Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Soraya.
Hi Helen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It all began because of our daughter, Tallulah. I was hosting her first birthday party in 2017 and struggling to find something for entertainment for her. I was told ‘oh, the first birthday is for you’, but I really wanted something for her. I ended up getting a wonderful girl who did some music, bubbles and puppets, and the party of one year old just sat and stared at her or got bored and crawled off -their attention spans being that of, well… one year old’s. All the parents just chasing the babies around and I felt a bit defeated that I hadn’t provided something fun for her to have on her special day. I then found soft play and realized how much kids loved the exploration of it. Climbing, sliding, and even just crawling around on it. So I decided to start a mobile soft play business SOFT PLAY LA taking small play areas and ball pits to people’s parties, so the kids are not only entertained but also in a safe, designated gated area. It was exactly what I wished I’d found for my daughter’s first birthday. So I knew there must be like-minded mama’s out there wanted to find this concept for their parties.
Since then we have grown. In size of equipment as well as the amount of parties we service. In Sept 2019, I had to bring my husband on board and look for staff to cope with the expansion. I used to pack it all in the back of my car – now, every weekend, we have two vans out for deliveries.
For me, I get so much joy from the creative side of it, matching and coordinating colors to people’s themes and seeing that come to life, knowing it will be the hit of the party. People in LA really go all out for celebrations, and we coordinate with balloons, themes and outfits, etc, but the beauty of soft play is that it also is so aesthetically pleasing alone and works perfectly without any decor too. It’s really well received, and thankfully, we were able to adapt during the pandemic to contactless delivery so that parents could still celebrate and have a magical birthday in the safety of their back yard knowing the equipment was sanitized just for their event.
Our new and next stage of Soft Play LA is our studio in North Hollywood. Although having setbacks due to covid, we are now open and offering classes for little ones that include a play in the soft play area. We realize that many kids haven’t been in a social environment during the pandemic, and now people are ready to step outside their door; we want to provide somewhere that is safe and fun for their children to go. We host music classes with our wonderful teacher, which are followed by a play in the soft play studio. Soft play has many benefits as well as being fun, including developing gross and fine motor skills and cognitive growth. So we are excited that parents can feel like they have an activity for their little ones that is also beneficial for them educationally. It’s wonderful for us because we now also have an almost 1-year-old, so we get to do the classes alongside new mums and see their children’s social development blossom after being pandemic-born babies and having a lack of contact for the last year.
And guess what? I get to do a little soft play party for our second daughter on her first birthday and Tallulah has enjoyed her soft play birthdays for the last four years!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I feel like there’s challenges every day! Ha! We were set to open the studio March 2020. So obviously, covid hit us hard there and we’re only just opening. We also had a baby in July 2020, so when we envisioned taking time off for that, we were just trying to get back at it after lockdowns, unsure how things would be and realizing how we could be safe with the setups and provide families with some much needed joyful moments. Every weekend there is some sort of challenge. Up until this year, we rented vans – so would never fully know the size of the van we would be getting and trying to figure out how to pack them each week with what soft play sets I’d rented. I feel like my misspent youth playing Tetris really paid off!
I think the biggest challenge is balancing the kids with the business. Sometimes the weekends are chaos with me holding the baby packing a van full of soft play while our 5-year-old is playing forts in the garage next to me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I think the strength of Soft Play LA lies in the unique colors we offer and the customer service. I try to do everything I can to make each party special and the execution of our side things run smoothly. Parties can be stressful and I like to eliminate any stress attached to the kid’s entertainment.
What matters most to you?
At the end of the day, I share a common interest with my clients. Our children, and wanting to give them joy. It’s part of being a parent and relating to other parents. I feel we’ve established the mobile soft play now and now; because of covid, I really want to provide a safe place for babies like ours who haven’t had the social interactions kids normally have by this age. Small classes parents feel safe at and also a place for them to come and meet new parents like themselves. It’s tough being a new parent, let alone during a pandemic and on your own. I want to eventually build a community with classes for kids and fitness classes for parents while their kids play. I think it could help parents in so many aspects and would be so fulfilling to provide.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.softplayla.com
- Instagram: softplayla
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/softplayla/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/soft-play-la-los-angeles-2
Image Credits:
Elsie Rose Photography
