Elevate Springfield

Elevate Springfield featuring Brandy and Jason Fletcher: Elevating Through the Power of Memorable Experiences, Relationships, and Community Building

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Summary

Brandy and Jay Fletcher share their journey from running a photography business to establishing B's Creative Studio, emphasizing community engagement, creativity, and the importance of experiences over products. They discuss the evolution of their business, the impact of COVID-19, and their commitment to fostering creativity in families through art classes and community initiatives. 

Takeaways

  • Community engagement and art classes became a significant focus for their business.
  • They emphasize creating memorable experiences for families rather than just selling products.
  • The growth of their business led to a need for larger space and more resources.
  • Their involvement in the state fair showcases their commitment to the arts.
  • They believe in the importance of supporting local businesses and community initiatives.
  • Brandy's creative approach to art and classes has resonated with families in Springfield. Encouraging creativity in both kids and adults is essential.
  • Lifelong learning can lead to personal growth and new passions.
  • Support from local businesses is crucial for community development.
  • Creating a welcoming environment fosters creativity and connection.
  • Art can be a powerful tool for self-expression and community engagement.
  • Small consistent actions can lead to significant changes.
  • Finding joy in personal interests is vital for happiness.
  • Community support can help local businesses thrive.

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SPEAKER_03

Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential. Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you. Along the way, we're gonna bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating. We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together we can elevate Springfield. Alright, let's go, Springfield. Time to 10X your life, your business, all of it. Time to crush those goals, time to get after it. Let's go. You are listening to the Elevate Springfield Podcast. Robert Farrell here, certified 10x coach, speaker, and mentor, here to bring you actionable strategies. You bring the discipline and follow through. And together, we're gonna Elevate Springfield. We're coming to you again from beautiful downtown Springfield in the Big Dog Construction Studio. Hey, we've got so much going on in Springfield right now. Make sure you are participating. Get out there, network with folks, be a part of the community, support local businesses, support local nonprofits, and let's go, we can all grow together. So, hey, another great episode for you today. We're gonna get right to our guest after the break. Hey, Springfield, when it comes to reliable, high-quality roofing, you don't want to leave things to chance. That's why you should reach out to Acosta Angeli Roofing, your local roofing expert serving Springfield and surrounding communities. From quick, dependable repairs to full replacement, from residential to commercial, they are your trusted pros. Call them today at 217-993-2748 or visit their website to book your free quote and inspection. Don't wait. A little leak now could lead to major damage later. Trust the local experts, protect your home, and get peace of mind with Acosta Angeli Roofing. And we are back. Hey, joining me in the studio now, Brandy and Jay Fletcher from Bees Creative Studio. How are you guys doing today?

SPEAKER_04

Great.

SPEAKER_03

Appreciate you guys popping down. Looking forward to learning all about bees. I've learned about it before because my family has gone there a number of times, but I'm excited to hear from hear about it from you guys. But before we do, let's learn a little bit about you. Tell us a little about your background.

SPEAKER_04

I have lived in Springfield, moved here when I was 12, and so kind of basically grown up here. Went away a little bit for college, and then that's where we met and came back and have pretty much lived here, I would say my whole life then, and raised our daughter and had a couple of different businesses.

SPEAKER_02

So we moved back in 2000 basically. And married 27 years.

SPEAKER_04

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Maddie's 24, our daughter. So three of us.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So you said a couple of businesses. What was the first business?

SPEAKER_04

We did photography and videography. We were bees create no creative candidates. Creative Candidates. They're too close together. We shouldn't have done that. But uh Creative Candids was our photography uh studio for um 15, a little over 15 years. Um we did family, children, senior pictures as in seniors in high school. Yeah. Um we had some confusion. So people actually thought we meant we took senior pictures, like senior citizens. And I was like, I never even thought that was a thing, but no, seniors in high school. Is that a thing? It's not, but I don't know why it was a confusion. So um we did a lot of modeling stuff and then um weddings, a lot of weddings. And so did that, and then we kind of had a situation where we had a friend um need some help. He moved in with his daughter, and so we started helping with that, and I took a back seat to photography and or we did, I guess. Yeah, and uh I started just doing things here and there for people, and that morphed into funky flips by Fletcher, and just did technically the second business business, and I did redid furniture and kids' rooms and game rooms and just Pinterest at your fingertips, different crafts and stuff like that. And people kept asking to open a business, and a few years later, then some other things happened and we opened B's. But Jay's he's always had, I'd say, the real job, and I've gotten to have the fun job that he's always assisted me in. I gotta pay the bill. But yeah, he's always kind of just jumped in and been very supportive of whatever we're doing and been a part of it.

SPEAKER_02

It's a great mix for me because in my work life, I'm an IT project manager, program manager. So everything I do is very technical, it's not creative whatsoever, other than working with people and stuff. So my whole career has just been and I make them have chaos. Yeah, working on large projects and things that are just kind of chaotic. But when we're working together, it's always been fun and some kind of outlet. And then I think more recently, it's I've become more of an artist, which is I never thought I would have said that a year ago, probably.

SPEAKER_03

So take me back to the beginning of the photography, videography, wedding business. What what drove you to do that?

SPEAKER_04

Kind of the funniest, I've always had a camera in my hand since I was little. But our daughter was born and I took her to Olin Mills, and I just wanted this one very to me simple picture of me laying down and her on my back. And the girl was like, What? I don't, I can't do that. Like it wasn't in her post, wasn't in her shot book. So she didn't know what to do. And I was like, so I went home and I took a bed sheet and I threw it up on the wall and I said, I want you to take this picture of her and I. And he took it, and then I just started dabbling around playing with other pictures of her. And before I knew it, we had other people asking, and it was a business. And we were then asking to do a wedding, and then we were asked to do this. And we honestly just had to take a step back and go, What happened? Like we're two years in and we have a business, and that lasted for 15 years. And I think we very much believe that God is the center of our lives and our businesses. And sometimes He has directions that we don't even know we're gonna be going in. And that was one of our first ones. You know, we did I wasn't looking to become a photographer as a stay-at-home mom.

SPEAKER_02

And like 2007, eight, and nine were our business biggest years by far. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, we were booking out for weddings two and three years in advance, and we loved it. I mean, we loved the season we were in. We we loved it when we were there. I won't ever shoot another wedding. My life depended on it now. But uh, I love being able to take pictures and stuff now at the studio and get to still have that creative eye a little bit. But I said I would do it until it wasn't fun or I lost the passion, and I kind of did a little bit. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Olin Mills, that brings back memories. I'm just saying, Olin Mills.

SPEAKER_04

And they just couldn't live up to my my expectation of what I wanted. So I uh did it myself.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I think all my pictures growing up, uh, have the little Olin Mills down there. Yeah, yeah. Everybody knows Olin Mills. Yes. Funny.

SPEAKER_04

Now they're recreating them, though. The funny the poses, yeah. The JC Penny poses or whatever, which is also basically Olin Mills.

SPEAKER_03

Right, same thing. Yeah, yeah, that is funny. They have come back like that, people just doing the kind of the cheesy with the very cheesy ones, yes.

SPEAKER_02

I think Step Brothers is part of that too.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, yeah, yeah, that's part of it too. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. So to get to that point where you're booking two, three years out, how did you guys market yourselves to be able to get that kind of lead time people wanted to we with all of them um never really did market.

SPEAKER_04

It was a lot of word of mouth.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And we would, you know, especially with like weddings, we would shoot a wedding. And I mean, you're shooting a wedding with a bride and groom, and they've got six bridesmaids and groomsmen, they're bound to get married soon, too. They're all in that age range. So then we were shooting their bridesmaids would get married, and then we had families that we'd shot their wedding, and all of a sudden we're shooting their pregnancy pictures and maternity pictures, and then their family pictures. And a lot of it was just word of mouth. Now, Facebook did come out in um 2008. And um, I had a girl who was working for us, and she's like, You got to get on Facebook. And I'm like, What is Facebook? You know, I'm like, we're still on my space. And so she created it. She's like, No, that's what we got to do. And so we started doing it. And really, it was just that. And I would share the pictures of the weddings or the family pictures, and those people would share them. Right. And those people would share them, and then people would book us. So um, the only big advertisement we did was we got a it wasn't a kiosk, was it a kiosk? Is that what they call them at the mall? It was like the cubes.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

It wasn't a place you go in and take a picture, it was just a cube. Like a rolling yeah, and we just flooded it. I'm very creative with things. So, like, I would have all pictures. We did it, it looked like a phone with pictures, slideshows where you would see look through your phone, and because everybody wants to see their pictures somewhere. So then they would like flock out to the mall just to say, Oh, my picture's up, you know. So we did that. That was probably our big first advertisement that we really did. Um, and I would say it worked for us in that aspect. Um, but it was just fun because people love seeing their kids love seeing their pictures and that kind of stuff. So um, but yeah, that's it was word of mouth.

SPEAKER_02

And we brought both still photographs and video, which there was really not back. Nobody was doing that to do that. You had to hire two separate people, and videographers were really not a thing still. Right. The fact that they could get both in one package and we would mix things together. Like I would put some of her shots in my footage and you did the love story.

SPEAKER_04

So we weren't we even like what we do now, it's more like you can come to us and it's a one-stop shop. I mean, when we did engagement pictures, we would set up and he would interview them and he how they met and their story and then it would be part of their wedding video. And I did their say the date cards and just different things to help them just be more fun with their stuff and their creative and not just here when go out and take your picture and you're done.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Um But I think that too that interaction with all those people, all the families over the years allowed us to be and know how to talk to people and build those relationships. And we I think that helps us today.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, definitely. I mean, we have when we catch over from the photography to even the flips and me doing stuff, I had people who followed me over, and we still have relationships with those people. And I think that is one of the most important things that we've out of all is we still see those families, we still see those couples. There's people we shot weddings who now their kids are they're coming for birthday parties, you know, and like we had seniors the one that yes, the one there was one birthday party, and it was the parents and they're like, Well, you did our senior pictures, and I was like, Oh my gosh. And then one of their friends was dropping out, and you did mine, and then it's like you did mine. I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm like, I feel old. But it is fun when it shows that it wasn't just a business. We built relationships that have followed with us and stuff, and we can see people. I won't always remember their name. I'm horrible with names. I remember faces, and I can be like, Oh, yeah, I remember this. Or there's one bride, I always remember her dress because she got it for $99.

SPEAKER_02

About remembering that, yeah. What about them? And I remember their last names because I did the video, always had their last name in it a lot and stuff. Yeah. But yeah, I think we still bring a lot of that uh how we did that business to bees. You know, totally different what we do when we deliver, but it's still some of that same thing.

SPEAKER_04

It's definitely the relationship. So making it meaningful and not just a business. Sure.

SPEAKER_03

So over that 15 years or so of doing the photography, videography, and everything, how did the business in general change? Because when you started, yes, people were always amateur photographers, but by the time you finished, everybody was an amateur photographer. That's kind of why I stopped. So that's probably why we stopped.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And I and I have to admit, I mean, I didn't go to school for photography. Uh I think you're just gifted with certain things. And I had the eye and to be creative, and I always liked creating something that nobody else was.

SPEAKER_02

And poses that no one else thought.

SPEAKER_04

Yes. And I've climbed on top of the truck for a wedding. I've climbed up a ladder and onto a basketball hoop. I'm not just like here, I'm gonna sit here, point, and shoot. I want it at a different level than you. I want underneath you, I want above you, I want, you know. So I was always really creative and fun with the with the wedding parties, even and dads and family pictures or look, give me 10 minutes and I'm gonna get you guys the best pictures, but give it to me and I'll give it back to you. Like, let's get I know you nobody wants to be here. Um, probably the worst family that I had to shoot pictures of was oh, mine, my dad and my brother.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So they've gotten better in the years, though. Definitely gotten better.

SPEAKER_02

But if you answered the question, it it became very saturated. And people just weren't willing to pay. Sure. Well, I'll have Uncle Bob do it with a phone.

SPEAKER_03

And I'm not gonna pay whatever we that's what I always wanted when they when it started transitioning to that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, because everybody had it on their phones, right?

SPEAKER_03

So everybody didn't see the value as much in terms of the price.

SPEAKER_04

And I think we became popular because we were the first ones to give the digital image to people, and we were ahead of the game on that because everybody, all every mom was scrapbooking. They didn't want to pay a fortune for an eight by ten, they were gonna cut up. And I'm dyslexic. I didn't want to work with numbers and having to go look the order. So I'm like, the best thing for me is here, take a CD. If you want to print it out in 10 years, you have it. So I was ahead then, but then with cameras on your phone, nobody was printing anything, anyways, after so long that and then every mom was a photographer, and you know, and and it took away the fun of it and the creativity of it because the sales did end up declining, sure, you know.

SPEAKER_02

But I think the senior pictures became probably the business for the last five years. You really got more in the seniors, and we turned down wedding, we went definitely down on those. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So, you know, yeah, and those senior pictures are always gonna be one that people are gonna buy. I mean, right. People are gonna hire out for their senior pictures.

SPEAKER_04

Now though, what they do is kind of interesting. So I don't think I could take senior pictures now if I wanted to. The way the kids want their pictures taken. Our daughters always like, no, you gotta do this. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Right. So transitioned out of that into the the flip business. Tell me a little bit more about that. Did you have a location? Did you do it out of the house? What'd you do?

SPEAKER_04

Well, our first our studio first started in our garage, then went to a studio. And then when we moved into our existing house, we built a studio for the photography. And so when the furniture and all that started doing, I just my photography studio became an art studio. So, and yeah, so we just did it out of there, which was great because I always had my office right there. So I spent a lot of time in the studio and not in the house.

SPEAKER_02

So we would get a lot of furniture and then she would make it beautiful and not necessarily like restore it back to the original quality, but customize it for that person. Right. Yeah. And people loved it, you know.

SPEAKER_04

And it was a lot of funky stuff. I'm pretty colorful. It wasn't your just normal white and black or whatever.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_04

Um, I had a few friends that they did that and I would send it to them. Like, if you want that, go to them. I do more of the hand painting and funky stuff.

SPEAKER_02

So we did that one under with the baseballs on, you know, it was very baseball themed and a sports where the knobs were the were actual baseballs.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, that's what it was baseballs and then bats. So I I'm always thinking outside of the box or what I can do and that makes it fun and different.

SPEAKER_02

Yes to then painting and actually.

SPEAKER_04

And I would have 20 things I was working on at a time because that's what I can do. I'm just so ADD that while this paint was drying, I was doing this, and while this one was doing this, I was doing that one. And so I loved it because it gave me something different I could do all the time.

SPEAKER_03

So when you're talking about hand painting, I'm not just you know painting at a solid color, but you're doing hand painted artwork on the on the pieces, right?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, there was um actually um a hope chest that I did for Audrey's daughter. I did a hope chest when she graduated high school, and I mean it was all of her favorite things. So I had Scooby-Doo on there, I had Polar Express on there, and everything. Like every side was something, one of her favor, Scooby-Doo and different things. And so, and just sports or gaming, whatever the kids wanted. I did more kids stuff, but there were some ladies that I did fun stuff for.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah. We did that in what about five years?

SPEAKER_04

Probably, maybe more. Yeah, five or six.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Did that, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. So when was the official transition from that over to Bees Creative Studio, what we see today, or at least the start of what we see today?

SPEAKER_04

I think it was a mix. I mean, it was definitely during the funky flips era. I had a lot of people who were like, you know, can you teach a class? Can you teach us how to do this? Can you? And I was just like, no, I can't teach. I just do it. I'm in my own little world. I don't want people watching me do my stuff. I don't even know how to teach anybody how to do this. So because I didn't go to school for things, I just did it and learned it. And so fast forward through, and then COVID hit. And I have to say, I was very grateful that I didn't ever let somebody talk me into it because I didn't have to worry about rent or a place. And during COVID, I mean, it just skyrocketed. We had our daughter was a uh 2020 grad. And so it wasn't very emotional for us. Um, she's our only one. We've um had nine miscarriages, and so for us, we always had a house full of kids because our daughter always, all of her friends were always there, but for us, this was important because we knew she was the only one. And um, her senior year came up. We were just taken back by all of that. And so we did adopt a senior, which we put out there. Kids would send me their information, their name, their favorite sodas, their favorite candy, things they liked. They had a form that they would fill out, and then I had families that would come to me and I would give them a senior. And during COVID, during COVID, during for the seniors, and those families they would just create these little baskets for these kids and just to say, We're supporting you and we see you and um, we're praying for you, or whatever the case was. And they would either give their house, they would drop it off, or they would give it to me and I would get it to those kids. And our house became kind of this point of like everybody was dropping things off and picking things up, and we were doing a I was doing a lot of custom orders, so our porch became pickup. And so we just would hang all of our orders all over our porch, and people would come pick them up. And so while it was fun, it was also you think that just kind of pushed us over of wow, this is you know, what I'm doing besides a adoptive senior was a lot.

SPEAKER_02

We had a lot of orders, a lot of people come to our house, which we didn't love, yeah, because people would show up at all times of night going, Hey, where's my order? I'm like, we need to get people away from our orders. Right, right. Well, and that guy came at like 10 30.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, and kind of freaked us out. And I was like, okay, you know, we had already said it's eight o'clock's the end and it was late. And so one night we were cooking dinner in the kitchen. I just said, I feel like God's saying we need to open a store. And he just stopped and looked at me and said, I do too. And I was like, Oh crap. And I was like, if we're both feeling that. So the next morning I actually woke up and he had already started looking for places that were for rent. And so he's like, let's go. And we spent that Saturday just driving around Springfield and looking at where we could go and what we could do. And that was like, I wouldn't say September, October, 20. And I had my list of things that I wanted in a place. Um, he asked what I saw, and I said, I want to support other moms who are also doing little things like this, but don't have the place to have a storefront or don't have the means to do things. And I said, you know, moms are at home raising their kids, and they also, there's a lot of people who do a lot of different things. I think it'd be fun to have them being able to sell their stuff. And I said, maybe a class for kids here and there, but that was kind of an afterthought. And so I had my list of things I wanted to. I wanted close to home. I wanted it small. And we went and saw a couple of places, and one place met like every criteria that I was asking for. I mean, not every moon, there wasn't that many, but and then I had a kind of a God show off. If you're really behind this and this is really what I'm supposed to do, I want this, this, and this, and this, this, and this were part of this first place.

SPEAKER_01

Oh man.

SPEAKER_04

And and what's really funny is that I wanted a it'd be cool to have the classroom, you know, but it's not a must. But if you really want, and when we the we weren't, and when the the person was showing me, the landlord of the place, I was like, Well, what's behind this door? She's like, I don't know. And I open it up and she's like, Oh, it's a storage room. I'm like, No, this is a classroom.

SPEAKER_02

Classroom.

SPEAKER_04

And um, it was the building that next to it was New Age's old building.

SPEAKER_02

New age's old building. Okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And so we were in there, and so it was everything we wanted. And I said, We'll see how it goes. I'll give it three months. And nine seven months later, we were looking for a new place to move into, bigger, and we just have felt God's hand in it the whole way, and every step and every leap that we've done has just been because of the of our those who believe in us too that have supported us and continue to follow us and come in and and see us and that kind of stuff. So then we moved awesome. Yeah, we moved into the second location and grew and a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02

And we started the first one with 600 square feet, the second is 1,400 square feet. Currently we're at 54 square feet.

SPEAKER_03

Big jump there, yeah. Yeah, that was a little big jump. Big jump, yeah. Big jump. Those first seven months to grow quick enough to where you're already needing a new space. And what do you attribute that to? That quick, quick growth. I would say the kids.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And I and I think the the art classes and parties that we did not realize what the one I wasn't wanting to focus on was what I was supposed to be focusing on.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

And having vendors in and out and selling their stuff is sometimes hard. But having the classes and my big thing is too is that they're because of COVID, one of the first things that they got rid of was art, right? Music. The things that sometimes just like, you know, we were talking about C A C C some of these kids don't excel in academics, but they need those outlets, those other things that kind of refocus them or help them throughout the day. And art was a huge thing for me. I'm not musically inclined at all, but art was something that I really enjoyed. And so I hated that. Why is the those things the first things you guys take away? And so I saw a need for that. And with the kids, and kids are a little bit easier to teach than adults. They're not so critique, they don't critique you as much or know that you've messed up something or whatever. So we just saw that, hey, we need a bigger space for these classrooms, and we could actually grow a lot more if we had a classroom. So that's I think what really what pushed us because we could have probably stayed in a little spot with a few vendors we had at the time.

SPEAKER_02

The classroom only holds like six people.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And we were having to like, you have to, well, I guess at that point, when we moved into the new place, the second location, we only had one classroom still, but it was bigger. But it's like, okay, this class is done. In order to have another class, you got to get done, clean up, right? You got to get out so the next person can get in. And yes, yeah. So, but we just saw a need that people wanted to learn things. And our family's always been very much about experiences. Instead of giving your kids a bunch of toys that in a month they're not going to remember, but get together with your family, come do an art project, you know, learn something. And the friendships that have come out of the classes that they've met and they've gotten to know their people or even their self-confidence of oh my gosh, I really made this. I got to walk away with this. It's what makes it. I think it makes it so special to us is seeing that.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and I think that's what drew Becky to you for the fair, where they saw what we were doing for the community and for the amateur artists that brought her to you to be involved with the state fair competition. And that became a huge part of our lives, especially in the summer. Because I don't know if that happens if we're still in that small space.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And you said the experiences, I'm completely on the same page. Much rather, you know, hey, let's go on a vacation with the kids, let's go do this.

SPEAKER_04

You're gonna remember that more than like what toy did you get for Christmas? You ask them a month later, and they're like, uh, well, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03

I I would much rather pay up a little bit for hey, let's let's do this experience. Let's let's go to this concert, let's take this vacation, this trip, let's do this, let's do that, rather than just more stuff.

SPEAKER_04

And that's really what I want to build on. We're actually working, I'm working really hard on right now is building more experiences. So you're seeing a lot more of when I say our birthday packages, it's an experience because it's not just a regular birthday party. You're not just walking in and having cake and ice cream and opening presents and they're doing something, they're having fun, but even with the adults, I'm big on the community and networking and encouraging other ones, other local businesses and stuff like that, and encouraging families to spend time together and put your phones down and do something together. And so it's not quite out there, but it will be out there hopefully um by next week if I have a few more things to put in. But I'm launching Bees Creative Community Crawl, and it's going to be a family thing where you can come in, you're gonna get a bag if you want to participate. And I've got local businesses that um they're gonna have like a little passport.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_04

So when you go to these businesses, you might have to take a picture of your family there. Um, maybe post it. There's gonna be you can go up to the front and like, okay, this time when you're here, you're gonna get a sticker. This time, then the next time you come, you get, well, I need um a supply. And every time you go to these places, you're gonna get something. Some are giving a discount when you come in and you show them that you're a part of it. It's gonna have a list of things to do as a family that are inexpensive of, okay, you're gonna do a movie night, you're gonna all take a picture of you all in the same color shirt, go to the park and find these things. And it's gonna be all these fun things for families to do together, but get also gets out into the community supporting other small businesses. And then when they finish their passport, they can bring it back in. And hopefully then in September, we're gonna kind of have a community art project that everybody'll kind ofgether and do. And so, you know, I just think that we see so much of the happiness that it brings for when people are doing stuff together that this is just another way to kind of bring that in and let families do stuff together. Sound awesome.

SPEAKER_01

Whatever's the one.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. It'll be a scavenger hunt basically throughout Springfield and Chatham. And we're we're very much connected to Chatham. And so um, we have a great support group from support from them. And so we're including them and anybody else who wants to be a part of it. I'm hoping that this becomes something we continue to do. And um, we're doing a date night one as well and working on some like stuff like that. So we just want to encourage families to do stuff together, friends, girlfriends, guys. We have some stuff for the guys. Um, we believe, you know, that in a marriage, since we've been married for 27 years, that you know, you need to continue to date. And so I'm working on some date things that they can come in and do and or even take home to do, you know, just things that get you involved in, you know, making memories and having a little bit of fun that's a little different.

SPEAKER_03

That yeah, anything I could do to help with that. That's really cool. I like that. So now it's funny in in business. Sometimes you're talking about you weren't really thinking about the classes early on when that really turned out to be your, you know, kind of your bread and butter for a lot of things. It's just funny how that works in business.

SPEAKER_04

It is because our daughter, every birthday, I mean, it's I always had to do over-the-top fun creative things. And so even our classes were kind of what we started with. But every time I got on Facebook, I was seeing moms ask, where what can we do for a party? We've done this, we've done that. And once you've done some of those things, it's like they don't kids don't want to do it again. And so I'm like, okay, well, what can we do? So right now, I mean, we're 26 plus different themes for our birthday parties, and I'm adding to them all the time. We just added a totally different one. We're doing you come to me with an idea, or then I'll make something up. And I love being able to do that because sometimes they have too many ideas, not enough time or space or bank account. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03

Well, Jay, you mentioned the state fair a moment ago. From anybody that doesn't know, what do you guys do with the state fair? Either one of you, yeah. She is the art superintendent for the state fair.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. Yeah, I don't know. I do a lot of the behind the scenes stuff, but she is the coordinator for all of the amateur competition for the art competition for the state fair.

SPEAKER_03

So cool.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. So we're really encouraging adults and kids to um enter, you know, stuff because it's just fun. And everybody loves seeing their stuff up. And so, I mean, it's not an amazing New York gallery, uh, but it's still fun. And we have different things they can do from drawing and painting. We added mixed media in this year for the kids. Next year it'll be for the adults too. But um, yeah, there's just different, all different categories they can enter things into. And then it's just fun. And it's fun to people come out and they look at it and they get to judge for the kids' people's choice. And so we've been trying to push it and get more people out there doing that.

SPEAKER_02

So check our website if you want to enter in. We'll put a link on there for it. And there's cash prizes.

SPEAKER_04

It's on the outside of the expo building where we are, it says art gallery on it. So it's just it's they I know for a while it was in another location, but it's there. And so other than it being pop, we've had good weather the last few years.

SPEAKER_02

So the kids love showing their family and friends their stuff on the wall. And and even adults will bring in people where I'm looking for my cousins or it's really fun to see them. And when the kids see that they won, they get really so. I bet they're pumped. Yeah, yeah. So fun.

SPEAKER_04

And even the adults do too. They probably hide it a little bit better than you know, they're feeling it so yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So then it hopefully sparks them to keep going. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Well, last year we had a girl who she made this, and the reason we put um mixed media into it is because we didn't even have a place to put her stuff. We didn't know where to put her because she made this amazing picture out of duct tape.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, right. Really?

SPEAKER_04

It was amazing. And so it was kind of cool. So we just kind of see what people are bringing in and always try to make sure that we include people and we have sculptures. I mean, we had an amazing teacher from up in the Bloomington area or Chicago.

SPEAKER_02

I think it was South Chicago.

SPEAKER_04

And she brought in all of her senior high school students' artwork. She framed it and brought them all down, and it was just amazing to see a teacher who loves her kids that much and that passionate about art that she would bring it all down here and paid for them all to enter. And yeah, and it was really amazing artwork. So it's it's stuff like that that's just really cool to see all parts of the state coming together to do something too.

SPEAKER_03

So I bet you that that duct tape was probably cool. They uh you mentioned CACC earlier, the graphic arts instructor out there. She did a portrait using painter's tape. And and she made like almost a self-portrait of her on the wall next to her classroom. I was like, man, that was really cool. I didn't didn't realize it was painter's tape at first. And so that's really cool.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and we had to tell people like what it was. Like they would see them and would walk up and be like, Do you know what this is made out of? Like, no, we're telling me they were close to it.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, it really is.

SPEAKER_04

And the year before that, we had a kid who won Best of Show because he had made something and nobody knew that it was paper mache. And it looked so lifelike and real, and he did a phenomenal job. And so it's so cool to see these young artists uh do things that normally we wouldn't be able to see. Right. They're not showcasing it anywhere. So it's really fun to see that.

SPEAKER_03

So cool. So you mentioned go to the website and get there, but what's some of the details on signing up for this?

SPEAKER_04

Um, they have to sign up by July 15th.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Um, so that is the deadline. All entries are now online to as far as filling it out online, and then they bring in their entries to us the weekend before the fair. And we have a Sunday and a Monday time slots, and they bring us the artwork. And then um over the next few days we put them all up and do that, and they're judged, and then um not by me. Um and yeah, we don't we don't do the judging, then that's displayed then too throughout the fair.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So thing it can't be is you can't regularly sell work. You have to be an amateur.

SPEAKER_03

You true have to be a true amateur, okay.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, they they will get disqualified.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. And so as long as you submit, it's gonna be shown there.

SPEAKER_04

There's no intermediary judging to where no, if they as long as they follow the rules, the guidelines of what they have to do, because like things have to be hung um, you know, and displayed a certain way so that we can put them out. But as as long as they aren't even some of them, we've ended up just putting them out so that people still see them. No, we want everything up there. It doesn't matter if they win or not, it's up so that people can see it and they can bring people through. So cool. Yeah, yeah. And we actually last year, maybe it was even the year before, we even added the little guys. And so we have three year olds now. Like we have a like as well, because we were like, I want, I want them to, they are ecstatic when they see their stuff up. They could care less what it means. It's just to see their artwork up with everybody else's is pretty cool. So we um definitely included the littler guys.

SPEAKER_03

So I might have to get my daughters in on that. Yeah, they'd both enjoy that. That'd be really cool. It's only a couple dollars to yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, that's all it is. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's not much, and so it's super fun.

SPEAKER_03

So fun. All right. So all the growth of bees, you're in a facility now, you said 5,400 square feet right on Wabash there. So what changed when you moved into that place?

SPEAKER_04

When you moved into the larger facility, a lot more faith, a lot more stress, a lot definitely the classes. Now we have the ability. Um, we have saw the boutique, so we still have vendors who sell their product. And we actually now to Bright Star Scrubs and Uniforms was having a situation and they were gonna have to close. And I don't even know how it happened to be somehow we were connected and started talking, and they are moving into one of our rooms so that they can continue to stay open. And so we're really excited about that too. So we do have the boutique. Um, all of our vendors um also are very much into personalized and um custom orders. So we do a lot of stuff for, you know, just hey, I have a birthday coming up or this party or whatever. So that's a standalone. We still have that. But then uh we now have 13 working classrooms, basically. And then we have our offices there. And so it helps with like Mary, who does our stained glass. Um, she's an amazing uh teacher, and her classes fill up really quick, but she has her own room so she doesn't have to break everything down and put it away. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03

Makes it nice for her.

SPEAKER_04

Mary, very nice for her. Um, and so we have themes in our rooms and so on some of them. So we have our splatter room. Um, we can come in and splatter paint onto the walls and make a canvas or a t-shirt um and slime room. We have a candle making room. We have a zoo, we call the zoo. Um, and you can make fairy gardens and shadow boxes and moss ball pets, and we have creatures in there that they can pick out and do.

SPEAKER_03

Um those fairy gardens are always a hit, it seems like they do that out at Lincoln Memorial Gardens out there. Those are yeah, those always seem to be a hit.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. So, and then we just we have a prayer room, um, which has been a really amazing, just uh something that we've uh my mom came to us and asked if it would be we'd be open to it. We said, absolutely, and found a little spot for that. Um, and so people can come in and just spend some time in prayer, and we have a wall they can put things up. So, like this last week, we've had lots in for to praying for haze and just different things in our community that people can come in and if or just for them. You know, we've had them come in and pray for their parents or friends or just needing some time alone. So it's kind of cool. We have a crushed glass room. Um, so mixed media can come in and break some glass and make something fun out of it.

SPEAKER_02

Probably my favorite room. Yeah, it's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. So and then we have our birthday party rooms. We have a gathering room. Um, one of those things that it was on my list of God saying, I'm giving you this too. Um, when I was like, Are you sure this is what we're supposed to do? Because it's another big place. And I felt God saying, Why are you so questioning me? And I gave you even the gathering room. And so it's just a space that has big couches and chairs that people can come in if they want to come in and do support groups or self-help. We've had some self-help groups in there and workshops for women or men or whatever. So, um, and that's kind of a thing we're not really charging for. We want people to come in and use that space to just if there's a Bible study that wants to come in and meet, or um, we've had some lady come in, she wanted to talk widows that they just need people. And so they can come in and talk and meet, stuff like that. And we actually just recently added a drink bar, not alcoholic bar, but right dirty sodas and coffee and stuff like that in there too, that they can get and just so it's hopefully cozy. Um, a community used, yeah. So we really just want our place to be a place that is uplifting and encouraging and a place that people feel loved and seen and um happy.

SPEAKER_03

Love it. So you said that first classroom you had was like capacity of six, right? So what's your what's your biggest classroom now? What kind of capacity do you have in your rooms?

SPEAKER_04

Um we still like to keep our classes small so that we are one-on-one with our with our people. Gotcha, yeah. But um, our classes have ranged from one person being in it to uh like 25 or 30. We have a our big um classroom in our open art room. We can put people in there. And so um, I mean, you're tight, but we can put 25 in there. So I know we did our very first slime birthday party, and I I'm pretty sure we had 24 kids in that birthday party of making slime for the first time. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Farentatus. Farentatus. Yes, I do not like it.

SPEAKER_03

I do not like it.

SPEAKER_04

So and I had to figure out how to take a five-minute like project and stretch it into an hour and a half. So it's not um just slime.

SPEAKER_01

It's experience. They're not just making slime.

SPEAKER_04

It's a slime lab. They get lab coats and lab goggles and a VIP little badge, and they have syringes and um actually the glue comes in pea cups. Uh-huh. Um, and so it's just things they can mix together. And we mix a lot. That takes up some time. So, but yeah, we want things to be, it's not just your ordinary coming in.

SPEAKER_03

Now you're doing bet they have a blast. Squishies, yeah. Those things are hit too.

SPEAKER_04

Those huge, yes, our camp in a couple weeks. We will be making squishies. Okay.

SPEAKER_03

So my younger daughters, well, both of them like them, but my younger daughter especially loves her some squishies. So you have to search for them.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, oh yeah. That's a hot commodity. Yes.

SPEAKER_02

And the ones that we made at home that she, I mean, so yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I showed the girls today and I just wanted to see what they thought. Oh my gosh. They're like, Are we on that cloud camp? Are we coming? And one of them would start jumping up and down because she found out she was in that camp already. And she's like, That's amazing. She's like, Can I just hold it one more time? It's like, I think I'm gonna put this up because no, they're they're a thing.

SPEAKER_03

We were down in Florida on vacation, and they this one of the little kiosks things at a mall we were at, they had all the stuff and they they had these little golden dumplings, which apparently are super popular and apparently rare in some instances, I guess.

SPEAKER_04

They saw it marketing, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And then they they want they just had to have them.

SPEAKER_04

The little ones they have to have. And I just yeah, I want to come up with that one thing that goes viral that everybody wants that, you know, so parents are looking at going, What careful what you wish for.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, and it's one of those things where they had never talked about a golden dumpling, but apparently when we saw this, like, whoa, look at that.

SPEAKER_04

We thought a dumpling would be something our kids would want to play with.

SPEAKER_03

Right. But that's what they wanted to buy. So they they bought them.

SPEAKER_04

I know, think about the things we wanted that we had when we were kids.

SPEAKER_03

So you still have the the vendors. You say, Do you have any vendors that have been with you from from the beginning?

SPEAKER_04

Yes, we do. Um, Jill, um, she's one of our crocheters, and so she has one of the originals, and she is still with us. Um, she also just happens to be Jay's cousin. Um, but she's with us. We don't overlap our vendors except for our crochet. So we have two crochet girls, um Jamie and Jill. Jamie teaches classes. Jill doesn't really want to teach classes, but um, they're it's very popular. So um, and they work very well together, which I love. They'll always be like, hey, I'm gonna do this. Are you okay with that? And then Mary has been with us. We were at the first door. She wasn't very in the very, very beginning, but she was very yeah, right before we moved into the second one. So she's been with us a while. I think that's it that's been with us since the very beginning. So we've had a couple those still with us from the middle store and over.

SPEAKER_02

But and what I think usually changes is people's life change, right? They don't no longer have time to do whatever they were doing, sure, or something's happened or they moved, or but it's always been a great relationship.

SPEAKER_04

And we've had some vendors who have moved on and they've opened to their own place, and which is cool to see too that they started small too, and then we're able to do their own thing. And it's always cool to see them succeed too and do other things.

SPEAKER_03

Very cool. Now, Jamie and Jill, maybe they should need to join forces. That just sounds like a good crocheted company. Jamie and Jill. Yeah, yeah. It just sounds like a good company name for that. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, they work, they do good together.

SPEAKER_03

So well, anything else you guys do there at Bees that we haven't already talked about? You guys do a ton.

SPEAKER_04

We do a ton. I we do probably have to bring in the fact that we have Miley, who is our little shihtzu dog, who's uh always there. And uh if she's not there, I mean it's her job. She goes in, and the kids and even adults is Miley here, is Miley here. I'm like, are you here for us? The art, the store. What do you hear? Miley.

SPEAKER_01

Yep. People know Miley's name then.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And my mom has been out with her, and people have been like, you know, and she's like, Yeah. So they recognize her. Or the with a parade, I think it was last year, the year before she was she's in the parade for the fair. Yeah. And I was like, There's Miley, there's Miley.

SPEAKER_02

So celebrity. Yes. One of the things I think I love, which I didn't know, but I like connecting with the kids. Yeah. You know, and my office is there. So I'm usually working sometimes three, four days a week there, especially now that we're in summer camp and there's there are people there five days ago.

SPEAKER_04

They were asking about you today. When's Jay gonna make us our cookies?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and so you know, I so now I'm starting to connect more with the kids and showing them what I'm doing in the art world. And of course, I've always done like the snack, the cookies. I've always made cookies my whole life. And so once I found out a really cool way to connect with the kids, I have an oven in my office that I just bake fresh hot cookies in. Ah, there you go. And the kids absolutely and uh and it's a really good change of pace for me, you know. Work could be stressful. I can go in there and see the kids having fun, hooting and hollering, and it's really fun. And then I also take some burden off her because I'm in the place, you know. It's a really good mix between us.

SPEAKER_04

I think a pivotal turning point for us actually was last year with the Chatham. Um, it really showed us how much these families mean to us and how much we're connected to them. And so Ainsley was one of our club kids. And we knew most of the kids, the families that were affected. And Ainsley, though, was one. And so her and her sister Avery would, during kids club, would sneak off. I mean, we kind of always knew it. They'd sneak off and they'd find Jay, and he would make them a special drink or hot chocolate. And so we realized that it wasn't just me, not just who's in there, the teachers, it's all of us and the impact that we're making on them. And when it happened, we had a lot of people coming into the store and they were getting things, but it was not even just a commit. They wanted to talk. Where's Brandy? Where's B? Where's Jay? Where, you know, like they wanted to talk to us. And it really showed us it is much more than the shop. It's much more than the classes. We are building relationships and we want that. We want people to connect and see us and know that we're there for them. And there's been times that people have come in and I've spent an hour talking to somebody about who knows what, but it meant something to them. And, you know, the back of my head, I'm like, oh my gosh, I have all this I have to get done. And and I go, it doesn't matter. That stuff can wait. This this relationship and this them taught me talking to them was just so much a blessing to me as maybe it was for them. And so it really showed us the connection with the people who come in, how important that is. And, you know, we try to, um, especially the kids, they go to their things that they have. Oh, yeah. So I the kids have art and art, um, I don't know if it's a content. But an art thing at their school art show. Yeah. And GIS. And so we'll go. And the kids are always excited to show us that. And then we had one of our Kinsley, one of our other art club kids. She was just in Shrek the Musical out in Petersburg. And we got to go to it. And it's so fun to be a part of their world. Like they're always a part of ours in the store. But to us to be able to show them that we care much more than just you guys coming in here and and supporting them in a game or a show. And so we actually have a calendar up that they can write down their birthdays. They can write down when they're in something and we can go and see them. So that's important to us too.

SPEAKER_03

That's huge. That relationship building and that connection. I mean, it shows your heart. Yeah. And people want to do things with people that have a heart of service like that. Yeah. So that's that's phenomenal. So well, so much great business stuff. Let's flip over to the personal side. What are some ways you guys elevate your life personally?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I went back to school. That's kind of a big deal. So I finished my undergrad in May of 2000. And uh over the years I'm like, okay, I need to do something different, you know. And I had like, okay, I gotta figure that out. And I've always kind of wanted to get the MBA. And so in 2024 I re-enrolled in it at school. Okay. I didn't know why. Really. But uh it really gave me a whole new perspective on kids, 24-year-olds or who I was in classes with, and it was the kids, you know, because I have a kid that old and I really loved it. I love learning. And you know, now I've got this finished uh in December, and now all I want to do is read and grow and learn. And that's what I started like, okay, what am I gonna do after I'm done studying? So then I started to draw. You know, I started to draw Snoopy and Charlie Brown was the first thing I drew, Woodstock, you know, and there's Mustang. And then I switched to the Mustang, and then now I'm I'm doing some banners and just now seeing myself, okay, I can actually draw a little bit, you know.

SPEAKER_04

And it's so funny because that's what I keep telling everybody's like, you never know what age, like you don't know if you're gonna like it. Come take a class. You might love it. And we have like Mary's Jane Glass, she's got like six or seven ladies who do all of her classes, and I'm like, you're my own husband hasn't even done it. So now it's so fun to see him getting excited and waking up going, I want to draw, I want to paint, I want to do this, and getting excited about something that you never even knew that was there. And so something that I've pushed along with so many other people, like just try it. You never know. And if you don't like it, look, I can't crochet, it's not my thing. I've tried it, don't like it.

SPEAKER_02

So I can answer how you yourself. I don't know what that's constantly challenging yourself to do something more negative, yeah, and something fun. That's why all these ideas just pour out at you.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I can tell that just from our conversation over the last 45 minutes that that's that's what you do.

SPEAKER_04

Sometimes there's too much in here, and I can't get it out. Yeah, too many ideas. So but I think knowing that it is the relationships that motivate me though, too, and that and knowing that okay, I can do this and and making sure that we are doing something that is a blessing to other people and um that it's what God wants us to do, and giving him the glory too, because I do feel like sometimes like this isn't about us. I did not want this, I did not want a store, I never thought about a store, I never thought about art in this way, and so God knew what he needed from us, and we just are long for the ride and having fun doing it. But what motivates us is knowing that we're making a difference and seeing the smiles and that people are trying something new and different, and he's really good at doing what he's doing, and so it's fun to see him doing it now. Yeah, and now he understands what I'm like. He's like, Why are you working? I'm like, I'm not working, I'm painting. Right.

SPEAKER_02

I'm like, I never would have said that.

SPEAKER_03

That's so cool.

SPEAKER_04

It's yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_03

Well, you mentioned you mentioned faith, obviously very important to you, and everything. Do you have a church home you want to give a shout out to?

SPEAKER_04

Cherry Hills um church. I've been a part of Cherry Hills since I was in high school. We went to Hope for a little, I went to Hope for a little bit as a young girl youth group and stuff. And then we kind of went over there for a little bit when we had our daughter and her friends were in youth group um high school. We went there for youth group and kind of changed churches for a little bit, but we're just always drawn back to to Cherry Hills. When we were first young married couples, there was a bunch of us, man, there was probably 20 couples, and that we all like were young and married together, and we had a Sunday school class, and we were all having kids together, and we might not see each other now all the time. We don't always hang out, but there's just there's always that connection, you know, of like, hey, that was our that's when we first started out. And so it's still a part of who we are.

SPEAKER_03

Well, guys, so much great stuff today. I like to close with these last couple of things. You both could answer, one of you could answer, it doesn't matter. Okay, right. But let's give the audience a piece of advice, one on the personal side and one on the professional side to help them elevate their life or business.

SPEAKER_04

I would say to look for something that makes you feel happy. You know, life is short. I know that everybody says that, but you know, sometimes you just there's there's other things out there and you just gotta look for it and and find something that can truly make you happy. And it might be a TV show, it might be drawing, it might be uh reading a book, but take the time for yourself to do that. And then I would say if you do not have a church home or you are not surrounded by people who are constantly lifting you up, find a church, find people who um will love on you and pray for you when you know you're down and out and God is always there for you no matter what your past is, and believe in him, and you never know what he has in store for you. It might be something you wanted to do, and it might be a 5,400 square foot building that you'd have no idea what was gonna happen. But I would say faith and and believing in yourself are too fairly.

SPEAKER_02

What I'm reading right now is I just finished it yesterday, Into Your Backpack by Sam Dina. And it's a fantastic book. And the kid is probably 25. He wrote it when he was 22, he's 25 now, I think, 26. From Toronto area, and uh it's it's about small, consistent actions, and you can you can really do almost anything with that, but it might take years, you gotta have that patience. So I love that book. Uh I would give a shout out to that, and I think it's it it it's relevant for kids and adults, and to hear him he's an actual keynote speaker now and stuff, but it's a really great book. So small consistent actions, and you can do amazing things with that.

SPEAKER_03

So love it. And is there anything we can do community-wide to help all of us here elevate Springfield and the surrounding communities?

SPEAKER_04

I am an advocate for supporting small businesses and and that does not just mean I know there was const a little controversy a couple weeks ago that you know, we have local or we have families who you know own local or companies that are big companies, but they're still locally.

SPEAKER_03

They're still locally owned. Yes, of course.

SPEAKER_04

You know, I'm always like, if I see somebody, a local business or that I want to support, it's even so much as they don't understand hitting that like button, making a comment. I do a lot of shout-outs of like, hey, we went and we stopped by Scoop, we stopped by scooters, we had this drink, or you know, we're at a brick house for dinner, just to encourage and help each other. We don't need to be in competition and just to be able to network and work together. Um, and that's why I'm excited about this community crawl, because I think it's gonna help people realize like we can all be in this together and help each other. And if we don't help each other and support each other, you know, we're gonna be another business closing down. And uh it's sad to see so many that aren't able, you know, and we could it, it could be us tomorrow. And we know that. I mean, there's there's times that it's like, all right, God, I had your faith in you. Where's this money coming in to pay these bills? And so um, I know we all have that fear uh as a small business, we're all working our butts off. Um, and so if we can just help each other a little bit here and there.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. No, we talk about it on the show all the time. Communities grow together when we work together, right? Set the egos aside. We can all work together, we can all grow together. And like you mentioned, more like the franchise at local first Springfield. I'm highly involved there. I'm the president of the board right now. Didn't used to allow franchise businesses in local first, but even though they were locally owned. But now we've changed that in the bylaws because you know, a agency that has a local owner right here that is doing so much for a community, why can't they be a part of local first Springfield? Same with any of those franchises, as long as their ownership is.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, they're still giving jobs, they're still in there, they are encouraging our jobs and they're um and sometimes they're doing better than they are doing better and giving better things than the big corporate places even. So because they're community, they're giving back to our community, you know. And I think that just because they're a big name or you know, however you want to say that box office name, that it's still important to support them.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely. Well, so much great stuff. Remind everybody where you guys are located, how they can learn more about you guys, the whole nine.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Uh we are located at 1333 Wabash Avenue. We're behind Hunaan Restaurant across from Sonic. Um, and we're on Facebook under uh Brandy Fletcher and then Bees Creative Studio. I post a lot of stuff on there, but we have our website, which is Beescreative Studio.net. Yep, which is B S, not V as and V-E-E. Not like the So we weren't thinking when we first said it. So it is B S Creative Studio. All right.net. Um and so yeah, we have a lot of our stuff on there, and they can always call and text us um too if they need questions or we do private events, not just what we schedule. We have that question a lot. So is we do have all of our classes online, but we also do private events for adults and kids. We've done um baby showers and bachelor art parties and stuff like that too.

SPEAKER_03

So awesome. Cool. Well, appreciate you guys coming down and talking with me tonight. Great time and fun.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

All right. Well, we're gonna let Brandy and Jay get back to Elevate in Springfield. But for the rest of y'all, we'll be right back. Looking for expert tree care with hometown integrity, look no further than Sangamon Tree Service. They're your trusted local pros, delivering quality workmanship, exceptional customer service, and fair, honest pricing every time. Whether it's trimming, removal, or storm cleanup, their team brings professionalism and care to every job, big or small. Call the name your neighbors trust, Sangaman Tree Service, or visit them today at SangmanTreeService.com. Sangamon Tree Service, rooted in quality, built on trust. Looking for personalized insurance with hometown care, David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agent is here to help you protect what matters most: your family, your home, and your dreams. Whether it's auto, home, life, business, David and his team are proud to serve the Springfield community with trusted advice and reliable coverage. Local service, real relationships, peace of mind. Call today or stop by their office. They can build your dream protection plan together. Call 217-726-6343. Well, thank you for joining us today, everybody. Appreciate you making us a part of your day. Hey, don't forget while you're out on social, check ours out. You can check my personal one out at RobertFarrell at everywhere. Check out those Elevate Springfield pages, those big dog business coaching pages as well. Check us out over on YouTube. Give us a subscribe, give us a like or a follow on any of those channels. We would certainly appreciate it. So, hey, take what you learned today. You bring the discipline and follow through and together. That's right, y'all. We're gonna elevate Springfield. Be great.

SPEAKER_00

When I first walked into Shudokong Karate Club, I was just looking for a way to get stronger. But what I found was so much more. Here we train in traditional karate, the real stuff. Passed down through generations. Every punch, every kata has purpose. I've learned self discipline, confidence, and how to protect myself. Not just in class, but in real life. It's not about being aggressive, it's about being prepared. This is more than a club, it's a way of life. Join us at Shudo Khan. Traditional, powerful, real. TI