The Place: Easely Amused/design c0:op, 2324 Lamar Blvd., Austin TX 78704

The Cup: If you can believe it, there was no cup. I know, I know! I had intentions of picking up some coffee on my way to the meeting, but my earlier meeting ran over…blah, blah, blah. Bottom line, no coffee. But the conversation was so engaging, and Bridget is so full of energy, who needed caffeine!?!

Background: This one goes a few layers deep. First off, pictured in the photo with Bridget is Cup 25, Cooper Veazey. When he and I met, many moons and 46 cups ago, he told me about his fabulous girlfriend. The way he described her made me want her as my friend. Full of passion for life and a love for people; and as creative as they come! We decided a couples dinner was in order, and I’m ashamed to admit, we’ve yet to execute. It’s totally happening in 2013 though! Mark my words.

Coop and I have shared a few cups since our first and have become pals. So when he told me that Bridget, who owns a business in her home state of Mississippi, was opening another location right here in Austin, I couldn’t wait to check it out and support her.

Easely Amused is an instructor-led art-a-palooza. OK, not the official description, but if you conjured up an image of blank canvases turning into color-infused, recognizable art, often fueled by copious amounts of wine (it’s BYOB – so bring your 2 buck Chuck to the party!) you’d be close. Just add in a little feisty ball of energy at the front of the room shouting out encouragement and hilariousness, all in a very Southern, Mississippi drawl, and you’re getting closer. Truth is, you’ve got to experience it for yourself. And if you’ve been to a painting class before, I can almost guarantee this is nothing like that! So. Much. Fun!

How do I know? Cup 38, Serena Lissy (who Cooper introduced me to) and I decided to check out Easely Amused one evening a take a class. I know you’re eager to see our creative masterpieces. OK, since you asked! Oh, and I can’t speak for Serena, but I’ll tell you that my painting could be hanging in your house, for the right price. Just sayin’. 

How did this Mississippi Southern Belle find herself in Austin, running a small business, that’s about to get twice the size? You’ll soon find out, but first, some:

Common Grounds:

1. What’s a food you can’t live without? Cheese.
2. What is something you’ll regret not doing, if you don’t do it? That may be a question that keeps me motivated; that keeps me going. I am definitely a “doer”. I am not the person on the committee who just comes to the meetings and can talk about things ad nauseum. I’m not a planner. I just have to say, “You know what, let’s do this. Let’s go and let’s start putting things together.” Every time I tell my family I’m going to start a new business, they’re like, “Well, that’s what she’s going to do. That’s just what she does. We’re not going to be able to talk her out of it. She’s made up her mind, so she’s going to do it.” I would have regretted moving to Austin and not starting a business here. Not bringing Easely Amused to Austin and not venturing one step further and bringing this new vision; I think I would have regretted that.
3. How did you make your first buck? I’ve been working since I was able to work. Besides babysitting, my first buck came from working at a little gift shop called Fun’s A Poppin’. {Bridget chuckles as she tells me the name.} We sold balloons and popcorn. I was 15 and had just gotten my driver’s license. I painted names on popcorn tins. Who knew I’d be doing it for the rest of my life!
4. What’s the best gift you ever got? A baby grand piano for my 30th birthday. I have played piano since I was five. I taught piano lessons for eight years. I would love to get back into it. I love teaching music to kids and adults.
5. What was your favorite TV show as a kid? Cosby Show or Mickey Mouse Club. {When I tell Bridget that we didn’t have the Disney Channel at our house, she tells me they didn’t have MTV at theirs. Why? Well, her mom caught her little sister watching a Whitesnake video and that was the end of that. Ouch!}
6. What is the best compliment you ever got? Somebody told me I had a really good spirit about me. I thought that was a really nice compliment. I don’t really know what that means, and I think that’s why I like it. It’s kind of mysterious.
7. If you could swap lives with someone for a day, who would you pick? Katy Perry. Every time I see her doing something crazy, I kinda feel like I could’ve done that if I had put my mind to it. I love her. {For a recent birthday, Bridget made all her friends go to a Katy Perry concert with her – and they all had to wear blue wigs and peacock earrings. They all dressed up crazy and had a great time.} I love that she’s carefree; I love to sing and dance. It’s the Leo in me – I guess I like to entertain. She appeals to the 13 year old in me.
8. What’s the best place to eat in Austin? Perla’s.

I’m always interested in knowing how people got to Austin; why they’re here. Like many, myself included, Bridget says “Austin called me.” She was running three successful businesses in the Jackson, MS metro area – where she grew up. But, she says, “I needed a change.” So when her sister enrolled in nurse practitioner  school in Austin, Bridget decided to visit. She didn’t pack up her things and move to Austin after that first visit. She did after the second though.

Shortly after moving here, Bridget was combing the job postings on Craigslist and found an opportunity that sounded perfect – a store manager for Jonathan Adler. Bridget says, “I loved Jonathan Adler and I didn’t even know he had stores.” She took the management job and spent the next year opening a Dallas store, the store in Austin and traveling the country visiting and opening up other stores.

Experienced in opening new businesses, Bridget says it was interesting to see it happening on such a large scale. She enjoyed her job, but missed that hands-on, creative design component that she was so excellent at. Plus, she really, really missed teaching art.

Let us back up to 2009, when Bridget launched a business, accidentally. Bridget had a four-year-old thriving interior design business that she loved. Her mom was working with her full-time as her seamstress, and they was staying very busy with client work. They had a great studio space and downstairs was a garage. One day, she got the idea to host an event in the garage space, one evening a week, that would affectionately be referred to as Grown-Up Girl Scouts. She began by inviting people to come and make a centerpiece for Thanksgiving. She went out and bought all the supplies and the ladies just showed up ready to learn to make the decoration.

Next, they did lamp make-overs. Gals brought their ugly lamps in and they went home with something far more fabulous than they walked in with. {Wine helps!}  Eventually, people started saying they wanted art to hang on their walls, so Bridget began leading painting classes. It became so popular, she added a second night. Then another. Another, and eventually, a new location. The new location was so cool, she had to upgrade the original location, because the garage just wasn’t cutting it compared to the new digs. At one point, she had a staff of 15 between the two locations, and she maintained her design business as well. And this is the origination story of Easely Amused. Pretty cool!

Fast forward  to 2012 and Bridget, who enjoys working at Jonathan Adler, is feeling the familiar call to start an Easely Amused in Austin. She noodled the idea around for a while and looked all over town for the perfect space, eventually landing on a location on the super-popular South Lamar. She was about to sign paperwork for a small studio, when the owner told her the large space next door just opened up. Immediately, the words, “I’ll take it!” flew from her mouth, even though it’s way more space than she needed. She didn’t care – the space was perfect!

And it is. Especially now that she’s adding yet another business to her growing entrepreneur portfolio. design co:op is launching Nov. 30th and as we sit down for this interview, it’s already coming together nicely.

The new business is a home decor/gift shop that will feature creations from Southern artists, with an emphasis on groovy finds from Austin makers. Bridget says she’s a huge purveyor of goods on Etsy. She has found many of her artists on the site. Bridget says, “I love to touch and feel something. We’ve moved away from that, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. I’m excited for the store to be a showroom for handmade stuff.”

Already, I’m in love with an affordable line of handmade candles that smell amazing and are in the most gorgeous glass jars. Also featured on my hot list: Christmas trees made out of rolled-up recycled newspaper; a white ceramic cow head; and a rocking chair that was love at first sit for me.  Oh, and the custom throw pillows, drapes and shower curtains made by none other than Bridget herself are at the very top of my list! Who knew incredible, custom work could be so affordable.

Bridget is all about happiness. Whether it’s through bringing affordable home decor to the good people of Austin, or helping people discover their inner artist, Bridget is all about the feel-good side of life. In fact, when I ask her what she feels is the biggest issue facing society, she talks about the pervasiveness of  negativity. She tells me, “We have a t-shirt here with one of my favorite Bob Ross quotes on it that says, ‘Happy paintings, happy paintings, happy paintings. We want happy paintings. If you want sad things, watch the news.’ Maybe it sounds irresponsible for me to say, but I don’t watch the news.”

No one is more surprised by this fact than Bridget herself. “I used to be very involved in politics. I was the statewide rep of the Teenage Republican Society. I organized the largest voter registration campaign in the state of Mississippi. I used to have political ambitions – I wanted to be governor. But I’ve just gotten so disheartened.”  Bridget says when she spends all day being so focused on helping people stay positive and happy, it’s hard to sit down and turn on the depressing news. Who can blame her for that!

That positive energy is something Bridget believes is a key to a successful class and a successful business. She says, “I tell my instructors, ‘You set the tone. The class will match your energy level. If you come in with no energy or enthusiasm, no one is gong to be amused.’ I have such a passion for giving people the confidence to try something and to not take themselves so seriously; to just have fun with it. To do that, you have to be upbeat and positive.”

I ask Bridget what she’d say if given 30 seconds to make a speech to the world. Before answering seriously,  she laughs and suggests the question sounds a little like a pageant question (she may or may not have been in a few pageants in her life). I agree with her, but push her for an answer despite this.

Bridget says, “I would start with my favorite quote – ‘I feel there’s nothing more truly artistic than to love people.’  It’s from Van Gogh.  I love hearing people’s stories. I’ve been through enough that I know, you never really know what’s going on in someone’s life. I think in dealing with people, you do have to be artistic. You have to be creative, adaptable, willing to try something, let some control go in certain situations. I think my message would be, look at how you treat people. What are you really accomplishing when you tear someone down? I think there’s so much more we could be doing to encourage each other; boost each other up. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. We’re all working, dealing with family issues, we’re all struggling with something. Be artistic in your love. In everything you do, if your focus could be more on the impact you’re having on others, and not so much about the impact on your wallet or your status – if we could all be less self-centered, we would all win.”

What the world could use more of, is people like Bridget. Doers who are lit by a fire within them to use their gifts to make a difference. Positive people who understand that while it’s important to be informed, it’s also important to find balance and to know yourself. Folks who know that their energy level is impacted by what they surround themselves with, and that their energy will then influence those around them.

You have a choice. Choose to create beauty. Choose to lift people up and to be a ray of light in a world that’s got plenty of darkness. And on November 30th, Small Business Saturday, choose to support entrepreneurs like Bridget who have made the choice to follow their dreams and live a life of passion. They need us, and folks, we need them!

You are invited to visit design co:op on November 30th when it officially opens it’s doors. You are also invited to find the Van Gogh inside you – or the Monet, Warhol, Bob Ross, or whomever, by taking a class. You’ll have a great time and you’ll surprise yourself by the art you’ll end up creating. I promise. Check out the Easely Amused website for class schedule and additional information.

New store hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-7pm. Classes are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, 3 Saturday classes and a Wednesday Happy Hour class from 4-8pm.

Easely Amused/design co:op

2324 South Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78704
512 448 9922