First Event in the Books! Shop & Sip Third Thursdays Are Here to Stay
Wow. Last night was the first live event at Mad Genius Studios, our converted caboose located 15 minutes from downtown Asheville. I bought the caboose a little over a year ago and it’s been a vacation rental ever since, but something was missing. This special place deserved to be utilized as more than just a place a few people a week enjoyed. See for yourself as my photographer friend snapped over 200 pics that captured all the magic.
In December, I threw a birthday bash and asked everyone to wear adult onesies. My band played their one and only gig (our guitarist and lead singer just moved to Florida), everyone raved about the space, and we squeezed way too many people into the hot tub. That event got me thinking bigger for the caboose. What other types of events could we host here? How could I use it as a space to showcase the amazing talent that makes Western North Carolina such a special place to live, work, and play?
After living in West Asheville for five years and writing about hundreds of amazing entrepreneurs for outlets like Capital at Play, Mountain Xpress, Explore Asheville, and VisitNC, I wanted to create a space where I could celebrate these innovative creatives beyond the page. I will always be a writer first, but who says I can’t wear multiple hats and curate fun, unique events like the one we held last night?
We had five local artists on hand, three of who made live art during the event while live music by Cactus Punch played on the deck—their very first gig as a new band and they totally rocked it! Next to the artists and their art displayed on wood pallet walls and vintage furniture, the new food truck Ego Food Co. set up shop in their adorable aluminum tiny food truck slinging avocado toast, açaí bowls (better than the West Coast! one new fan raved) and kolaches while nearby, Shanti of the incredible-tasting Shanti Elixirs handed out free samples to some new Jun converts. The red-and-white rec barn turned into a pop-up art gallery for the night lit by fairy lights, and in the yard, a fire burned while people played ping pong and cornhole in the yard next to our work-in-progress Mobile Mad Genius Studios, a mini activity bus that’s being converted into a podcast studio and RV.
It was not a perfect night. I would have loved the artists to have made more money. I would have loved to raise more money for Arts for Life, the charity we chose to support for this month’s event. But we had no major snafus unless you call me literally setting up my square and putting together champagne glasses AFTER the event started a snafu (and having to send a friend on a run to the store 30 minutes before kickoff!). But people were having way too much fun interacting with the artists and their friends, dates, or families, watching the live art and music, and chowing down on tasty food and drinks to notice that I was more than a bit frazzled.
My sweet friends kept checking on me as they knew I was stressed but “hiding it well” (probably a lie, but it still felt good to hear in the moment!). I totally botched my little thank you speech and discovered I REALLY suck at speaking through a microphone (gosh you have to get so freaking close!). But it was one of the best days of my life because I was born to connect people, celebrate people, and curate kickass events in part because it jives so well with my other entrepreneurial hat as a business, travel, and food/drink writer.
It felt like we built our own Rome in just a few months and were literally working until the very last minute. But now, next month’s event on June 20 will be a breeze because everything’s renovated, built, and ready to go. We’ll just be setting up and adding little touches because I learned about 20 lessons over the three hours. I connected with some super cool people who had all kinds of ideas for unique events they want to co-host or curate at this charming little caboose tucked away in the trees surrounded by mountains with some truly incredible sunsets—and photo ops!
This morning, even though I was dog-tired from working pretty much around the clock the last few weeks (and still recovering from the LEAF music festival in Black Mountain), I popped out of bed at six and cleaned up the yard as we have guests checking in to stay for the weekend. Then I stopped at our local bakery, Malvern Hills Bakery, and got some big fat slices of quiche, a chocolate mousse, and a sausage roll to celebrate last night’s wonderfulness.
I thought I’d come home and sleep, but that still hasn’t happened 12 hours later as I’ve been too excited reaching out to people about next month’s event, connecting with people about new events, responding to folks who were sad to miss it but said they can’t wait until next month’s, and rebuilding this website and the Facebook page for Mad Genius Studios. I feel more alive than maybe I ever have because I truly know that I am onto something special with this space and concept. All the feedback, last night’s vibe, and the fact that the band played almost an extra hour (and no one was in any hurry to leave), all point that I’m on the right path and doing the right thing because it felt amazing to see the artist’s in action, the band jamming, the food truck whipping up deliciousness, and Shanti making people fall in love with Jun. And it felt so wonderful to create an event and a space that my friends and the other guests clearly enjoyed so much and weren’t shy about saying so.
To everyone that participated, came, or sent love from afar, I can’t express how much it means to me to have your support as I tackle this crazy new venture and work hard to make it something really special for years (decades?) to come. And I can’t WAIT to find my next cool quirky space that can be Mad Genius Studios 2 with a totally different vibe and perhaps help lift up another community of artists, makers, movers and shakers.
So, be on the lookout for all sorts of curated events like outdoor movie nights, intimate concerts, workshops, business retreats, Wednesday yoga classes and yoga retreats, women entrepreneur networking, panels about important topics, theme nights, pop-up dinners and brunches, and whatever other cool, quirky events we can come up with (I really want a cute mechanic to come teach a class of ladies how to do all the things I should already know how to do, like change my oil and tires and spark plugs with a glass of bubbles in my hand, of course). Follow us on Facebook to stay updated!
So if you’re reading this and have an idea for an event, hit me up at madgeniusstudios@gmail.com and let’s talk! I want to do all the things with all the creative awesome people who make Asheville what it is, a truly special place that I am so lucky to have discovered six years ago. Here’s to the next six!
And a huge thank you to Positive Pine Studios, A Higher Dimension, Queen Rose Jewelry, Sarah of the Shire Paints, JP Astrophotography, Ego Food Co., Shanti Elixirs, and Cactus Punch for making the night so very magical. Y’all made this girl’s dreams come true :)
