1 Year Anniversary for Expressions Body Art and Design!
Please excuse this emotional post, but I cannot help it! A little over a year ago my daughter and I took the leap of faith and started this idea of having our own body art business. I had 15 years of body art experience in Central Illinois and my daughter Abby had just started working beside me when we decided to do this. We started from the ground up with the name, logo, identity, mission and vision statements and a business plan that seemed like it was something out of a dream, but if you can dream it, you can build it.
We landed on Expressions Body Art and Design for a name because being able to EXPRESS YOUSELF in any fun and creative way was part of our mission, and it didn’t lock us into one particular art form, the name allowed us to grow and break ground in anything new that we may want to venture into. We started with face painting and glitter tattoos, just the two of us. Our identity was built, the website developed (that’s my other, other business), google, marketing…all the stuff was done, and we were ready to launch on August 1, 2023. Quickly we needed to expand as the events were coming in and we added long time friend Lauren, who has worked beside me for those 15 years. Abby’s EIU roommate Audrey is an artist studying graphic design, and soon she was trained and onboard. Then Lauren’s daughter Lila, also an EIU student, started with glitter tattoos and quickly picked up face painting and was HOOKED. The busier we got, the faster the momentum, the more we added. Alli, Eliot, Karla, Karen, Tori, Katie, (another) Audrey, and additional family members up in Michigan also are trained and assist when needed. We have this amazing TEAM of creative talent that I am SO DAMN PROUD OF working alongside. Each person brings an element of creativity into this mix along with brilliant ideas to help better the business.
Along with the team members, we have added hair tinsel and henna tattoo art (being trained by a professional from Bangladesh) as we grew.
We have 4 families working together. 2 Mother/Daughter teams, 1 Mother/Daughter/Son team and a team of Sisters, makes a family inside a family. The hard part of this business is how much time you spend AWAY from your family, but when you involve the ones, you love and they work alongside you, what a blessing that becomes.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include the referrals from Doug Smith of The Unique Twist and Twisting Crew that truly helped launch us as well.
As I reflect on the past 12 months, I am just in awe of what we have all built and we are just getting started. We train, we listen, we evolve, we expand, and we reflect, all in the effort of process improvement. We have added a WAIT LIST to our line management process for those well attended events that nobody wants to spend valuable time waiting when they can have a place in line while experiencing other things. We have other ideas in the cooker and cannot wait to share.
As we pull back and look at the BIG PICTURE, what is most important to us is the experience we offer. We want to give and bring JOY, HAPPINESS and a bit of FUN while assisting others with the ability to EXPRESS THEMSELVES. A fun kitty face, a customized henna tattoo, some sparkle with glitter or some fun with hair tinsel is just part of the experience. The interaction, the connections, the smiles that light us up as the tiger looks at themselves for the first time in the mirror and gives out a ROAR…that’s what we are about. HOW YOU FEEL is what is important to us.
We love what we do. Our “tag line” is Gratitude is Our Attitude and that is 100% spot on that we are SO GRATEFUL for the opportunities we have had in the last 12 months. THANK YOU to ALL of you that have shared your events with us!
As I conclude this anniversary post, I want to shout out to ALL the team members that have believed in me, in the mission and vision of Expressions Body Art and Design and to all the clients we have had the honor of serving. I am GIDDY at the thought of what the next 12 months will bring.
In Gratitude,
Holly Johnson
Owner/Co-Founder/Artist