Today we’d like to introduce you to Tireka and Maurice Sullivan.
Hi Tireka and Maurice, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My brother, Maurice, and I have always been really close. So, after I graduated from Georgia Southern in 2016, I moved up to Austell, GA which is where he lived. He’s naturally an artist, and I had made a career in event planning. It just made sense for us to collaborate and create a job we both wanted but couldn’t find in the market at the time. I had the idea to partner with him for a sip and paint business for a while, but was hesitant because of my job and no access to a venue. It wasn’t until someone I respected, Erica Kane, really gave me the push I needed to bring the idea to Maurice. Initially, he didn’t care for the idea of having a mobile sip and paint service, because he had never even heard of a stationary sip and paint business. But he believed in the vision and agreed to go in with me. Our first client was a friend, DJ Baby Drea, who was hosting a Dank & Paint for Christmas. Out the gate, we were guiding over 20 people, and really had no idea what we were doing. Everyone enjoyed themselves because we’re entertaining people. and it was a John Witherspoon tribute. However, from a business perspective, it was a MESS! Maurice discovered how different drawing is versus painting, and I got a taste of running an event on the front end instead of being in the cut. The lessons we learned during that session helped us to grow so much as more clients came in. Now, there isn’t an occasion or group we don’t feel confident taking on.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Everything worth having comes with challenges. We weren’t the most educated in this business when we first started, but we were both secure in what we brought to the table. Small challenges have presented themselves on the logistics side of things, but we’ve always found the root of the problem, and solved it. However, since we are a mobile service who comes to our clients, our biggest obstacle thus far has been providing a space for people who do not have enough room in their own house to host the amount of people they want. This leads them to search for Airbnbs and venues that can accommodate them. It can get pricey when this happens, which turns some people away, or delays the booking process until they can find a solution. To combat this, we have started looking for local businesses to partner with. These are businesses who can provide their space for our clients on a consistent basis, at a reasonable rate. Eventually, we have plans to lease our own venue so we can offer mobile services and regular events.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Maurice’s specialty is actually drawing. It’s a craft he’s been perfecting since five or six years old. He started by sketching cartoon characters on TV. We couldn’t pause live television back then, so he would draw when the character was on screen and stop when it wasn’t.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
As entrepreneurs, we’re most happy when we get the chance to show people a creative side that they may not have known they possessed. So many clients start their paint session off by doubting themselves and cracking jokes about how bad their piece is going to turn out. But it never fails that we guide them so strategically through their painting, that they can’t even believe they accomplished the piece themselves. The smiles on their faces, and the confidence they eventually exude is so fulfilling to people like us, who create art and experiences for the masses to enjoy.
Contact Info:
- Website: movingbrushatl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.movingbrush
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themovingbrush/
Image Credits:
The Moving Brush, LLC
