Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Tuscaloosa and Northport!
Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Eleny Christen's Artistic Adventure at Pinspiration Birmingham
What happens when you combine a passion for creativity with a leap of faith into entrepreneurship? Meet Eleny Christen, the inspiring force behind Pinspiration in Birmingham, who traded her corporate career for a world of paint splatters, DIY projects, and artistic freedom. Join me, Patricia Blondheim, on the Good Neighbor Podcast as Eleny shares her vibrant journey of opening a beloved craft studio, where people of all ages and skill levels gather to unleash their creativity. From the exhilarating chaos of the Splatter Room to peaceful solo crafting sessions, Pinspiration offers a no-mess, no-stress haven that invites everyone to explore their artistic side.
Eleny's heartfelt story of transformation is not just about crafting; it's about building a community where creativity thrives. Discover how a family trip to the original Pinspiration location in Arizona sparked a new chapter for Eleny and her husband, leading them to bring this unique concept to Birmingham. Their bold move from corporate life to running a franchise is a testament to the power of following one's passion and the joy of turning a dream into reality. Whether you're looking for a lively group activity or a serene escape, Eleny's vision promises an experience that is as flexible as it is fun, proving that creativity truly has no bounds. Tune in to be inspired by Eleny's journey and learn how Pinspiration is redefining the art of crafting in Birmingham.
#GNPBirmingham #PinspirationBirmingham #CraftStudio #DIYProjects #CreativeCommunity #Entrepreneurship #LeapOfFaith #ArtisticFreedom #SplatterRoom #CraftingFun #BirminghamAL #LocalBusiness #CreativeExpression #FollowYourPassion #ArtLovers #FamilyFun #BirminghamCreatives #GoodNeighborPodcast #CraftingJourney #InspiringStories #WomenInBusiness #CraftingCommunity #ArtsAndCrafts #StudioLife
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Patricia Blondheim.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Patricia Blondheim, and today we have Good Neighbor Eleni Christian, and Eleni is the owner of Pinspiration in Birmingham. Eleni, how are you today?
Speaker 3:Hey, I'm doing well. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:today. Oh, I'm doing great, thank you. So you happen to run my favorite place in all of Birmingham. Tell us all a little bit about Pinspiration.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so Pinspiration is a DIY craft studio where people of all ages can come in and make something fun and inspiring. At our studio, they can choose from dozens of available projects. We do parties, events, workshops, camps. We're also mobile, so we do offset events, we offer small bites, snacks and we also have a bar as well. As we are the original owners of the Splatter Room concepts, so we have Splatter Rooms in our studios as well.
Speaker 2:Explain the Splatter Room to me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the Splatter Room is a Jackson Pollock inspired room that we have in our studios and customers come in, they pick from their camp, they pick their canvases. They kind of design their canvas and then we suit them up. They go into the splatter room and they fling paint all over the canvas so it gets all over the room. It gets all over themselves. So it's a very messy and fun experience at our studios, sounds like axe throwing for crafty people. Basically yeah, yeah, less dangerous, very, very fun.
Speaker 2:Well, tell our listeners about your journey. Eleni, how did you end up here at Conspiration in Birmingham?
Speaker 3:So my journey started actually in Arizona when my family and I went to go visit the original location that was in Arizona, and I fell in love with it because it allowed my whole family to get crafty. It also allowed my husband to tag along and have a beer while we all made something. I mean, we all got to pick what we wanted to do, so we didn't have to do something together. You know so, when I was there it just seemed like the perfect blend of you know me spending time with my family but also doing something I love to do. A few months later I found out that they were franchising. So it really almost felt like fate really, since crafting has always been a passion of mine. So I decided to pursue the opportunity and, you know, turn my passion into a business to pursue the opportunity and, you know, turn my passion into a business.
Speaker 3:So my husband and I decided to pursue opening a location in Birmingham, alabama. He's originally from Southern Alabama and I've always loved coming to visit. I love the food, the people, the greenery, the you know the rain, especially compared to Arizona. So we decided that Birmingham would be a great place to kind of begin this next chapter in our lives. We both had pretty successful corporate careers, but I just really wanted to do something creative and kind of mix in my you know my creative skills with my business skills. He has been incredibly supportive of this journey and we basically took the leap, quit our jobs and we relocated from Arizona to Birmingham to pursue this little new adventure together.
Speaker 2:I love the flexibility of interest. Like any creative studio, you know you might be able to paint in one and you might be able to do ceramics in another creative studio. You know you might be able to paint in one and you might be able to do ceramics in another. But inside of your studio there's a lot of flexibility and you can participate in it in any way you want to. I could. I could go with a group of raucous friends, which would be fun, but I can also come in and work there just all by myself. Yeah, absolutely. It just allows you to be in the space that you want to be in at that moment. It is the crafting room of requirements.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is. We have something for everyone and we try to, you know, alleviate the stress of, you know, worrying about the mess that you're making or buying all the supplies. You know, we just have a no mess, no stress, no hassle type of environment and we try to provide that to all our customers.
Speaker 2:Well, do people come in with misconceptions about crafting or you know, or about Pinspiration?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so one common misconception of the DIY just crafting industry as a whole is that you need to be crafty or artistic to be able to participate, which is not necessarily the case. The beauty of our DIY industry is that we like to teach people, but also allow people to express themselves and what they're creating and a lot of places like Pinspiration. We're designed for everyone, from somebody who's just starting DIYing or just started wanting to pick up a hobby to someone who's more experienced, and we want to make sure that being a part of that experience is really fun and inspiring, regardless of the final results. Right, we do want you to take home a project that you are proud of, but providing you a safe space to just play Right Is kind of what we would love to do.
Speaker 2:Melanie, what do you do? I feel silly asking this, because what you do for living is fun. Is there anything that you do outside of Pinspiration that fills your?
Speaker 3:cup. Yeah, so I'm basically a homebody. I do enjoy being at home with my kiddos and my husband, but when we do have a chance to kind of explore, we like going and trying on new local restaurants. We do love traveling. And then, just when we are home, we like hanging out, catching, you know, a Netflix movie or a series, watching movies with our kiddos. And we are big basketball watchers and our kids play basketball. So anytime there's a basketball game we'll be there.
Speaker 2:And what about the life challenge, something that has happened, that you've had to, you've had to step over, or maybe even vault over. That's created you in a in a different way?
Speaker 3:So I think there's two. There's a personal one that I you know like talking about and then there's obviously my business one. So from my personal one that I you know like talking about, and then there's obviously my business one. So from my personal note, my parents and grandparents are immigrants from Mexico and growing up I always watched them work really hard to build a stable life for our family. So, witnessing everything they've been through culturally you know, the language barriers that they had, all that it instilled in me a very strong work ethic and made me a very determined person. And it wasn't always easy seeing the things I saw them go through. But seeing them overcome those struggles really gave me resilience and I do believe that I carry that now, both in my personal life and in my business.
Speaker 3:On a business note, the biggest challenge that I faced and my husband was opening up a studio right before the pandemic. That was very hard. Navigating through the uncertainty and then the sudden restrictions that we didn't have in the past was very overwhelming. We had to find ways to pivot the business, know the business quite quickly and try to adapt the business our business model, sorry to something that could work for what was currently happening. So we started to provide DIY craft kits that people could use at home. We started doing virtual crafting sessions and that whole experience really, you know, taught me more about adaptability and it just reinforced the importance of perseverance. And it was really tough on us, like it was many other businesses, but we came out stronger and more versatile and we really have a deeper appreciation for our community because they stepped up to help us tremendously.
Speaker 2:Don't get changed us in ways we didn't even anticipate at the beginning. We so I don't know if you can hear me. Can you hear me?
Speaker 2:yes, I can hear you let me take a beat here. My internet is still at one bar right now, so I'm giving it a moment. I'm going to mark this as an edit so we don't drop out again and do that, do that thing. Oh, there we go. Covid changed a lot for us, and one of the things was that we found our hobbies again and, even though it was really challenging, we also found the things that made our heart happy, you know, creativity and play, and suddenly we had fun. For all that, and I mean thank you for being there. You're like one of the first responders of COVID.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think COVID definitely. You know I always try to look at positive out of the negative right, and for me, the positive out of COVID was seeing a lot more people zone into that creative side of them and allowing themselves to learn something new. And even in my household, right there is I'm a crafty person, but there's tons of things I've never done before that I started doing at home to keep myself, you know, occupied and sane during this whole thing and it just like you said, it allowed us to find some sides in us that we we didn't know were there, or just allowed us to be more crafty and more fun. Even my husband got into a few of the crafts that I would bring home for me and the kiddos to do, so it was just a whole, a whole other beast when it comes to the crafting industry. After COVID and during COVID, that really kind of got released. I think it's changed us even till now?
Speaker 2:yeah, absolutely. So people are crafting now that maybe have only thought about it but never done it, but they're doing it now. Right, absolutely. What would you like our listeners to take away about Pinterest?
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:No, you need to make an edit. I had your name wrong, that's all right. I called you Pinterest. Pinterest name wrong. I called you Pinterest. What would you like our listeners?
Speaker 3:to take away about Pinspiration, eleni. I would want our listeners to know how important it is to support small local businesses like Pinspiration. You know, when you are shopping local, you're not just making a purchase, you're actually directly supporting somebody in your community and you're helping families like mine. Small businesses create jobs and they keep the community vibrant. We also like to give back to the community, so every sale means so much more to us than just a transaction.
Speaker 3:App Inspiration, we definitely focus on creating experiences rather than just selling products. So we really do believe that, you know, in a world full of stuff, gifting an experience, like making a craft, joining us in our splatter room with friends and family, is so much more meaningful and, more importantly, memorable for all those involved. Our studio brings people together, it creates lasting memories and it offers really everyone a unique way to connect with each other. This studio really is our happy place and you know, by coming in and hanging out with us, or even just checking us out, you're giving us an opportunity and again, supporting a small business, just checking us out.
Speaker 2:You're giving us an opportunity and again supporting a small business. 100% agree, Eleni. How can our listeners find or contact you if they're interested?
Speaker 3:So they can contact us at wwwpinspirationcom. Forward slash Birmingham to look at the Birmingham location. They can also email us at birminghamatpinspirationcom. Call us at 205-874-6193. They can also follow us on our socials. So we have Facebook, instagram and TikTok and it's Pinspiration Birmingham on all those platforms and they can stop by the studio. The address is 201 Cahaba Park Circle. We're in suites 500 and 600 in Birmingham we're on 280.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. Thank you, Eleni, so much for coming by and sharing Pinspiration with us. I'm going to come by soon and get my fun on. I just can't wait.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for having us. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbirminghamcom. That's gnpbirminghamcom, or call 205-952-0148.