lived for years as Harman’s “If I hit the lotto, this is what I want to do” plan because she never thought that she could do it in real life. Then she was furloughed for eight weeks from her defense contracting position in Fall 2025.
“Defense contractors don’t get back pay when the government reopens,” Harman explained. “My position got cut in the middle of the furlough, and I did get a new position, but… I found out April 1 that I was getting cut again, and I had seen the opening for this location earlier in the year, and I thought about it.”
After scouting a few locations, she found a spot on Triadelphia Road in Ellicott City in The Shops at Westwood, and Harman turned her dream into reality. RBP has classes and workshops, in addition to theme nights like the traditional “Stitch and Bitch,” but the idea she hopes truly takes off is what she calls “Craft and Yap.”
“My main concept is craft and yap, and it’s free to bring your own project and just come hang out and work on whatever you’re working on, or for $15 an hour, you can use my craft stash, which is essentially like a salad bar of craft supplies,” Harman explained. “I have pretty much anything you could think of, like beads, fabric, wood blanks, a sewing machine, scissors. I have some different pattern books and markers and crayons and color pencils and disco balls and pearler beads and stamps and paper and all kinds of things.”
In addition to the sewing machine, RBP also has some larger machines the beginning or “just-wanting-to-try” crafter might not have at home, like a serger, heat press, laminator, paper cutter, and a grommet press.
People can bring their own projects from home, or choose from the “Unfinished Business” section, which is a place for abandoned craft supplies and abandoned projects.
“So, if you like hyper-fixated on something and you bought all the supplies, then you realize that you are never going to do it, you can bring it in and then somebody else can pick it up,” Harman said. “Or if you got halfway through knitting a sweater and you never want to see it again, you can bring it in, and then somebody else can pick it up.”
Readers may or may not draw associations to other areas of life where they have the urge to complete something someone else started and left…excruciatingly unfinished. The implication stands on its own.
Harman has a soft spot for inclusive community and helping those in need. RBP has a Little Free Library and a Free Little Food Pantry for people to take what they need and leave what they can. She also has a credenza with “Community Care Drawers” filled with free health supplies, like tampons, condoms, diaper wipes, emergency contraception, deodorant wipes, and more. The drawers have signs on them that say, “Take what you need” and “No judgement.”
Harman’s care for community extends to the equine sort, as an upcoming fundraiser stands on its own in originality. On Friday, Aug. 14, The RBP is hosting “Paint a Peen for a Purpose,” an adults-only fundraiser benefitting Dekota, a horse with cancer in his penis who lives at Dragonfly Acres Farm, a farm that cares for animals with special needs.
Dekota is a beloved rescue horse who lives at the farm and is undergoing treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. Tomorrow, July 21, is Dekota’s 21st birthday. 100% of net proceeds from this event will be donated to Dragonfly Acres Farm to help cover the horse’s veterinary care. The evening promises questionable art, good company, raffles, a photo op, and a Peen Parade.
Concrete penises are provided by Fern and Folk, a local artist from Catonsville specializing in cheeky handmade pottery. There will be awards like The People’s Peen, Most Unhinged, and Prettiest Peen. Participants can choose between painting one four-inch piece or a set of five minis. A literal bag of…well, suffice it to say, it will be all hands on d*ck!
