Caroline and I have been having a blast, of course, however, we thought we needed a little bit of help and so we have kind of pulled in a lot of the WGVU team to help us out.

You ready guys?

- [WGVU colleagues] Woo.

- Let's go.

Caroline.

(upbeat music) We just had a blast, right?

I mean, I'm kind of covered with a little bit of paint.

So what is the inspiration, the actual inspiration behind Pinspiration?

- So this is a franchise business.

The first lady that created it was in Arizona.

And what she was trying to do is basically get rid of the barriers of people in the Pinterest era.

Lots of people go on Pinterest, they find all these things they wanna do and then they pin a bunch of stuff and they never actually make anything.

Or they go to the craft store and they spend hundreds of dollars on tools and supplies when they only need one button, but you gotta buy a whole bag of buttons.

So really the inspiration was to try to make that easier for people so that they could come in, say I want to create something, they can see it on the wall.

Then they come in and then they don't have to buy 100 buttons, they can just get the buttons they need to make the project.

We have lots of stuff.

Everything from acrylic paint pours, we have string art, we do self-guided paintings.

We also have a lot of wood projects, where people create.

So just lots of cool stuff that you can come in and make.

- Or whatever they have an idea to do, they can do it.

- Exactly.

And it's interesting 'cause like I made a State of Michigan string art, then somebody was actually from Wisconsin and so they wanted a state of Wisconsin.

So then I had to get on the internet and start looking around for a map of Wisconsin that we could turn into a stencil so they could actually make what they wanted to make.

If you come in with your group of girlfriends for a girls' night out, you can do a string art, somebody else can make a candle and then somebody else can paint a picture.

So you really can have an individual experience rather than everybody leaving with the same picture of a sunset.

- We get so stressed, we get so busy, this is a place where you can kind of release all of that, do you think?

- Oh, for sure.

I actually have a sign over there that says, do something that makes you forget to check your phone.

And I love that because it's like everybody's on their phone all the time, they're on the computer, they're in front of a screen.

And I think coming in here with your family, with your friends, actually enjoying each other, creating something, and even if you don't end up loving your project, you still have a great memory.

- I think all of the art is for all ages, right?

I mean, varied ages find enjoyment.

- Yeah.

- And fulfillment.

- And I'm shocked every day, when people come in here, they think, oh, the splatter room is just for kids.

And if you watch what you guys just did, y'all had more fun than the little girl.

- Okay, so the elephant in the room, the splatter room, what is that?

Well, let us talk about that as I have paint still on me, right?

- It's definitely the favorite here at the shop.

We actually have two of them, but we hang canvas on the wall and we let people just sling paint.

They can do it with our regular paint or they can upgrade to our glow in the dark where they get to hang out with the disco ball and some black lights, it's super fun.

- It is super fun.

And it's kinda like releasing as everyone talks about, the Jackson Pollock in you.

- Exactly, and I think you can get out some aggression if you have some, or it can just be about creativity.

But everybody leaves with a masterpiece, which is great.

- Let's start from the beginning, you get suited up, tell us the process of doing the splatter room.

- [Kate] We get you suited up, we put on your hairnet, a poncho, cover up your shoes, or we have our hazmat suits to cover your clothes.

It's a really cute look.

We have a little photo op in the back, that we take a lot of family photos 'cause people wanna remember the experience.

- This allows too, an opportunity for parents to bring their kids to do something, whether it be the splatter room or some of the other art adventures as well, to do something that maybe then we don't wanna necessarily do at home, but it gives them that freedom.

- Well, it's funny, I have two kids and they laugh all the time because at home I do not allow glitter, we don't eat Cheetos, I don't like dirty.

But we come here to the store and it's throw paint, you don't have to clean it up, it's totally fine.

- The biggest thing, when you look at something like this and you look at the inner-creativity piece, one of the questions I always have for someone who's in the business of this, are you happy?

Is it making you happy?

- Absolutely.

I worked in corporate America for 20 years, it was a wonderful job with a wonderful company, but being the boss is pretty cool.

And also the fact that when I come to work, what I hear every day is kids having fun, families having fun, people making memories.

I read the reviews online where people are just overjoyed with the experience they had here, and it makes every penny worth it.

- [Jennifer] And lots of laughter.

And then you've got your mom working here and your dad with you.

- That's right, it's a family affair.

I've roped both my parents into helping.

And on random days my kids show up too.

So every now and then I get the husband behind the bar.

- [Jennifer] And also, that's the other thing, so not only do you have arts and crafts, but people can order food if they wanna have a little gathering or party or something.

- Yeah, absolutely, and if we do like a party, people can bring in their own food or we do offer like charcuterie boards, we have like a s'mores platter, just small bites, small drinks, that kind of thing.

Basically just to tide you over while you're crafting.

- Thank you so much, Kate.

- Yes, thank you.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Celebrating vibrant people, captivating places, and remarkable things, this is "Living West Michigan."

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