Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsey Rogers.
Chelsey, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Chelsey Rogers and I am a wife to Josh Rogers and we have a son, Carter, who is 8 years old. To let you know my background, I am a high school art teacher in Frisco, TX by day and I also teach painting classes as a side business. I started these classes about 6 years ago. I started off painting as a hobby and then I thought it’d be fun to teach or paint with others. When I started I lived in Texarkana, TX and “painting parties” really wasn’t a thing at that time. The bigger paint/sip shops hadn’t come in yet and so it was a fresh idea. When I moved to the DFW area about 3 years ago it was hard to reestablish those connections and build new relationships.
Eventually, I began advertising and then word-of-mouth really helped boost my business. I now live in Frisco, TX and my market is typically in Frisco and surrounding communities. What I’m known for is offering reasonable prices to set up in your home with some of your closest friends and teaching you how to paint whatever you choose. I just recently started working with a few businesses in Frisco and Little Elm to offer classes that are available to the public. I feel like this is a game changer for my business.
I’m usually just waiting for people to contact me to set up a party, but these I can control and also work with the businesses to provide a more fun experience that might include drinks and snacks. My most recent business I’ve partnered with is Margarita Hut To-Go in Little Elm. I’m able to offer the class for a little higher price but also include the participant’s first drink and snacks in the ticket. These classes make for a very fun time but also help out other local businesses at the same time.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think the only obstacle I’ve faced is moving from one city to another. For a while, we lived in downtown Plano and I knew no one. I had no way of knowing who to advertise to so that was hard. We moved to Princeton, TX and because it was a smaller town I had an easier time advertising. We ended up moving to Frisco about a year ago for my husband’s job and it has been fairly easy promoting in Frisco. I’m apart of several Facebook groups that allow me to post new events that I am hosting.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
ColorHype is a painting party business. Like I’ve said, I’m known for personal parties in homes. Sometimes it can be pricier to go to your local painting shop so I lower my cost (because I have no overhead) and come to you. Some people even rent out a location but most of the time it’s at their kitchen table with their closest friends or family. They provide the drinks and food and I just show up to teach. My main type of party is birthdays for kids/teenagers.
I also do a lot of holiday parties in December. ColorHype is now offering adult classes at Margarita Hut To-Go in Little Elm, TX and kids/teens parties at Sew Fun Studios in downtown Frisco. I think I’m most proud that I’ve been able to do most of this on my own. My husband, Josh, and my son, Carter, really help me out a lot with setting up and preparation so obviously it’s not completely on my own! Ha!
They are great supporters though. If I worked with a local art shop I think I wouldn’t have as much flexibility as I do right now. So I’m very happy I’ve been able to make it work without joining another company.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was very shy. I didn’t break out of that shyness until high school. I actually didn’t even take art classes in high school.
Surprisingly my fine arts credit was theater arts. I took my first art class in college and fell in love. My teacher was my neighbor growing up and I remember always driving by their house and in the summer she would open the doors to her 2nd-floor art studio and you could see her easel set up and pieces hung all over the room. My siblings and I might have thrown a ball into their yard a few times just so we could go walk through the house and marvel at her beautiful pieces – sorry Mrs. Farris! Ha! This sparked an interest that never really went away and is more alive than ever now.
I went on to get my Masters in Business Admin. I worked in banking for about 6 years but I knew there was something missing. I enjoyed my jobs and I dearly loved the people I worked with, but I felt like there was something else I needed to do. During my banking years, I began teaching myself different art styles and self-taught in the beginning. When I started my painting business I didn’t have a ton of experience but I worked through it and people began requesting me to come to their churches and homes. The years after I really began to fine tune my art skills.
Taking online classes from artists and going to local ceramic art houses and taking courses in the summer. I got my first high school art job 3 years ago in Princeton, TX. I was able to teach there and then I also taught a class for about 40 elementary students at my son’s school once a week for a semester. I say all this to say I’m an ever-evolving artist. I feel inadequate sometimes that I didn’t go to a fancy art school and have all the credentials some of my coworkers have but my passion, I feel, is what has allowed me to advance so far in my day job and with ColorHype as well.
Pricing:
- Personal Painting Parties (In-Home or your location of choice): $20 / person with a minimum of 10.
- Paint your Pet Painting Parties (In-Home or your location of choice): $30 /person with a minimum of 10.
- Margarita Hut To-Go Parties (Monthly): $40 / person includes a margarita and snacks. Events can be found on my facebook page or Eventbrite.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 9037331484
- Email: rogers_chelsey@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @paintwithcolorhype
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/paintwithcolorhype
Image Credit:
Christa Robey Photography
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