Today we’d like to introduce you to Teanna Hughes.
Teanna, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Luxe Tee party was extracted from a chapter of my mother’s story. As a single parent my mom overcompensated the absence of my father by seemingly and effortlessly celebrating us extravagantly all the while creatively overcoming a lack of finances. I have had a few precious life experiences in my journey to Tee Party. First, my sister, a single parent wanted to pass down our traditional “over the top” style of celebration to my nephew. However, we abruptly found out that the dream birthday party that we planned was unaffordable. Even the balloon garland we wanted for my nephew was out of reach. I began figuring out how to do it on our budget and unintentionally became a balloon stylist. My nephews’ party began to open my warm market and I would get referral bookings by the word of mouth of satisfied clients. When I would set up my balloon artistry at venues, I would get caught up in the enthusiasm of the celebration and contribute my ideas to the event design. This led me to discover a passion for event designs. I continued perfecting my skills, with tutorials and used that knowledge to design my boyfriend’s 30th birthday party. It was well received by the guest, but it stealthily was the setting for my future husband’s wedding proposal. My warm market continued to grow as friends of friends were referred for my services. The next test was our engagement party where I had to work with and develop partnerships with vendors. I could not believe the compliments that the guest had given, and more referrals came for future business. My biggest feature by far was designing my dream wedding. It was the cultivation of everything I had learned and a stretch of more than I thought I could accomplish. I had been told so often that my dream was out of reach. But when it was over, and I looked back it was a feeling of euphoria that I want to give others who have been told that their dream is unaffordable. This is the passion behind Luxe Tee Party.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
At first it was just a hobby and it was fun. As it evolved into a business, I had to begin to train myself to trust my instincts. I had to trust that I could create something that I had never produced. I had entered a new world where I had to establish vendor partnership. I had to do more networking and introducing my business to new clients beyond my warm market. I also had to learn to promote my business creatively. I had to balance inventory and manage schedules as well as profit. It thrust me into a whole new realm, and it is ever expanding even with this interviewed opportunity.
Luxe Tee Party – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My business is called Luxe Tee party I am a balloon stylist/event designer. I bring my clients vision to life. As a balloon stylist I accentuate their vision by that adding a little touch of “special” to their event. The artistry is something beautiful for any occasion. My team will come out and set up the balloon garland of our collaborated choice at your predesignated time.
As an event designer, we partner with you by taking your vision and incorporating our ideas and visuals to help bring your party to life. We infuse your vision with our accents and present it to you. Our team comes out to your venue transforming it into something luxurious. Our specialty is enabling our clients to have a beautiful event on a budget. When it came to my wedding everybody kept calling me “baby Kim K” Kim Kardashian because I had all these big plans. I was constantly deflated because I was often told that my vision was too expensive. However, when our clients present their dream, we use creativity and ingenuity to rival quotes from our competitors. We design high end looks within a budget which translates into luxury baby showers, luxury birthday parties, luxury special events etc. My job as an event designer and balloon stylist is to create something beautiful on a budget.
I think the thing that I’m most proud of is that we are probably the little engine that could. I started this off as a hobby. Out of a genuine desire to help people create what they love on a budget. I think that’s what sets me apart because you just need to get it done by any means and if it’s over the budget, we need to get creative and figure it out. I don’t like to have to tell my clients “no” because that is not what I want to hear about my dream. When I was going through my wedding process, I didn’t want to hear No. I wanted you to figure it out. If the table cost $500 give me that same look for $200, so I am all about making something beautiful on a budget. I think that’s what sets me apart cause a lot of people will turn you away. That “no” became a gift and a curse because it pushed me to get creative and come up with alternatives. I think all designers/planners need to have alternatives like “ok we can’t do this but were going to do something similar. We’re going to give you a touch of this. I don’t think you should ever tell your customers that their dream is out of reach.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think happiness defines your success. The criteria markers that I have set are as follows:
Passion: When it comes to business success, I believe people should do things that they love and find an outlet to supply a demand in an industry. I think that’s how you arrive at a success mindset of overcoming the odds of adversity that come with being a business owner. To me passion is something that’s important because so many people are doing things that they hate just to get a dollar.
Talent/Gift: I feel that once you understand your uniqueness and niche you can build around what you are naturally gifted to do. You may have to develop, cultivate, educate yourself constantly evolving in a better version of your abilities being free to explore current trends, new opportunities, new avenues and insights of better serving the current market.
Fulfillment: I enjoy my industry. I am passionate about seeing my customers happy. In fact, once I have completed my contracted services, it gives me joy to see my customer’s facial expressions and their complimentary appreciation of my artistry. Sometimes I feel the joy like it’s my own event, like it’s me in the shoes of my clients. I leave with a smile knowing that I just made someone happy.
Profitability: Once it became more than a hobby, I had to consider the investment of my time was a valuable commodity. It would take some time from my family and personal time. My time is valuable and so making a profit worth my time is important to me. Although I have done this joyously as a hobby for free, I could no longer invest so much time away from my family.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 5627323199
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luxe_teeparty
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LUXETEEPARTY/
Image Credit:
Photographed by: Tiffini Thigpen
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
