http://www.paintyourselfsilly.net/
If your business is named Paint Yourself Silly, you must have a great sense of fun. So I was pretty enthused about the opportunity to road trip through Nebraska and Kansas with Jenn Bassen.
The adventure began with a visit to Jenn’s 11-year-old studio at the Haymarket in downtown Lincoln. The studio is bursting with life, color and inspiration in even the tiniest places. It’s one of those places that you can go to every day and something new pops out at you each time. The staff, which could be affectionately called the Silly team, is sensational. They make you feel welcome and any friend of Jenn’s is a friend of theirs too.
As I admired the painted pieces around the studio and I jokingly insinuated that I would love to have a particular piece. Generously and without a second thought, Jenn handed me the piece and pronounced it mine. That lovely piece created by Jenn herself, is now in my home and is a constant reminder of Jenn’s creative spirit.
No stranger to the entrepreneurial lifestyle, Jenn and her husband Trevor opened Canine Consultants & Pet Supply in 1991; a company which provides dog training and retails pet food and supplies. So opening another business wasn’t a stretch.
Jenn has always loved art. She studied it in college and has had the pleasure of always being surrounded by talented people. When her brother was in college he made a mug for her -- that simple gift inspired a new business venture. Jenn thought it would be cool to have a place where people could create art and have access to art supplies. Having read about pottery she bought a kiln and started experimenting. At the time, she had not heard of the paint-your-own pottery concept but had learned that bisque shapes were available and were ready to paint.
When a studio called Creative Clayworks opened Jenn told the owner that she would love to buy the business if they decided to sell. In the meantime, Jenn hosted painting parties in her house and ultimately decided that she could open a studio on her own and run it the way she saw it. Thanks to Jenn’s drive (and one banker that could see the validity of Jenn’s dream) allowed her to move forward with her desire to make art accessible to many people. Seven years after receiving the hand-made mug from her brother, Jenn opened Paint Yourself Silly. Seven years later, she opened her second studio in the Pioneer Woods area in Lincoln.
One of the things I admire about Jenn is that she can be inspired by others, but remains true to her own vision of how things can be. She is always open to new ideas and has a realistic yet unique view of things. Jenn is brave enough to put her own twist on her approach to life, relationships and to her business. That takes courage.
The Paint Yourself Silly studios focus on fired arts – primarily paint-your-own pottery, finished ware and glass fusing. They do a lot of custom work and anything that Jenn creates is for sale.
Jenn loves that the fired arts they provide in her studios appeal to different types of people. While painting is certainly the most popular choice, she notes that customers that have a more detailed approach to creativity seem to prefer glass fusing since it is a more precise art than painting. As Jenn says, “It might look like spray painted macaroni when you put it in the kiln, but it comes out awesome.”
It is Jenn’s hope that everyone has a strong sense of welcome and belonging when they come to her studios. She is personal and playful and enjoys making others happy and comfortable. When in one of the studios, one cannot help but feeling that Paint Yourself Silly is where they belong at that very moment. She loves having a place where people can come to create, celebrate and even play hooky!
One of her favorite things about the industry is, “Knowing all these wonderful, creative, capable people.” How cool that we are in an industry of people that truly care about each other’s success and are willing to share their ideas and experiences with their colleagues? When Jenn began developing relationships with other studio owners she thought “these are my people.” She even traveled to Vietnam with a friend that she met through CCSA (Contemporary Ceramic Studios Association) to spend time with children in an orphanage. We are in a truly unique industry when we can forge relationships like that.
To Jenn, Silly’s (as she calls it) is not just a business, it’s personal. The studios are as much a part of her life as her family and she values her relationship with her employees. Her approachable style allows her employees to talk to her about anything; she likes to think that no subject is taboo. She enjoys the flexibility that owning her own studio provides and thanks to fantastic employees, she has been able to work behind the scenes more in the past few years.
Paint Yourself Silly is an active force in the community. They work on projects with schools, museums and the zoo and they donate time, energy and goods wherever possible. Like many studios Jenn allows WIPs (works in progress) to be stored in her studio. True to the Silly way of doing things there is a slight twist. Jenn washes the paint off the pieces, fires them and then hosts a painting event for at risk/ underprivileged kids.
One of my favorite questions in the studio spotlight is “tell me something unique about you.” Jenn’s answer…Roller Derby! Jenn is a member of the No Coast Derby Girls and loves it! On a recent trip to Bisque Imports she even brought her skates! She is a truly unique individual and lets others be unique too. She embraces the fact that there are so many types of people in the world and the fact that she gets to enjoy them each day.
If more people subscribed to Jenn’s joyful attitude and ability to put a twist on what she says to ensure it comes out in the nicest possible way, we would surely live with a little more happiness and a better quality of life. A phrase that Jenn spoke reminded me of something my grandmother always told me, “Remember to be kind.” What a great way to live!
I spent a lot of time with Jenn during our road trip through Nebraska and Kansas -- we talked a lot. One of the points that Jenn brought up really stands out to me. She said, “I think if you have boundless energy for things you love to do, if you love something it tends to flourish. People sense that.”
That sentiment is so true and is why I like to say -- do what you love, love what you do.
To learn more about Jenn and Paint Yourself Silly, visit http://www.paintyourselfsilly.net/
Cheers!
