Staci and I recently came together with a new storefront business that just opened in Charles Town, West Virginia called Betts and Coops Boutique. Betts is named after Bethany, the owner, and Coops is named after her little sweet terrier named Cooper. Bethany stated her business in 2018, I believe, as a mobile boutique. This November she opened a retail brick and mortar (a storefront) right on Main Street in Charles Town just in time for Black Friday.
Bethany Starkey and her little terrier had a dream. She wanted to own a boutique! Although Bethany had built up her mobile boutique by bringing the trendy clothing line to the public through events, the idea of having a retail store on main street along with her mobile boutique was something that has always been one of her goals. She is such an amazing entrepreneur. Whatever she sets her mind to do, she goes after it with her whole heart. She worked really hard to get this storefront ready and open by Black Friday, and it has been successful ever since.
Once open, she began looking for fun ways to serve her customers and give them some Christmas joy. Her idea was to give them new experiences during this holiday season and draw people in from thhttps://www.danidphotography.com/e community to enjoy these fun times together. Experiences are always memory makers. We all could use some fun memories!
First, she scheduled a photo shoot. Not just any photo shoot. She used downtown Charles Town as her backdrop. Photos with local models wearing her clothing and accessories right there on the sidewalk or by a brick front or any other interesting backdrop along this quaint main street. She used local women and girls. I mean who doesn’t want to be a part of a real photo shoot where you get to model the latest fashion from head to toe as a professional photographer, https://www.danidphotography.com/ clicks away while you use fun props such as snow, hats, and set designs. To see more of the photo shoot, check out her Facebook page Betts and Coops Boutique https://www.facebook.com/bettsandcoopsboutique.
Or how about a Pajama Party! Yes, that is right, on December 2nd, Betts and Coops offered a family pajama night. During this event, you could come and shop for matching pj’s for you and your little ones or the whole family. During this event, the store offered hot cocoa and a festive movie for all to enjoy! I mean, everyone needs to have matching PJs for those Christmas family photos.
What about the Grinch? Isn’t the Grinch the latest insert into our holiday fun? Not to be idle, Betts and Coops added the Grinch evening. She had lots of Grinch clothing and accessories to share as she invited the community to come on down and enjoy some Grinch punch, cookies, and shop all things Grinch. It was looking very green!
But Cooper wanted a little more. So together they thought a paint party was just the thing! How about choosing something from the cow family Cooper thought. Yes, the Highland Cow was a great choice. And her is where we enter, Create and Celebrate Art is her to bring Joy to You. Together we offered the Highland Holiday Cow Paint Night. And it did not disappoint! There is something special about people getting together to paint a Highland Cow. But when we paint a Holiday Highland Cow it is over the top!
Staci and I were so excited to be a part of the energy and community surrounding this new retail store. Bethany and Staci came up with the idea to offer the Holiday Highland Cow Paint Night. From the time our sample of the Holiday Highlander went on display, in the store and on our site, we knew this was going to be amazing. To make sign up easy, we included a QR Code on the display easel. We offered a discounted price of $35. We added value by giving a $5 store coupon to each painter. We knew this one would fill up fast as our limit was 20! The space was limited because the room would only hold 20 painters using these 16” x 20” canvases. Given the size of the canvas, in this event, our painters stood to paint instead of sitting. They were a little surprised at this, but they were determined to paint this adorable cow, so they quickly got started. They were all such troopers!
Staci and I are experienced painters so painting standing up is no big deal; but, for someone who isn’t used to it it can be a challenge. Bethany’s beautiful store allowed our painters to take a break, browse the racks, and get some punch and cookies that she had specially made to serve them.
I don’t know if you have ever been to a paint party before, but if you have, let me tell you that our Paint Parties, by Create & Celebrate Art, are not your average paint event. You see, there are two of us. Our goal is that every painter leaves with a great painting. Our mission is to show every painter that they have it in them to create art. We have heard many times, “I can’t paint. I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. I am sure it will look awful.” These are just the painters we love to have!
You see, we know that every person has it in them to create. And once they do create, they celebrate! We celebrate right alongside of them. They just need to have a good teacher. Someone to break down each component and guide them along step by step.
Because there are two of us, we are able to pay special attention to every painter. We try to make it a personal experience, not just a “everyone go to step two” event. If we see that you have finished step one, we come over and guide you to step two. Our desire is that you enjoy the process. We don’t want anyone to stress if there is a mess up! Every painting can be fixed. All of us have mess ups. The goal is to fix it and move on. No one will ever know.
We have served hundreds of painters over the three years we have been in business. It is our greatest pleasure to see each one finish their painting and walk out with a painting they are proud to take home.
So, what is so special about panting together? For Staci and me, it is getting to serve our painters by giving them a fun night out to unwind and enjoy creating something fun. For the painters, it is a way to engage the creative side of their mind, forget the day’s events, and have some fun. If you were a fly in the room you could watch as groups that came together laughed at how their cow looked at any given time only to smile with joy when it all came together. You would hear me, or Staci say, “Trust the process, you aren’t finished yet, it will come together”. Someone else might say, “Oh no! I painted the hat the wrong color!” We step in and say, “No worries, we have baby wipes to the rescue”.
If the painters take the time to come up for air, they begin looking at the way their neighbors painted their cow. They get inspired as they look at how others create and take changes with the paint, glitter, and snow. For instance, maybe someone added glitter everywhere, or made snowflakes by “flicking the brush” or put snow on the Christmas bulbs. Not any two Highland Cows looked alike. You see, each painter brings their own unique blends of color, paint strokes, embellishments such as glitter or no glitter, snow or no snow, winking eye or sleepy eye or bright eye…. I could go on and on.
At Create and Celebrate Art we want to bring Joy to You. At Betts and Coops Boutique, Bethany and Cooper want to bring bling to you! I am sure this isn’t the last paint night we will have with this new storefront in the beautiful town of Charles Town. So Keep an eye on our Facebook pages, Create & Celebrate Art and Betts and Coops Boutique for our upcoming events when Bethany lands at her permanent location of 115 W Main Street Charles Town, WV.
Thank you Painters or should I say Artists!
Thank you Betts and Coops Boutique for such a wonderful paint night event!
We are blessed because of you.