Our Story

Inspired Parties is a local small business, owned and operated by Sarah Stechschulte along with her fiancé Alex DeCanter. The couple's mission is to inspire others to find their inner peace through creating hands-on projects, in groups or while enjoying personal time.

A HAPPY PLACE

The Workshop at Inspired Parties has been an ongoing project and dream of Sarah and Alex for the past two years. Since the summer of 2018, the couple has been riding a vision of turning the previously mobile paint party business into a brick and mortar studio. They saw potential in an old and tired looking garage building located in beautiful Hamlin Township. After two years of hard work, passion, and dedication, the Workshop is now a beautiful and Inspirational space for all to enjoy. The couple has plans to continue to grow and expand the space and services offered. Sarah and Alex are excited to welcome and Inspire you!

MOMENTUM TO GROW

In May of 2019, Sarah was one of the five small business finalists to compete for $50,000 in the Momentum Business Plan Competition in Ludington, MI. She became the first place winner, receiving $14,000 to expand her studio to include a drop-in project workshop. In September 2019, Sarah made a hard decision to leave her marketing and advertising sales job of 5 years with her mother's company, Advantage Marketing. Even though Sarah loved her job, co-workers and learning from her mom, she knew it was time to devote all her attention to Inspired Parties after operating it part-time for three years.

A GLIMPSE OF THE START

Artist and owner Sarah Stechschulte has been teaching paint parties through her company Inspired Parties since December 2016. Sarah has a strong art background, and also took painting and pottery classes in college. She had no idea that just a year after graduating with an Associates of Arts degree from West Shore Community College, she would be teaching her own painting classes! This is also about the time that Sarah and Alex met and became a couple. From the start, Alex has been cheering Sarah on and supporting her dreams. For the next couple of years, Sarah partnered with local venues such as restaurants to provide local paint parties, a creative night out for the people of Mason County.

ANOTHER BIG DREAM

In August 2019, Sarah also was a top five finalist in another local business competition, the Epworth 5x5 Pitch Night for startup businesses. She shared a new business idea that she had called My Inspired Studio. She had a vision and dream to provide an experience similar to her in-person parties, but in a totally different form and setting. The vision was to offer a subscription art box, delivered right to her customers' homes. This would allow them to create in a comfortable, safe atmosphere, at any time convenient for their schedule. Sarah won the 5x5 Pitch Night, allowing her to start the new business. She had up to a year after the competition date to use the funds to build My Inspired Studio.

A SURPRISING BEGINNING

Fast forward to January 2020, when other big and positive changes happened! Alex started working full-time with Sarah, to help manage and build the quickly growing business. The workshop opened officially for business hours three days a week, and has become a great place for families and friends to spend quality time together, creating projects and DIY home decor! Just a few months after opening the drop-in project workshop, Sarah and Alex had to close the doors of the studio temporarily, due to COVID-19. While this was a sad event, Sarah and Alex got right to work to try and find a way to continue to Inspire and provide ways for their local customers to keep creating, especially during such a high-stress time. It was at this point that they started offering take-home kits, which turned out to be a huge hit! The sales from the take-home kits allowed Sarah and Alex to survive the next few weeks without any on-location business, while the state of Michigan was ordered to stay home, and non-essential businesses had to close. During this time of quarantine (after spending a few days of relaxing and catching up on sleep), Sarah and Alex got to work on the idea that needed attention...it was very clear that THIS was the time to launch My Inspired Studio, the new subscription box business. On April 19, 2020, My Inspired Studio opened for the Founding Member Launch, less than a year after the idea was born. The first month welcomed about 40 members to the new painting membership, a solid start to this new online business. Each quarter (winter, spring, summer, fall), My Inspired Studio opens for five days to allow new members to join. For more information about My Inspired Studio or to sign up for the next quarter's membership, visit our website MyInspiredStudio.com

OUR STORY

So many great memories to be thankful for, and so many more to look forward to!