Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Jankun.
Hi Melanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Painting Party Diva, a mobile DIY and paint party business, as a way to connect with my community and fulfill a void of loneliness after making a major move to Florida with my family.
After a year of living in Florida, I was completely lost. I didn’t really know anyone other than my in-laws and a few people I had met through my oldest son. I had finally settled into a new role with my job and was able to work from home, however, something was missing. My husband and I had always had a side business but when our third child arrived and we moved, keeping up with that side of our business was very demanding and stressful. My background is art, but I felt a yearning to want to paint, and one thing led to another and you do enough research on the web, ads start following you around.
One of those ads talked about having your own paint party business and I thought well maybe I could do something like that. I had just attended a ceramics paint party and felt it was just the inspiration I needed. I decided to completely step outside my comfort zone and invite a few girls over. I had been lonely long enough and needed friends so I figure it was a way to connect and test the water. No strings attached, just come over enjoy some food, conversation, and let’s paint one of those fun canvas paintings. By the end of the night, 3 of them wanted to host their own party. I didn’t even ask anyone, it did not even cross my mind, I just wanted to see if I could teach people to paint. By the next morning I realized I was onto something that felt inspiring so my husband and I decided to jump right in. He bought the domain that day and set up our website that evening (it helped the hubby was in web design and development at the time). I sent an email to the ladies to let them know and to thank them and signed it, Your Painting Party Diva and the name was born.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think it has been easy but it has pushed me way outside my comfort zone and allowed a lot of growth personally and professionally.
My first year was very slow, but having a website helped me reach people outside of just our town of Apopka. I started with just offering canvas painting options and was so nervous to walk into complete strangers’ houses (if you meet me, I am so shy) but I did it and by the end of the party I felt like they were all family. Something about sharing art brought out my confidence and let me reach people that brought joy to them and myself. It was amazing and scary at the same time. I had no idea when the next party would come and how I could continue to reach people. I ran into people asking about my business but saying they hated canvas paintings because they looked terrible and would not hang them in their homes. I had to slowly break down that doubt in others and show them my way was not so bad after all, and sometimes it is just about the experience of it all.
I did reach out to a few local businesses but I could not find one that wanted to work with me so I could grow my audience. I started to dabble in wood signs and got a little more interest from some local church groups with this as an option. I really would say yes to any project just to get more experience and to showcase. Little by little, word of mouth, and networking and hosting paint nights at my house helped me grow. Then as luck would have it the cutest coffee shop opened in our town, Canon Coffee Apopka, and Tammy the owner was amazing and welcomed me with open arms to use her back room as my new paint party headquarters. This is when my business truly took off and brought in so many new faces.
Then COVID hit as the height of me growing and wondering what would be next for my business. Since I could not host parties in person at first, I started doing paint kits, flash sales, and more live demos to keep my audience involved. When we felt safe, I started doing parties but was so afraid no one would sign up but they did!!! I think so many people wanted to get out and just talk to people. It was a hard time for many but this truly was when I saw my community show up and support us. I was at the point of giving up but they showed up! It was amazing, inspiring, and only pushed us harder to keep working towards our goal to have our own place one day. Three Odd Guys Brewing Apopka, another local business, opened their tap room and welcomed me to host paint parties there too and more new faces came. We also added ceramics and a beautiful new laser cutter, which has been great for our growth.
Looking back what is the most exciting is the community we have built and that they continue to show up and support us. To hear at the end of the workshop that they did not believe they could paint or be crafty and they loved it and wanted to come back made my day. While it seems simple, this business has allowed me to touch people’s lives in a way that brings confidence, gets them to connect with people they have never met, and then walk away being fulfilled is amazing. It is a true form of self-care and good for the soul. I had a lady tell me her husband and son had passed and this was just what she needed. This showed me how much of the experience and interaction we are creating are valued and needed. Moments like that make it all worth it. We need community, we need great conversation, we need self-care, we need each other.
Being able to support and work with some of our local businesses has been amazing for our growth too. Canon Coffee Apopka, Three Odd Guys Brewing, Petals and Stems Market are just a few. Stepping outside of our comfort zone and connecting with these businesses has been instrumental in keeping us going throughout COVID.
Biggest lessons learned, know when to ask for help and to connect with people from all walks of life and business, large and small. I have realized I can’t do it all no matter how much I want to say I did it all. To come this far, I needed my family, all hands on deck, even my 6 year old helps to set up parties. Thank goodness one of my customers, turned side-kick, loved me enough she wanted to step up to help too. With that said it is so important to always stay curious about the people you meet. You just never know who you might meet that will inspire your journey, join you on your journey, or who’s journey you might inspire.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
So this question leads me where we started to where we are going. Because I was able to soak in all the growth, the community, and the people we inspired, it brought about a bigger vision for not only our business but our Apopka community. I have always wanted a space that is permanent, the “if you build it, they will come” plays in my head daily, and now to be able to inspire confidence, creativity, and a feeling of community makes that desire stronger than ever.
I had a crazy vision and then shared my crazy vision, you know the ones we dream up in our heads but are too scared to say out loud for fear of laughter or total shut down from others. Well I shared it a few times and someone listened who might just be as crazy but completely amazing too. We are partnering with First United Methodist Church – Apopka, and are renovating a house on their property to serve as Creative Hub of Apopka, where Painting Party Diva will live permanently to serve our community and those around it. We plan to open our location later this Fall.
We will continue to host our paint parties, DIY workshops, and have most recently added our kids clubs, while also providing a place for local artists and makers to share their talents through exhibitions, sales, and instructional opportunities. We want to encourage everyone to use their gifts and enrich our community through creativity.
Our paint parties consist of the canvas, wood, and or ceramic projects options. We have a variety of wood projects that we design, cut, and construct ourselves. We have a full catalog of canvas painting options as well as ceramics too. We are a one-stop shop for all your crafty and creative workshops.
The best part of our workshops is that we know people need people and use that to create an inviting and positive place to just be you. If you are not crafty you will be by the time you walk out and if you are creative and crafty, it is a place to let your creativity shine and inspire others. We really like to make each experience personal, so that every customer walks away feeling special and really catered too.
We seek out and create opportunities to collaborate with local business owners. From hosting events together to creating one-of-a-kind workshops. Our most popular workshops are Christmas in July and our annual Make & Take Ornament party, we are adding cookie decorating this year to it too. Creating those special moments with families that create tradition is a beautiful thing to watch.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
Work with me: I would love to connect with local artists, makers, creators who want to inspire others and share their craft. Anything I can do to help someone new that just needs that place, that push, that next step I would love to connect. Providing a place to others as a source to grow their own business would be perfect for our newest venture.
Collaborate with me: Let’s plan a collaborative workshop or let’s plan a community art project. Networking and collaboration are so important for our small business community.
Support me: Join one of our open workshops, we have monthly themes but always welcome your Pinterest dreams. You can also host workshops at your place of business or if you have an event such as a birthday party, bridal shower, fundraiser, and more.
Contact Info:
- Email: melanie@jankuncreative.com
- Website: www.paintingpartydiva.com
- Instagram: @paintingpartydiva
- Facebook: @paintingpartydiva
