Upstairs Hampstead

Topsail Insider Intro, Coming Up!, and Saltwater Suites

Speaker 1 0:02

Welcome to the Topsoil Insider Podcast where you can hear all about the businesses and events in the beautiful coastal towns of the greater Topsoil area of North Carolina Coming up . Join me for a conversation about a wonderful new event space in Hampstead , north Carolina , for the community , by the community . The business is called Upstairs Hampstead and the owner is the lovely Danielle Coleman Payne . Here we go . Welcome to the Topsoil Insider Podcast . My name is Krista and I am your host . Today I am interviewing Ms Danielle Coleman Payne . She is the owner of Upstairs Hampstead . Welcome , danielle . Thank you so much for sitting down with me today . I appreciate it .

Speaker 2 0:48

I'm happy to be here . Thank you for having me .

Speaker 1 0:51

So I definitely want to get into what brought you to Hampstead and what made you want to open up Upstairs Hampstead , because I always love hearing that about the people that I interview , because we're a bunch of transplants here . But I want to first tell everyone what Upstairs Hampstead is and what you have to offer . Can you nutshell that ?

Speaker 2 1:08

for me , absolutely so . We are a small studio event venue . We open our doors for celebrations and all the different weddings and baby showers . But our favorite and most interesting thing that makes us stand out is we offer events for the community

Intro to Danielle and Upstairs Hampstead

Speaker 2 1:26

. So we bring in talented individuals local to teach their skills , their hobbies , their trades and all their different things to the community so that the community can benefit from it .

Speaker 1 1:37

Very good .

Speaker 2 1:38

You can register for classes and host your own events all different things at the studio .

Speaker 1 1:43

I have seen on your socials . I've seen a wide variety . I do see the yoga classes , but I see yoga for kids too , which I think is very exciting . I see which seems like the complete opposite spectrum . You've got yoga and peace and sound baths , and then over here you've got like we're going to shoot guns and get our concealed carry . So you've got like just a wide variety of stuff . Tell me about the versatility of your space .

Speaker 2 2:08

Absolutely so . The goal is for the community by the community , and I love that , by the way , thank you . It came from my heart , it kind of just stumbled out of my mouth one day and my friend said , wait , stop .

Speaker 1 2:18

What did you just say ?

Speaker 2 2:19

That's it . That's exactly what you need to keep telling people . What I love is that our community is always going to be evolving the interest , the desires of what people are lacking , what people are interested in where they don't want to go to Wilmington , they don't want to drive to Jacksonville , because that's 100% . We all know there's traffic in Hampstead .

Speaker 1 2:38

Nope , it's not we're not going to be sure about that .

Speaker 2 2:42

Maybe that bypass . So I wanted to bring some space to Hampstead where people could really take what they wanted to do and use that studio space for it . So it's always evolving . We have a lot of holistic offerings . We have a lot of fun things . We just started a bingo , we rolled out bingo . Bingo is was a hit and we have I saw that .

Speaker 1 3:02

I saw want to go

For the Community, by the Community

Speaker 1 3:03

we have a strong , strong desire .

Speaker 2 3:05

People want to see it often .

Speaker 1 3:07

Okay , good , glad to hear that .

Speaker 2 3:09

Yep , so we rolled that out monthly and I think in 2024 , we've been asked to roll it out maybe twice a month . Oh , that's so cool .

Speaker 1 3:16

I'm glad . I'm glad that's popular Because it's fun . It's fun when the community can get together and that is a time , I think in a classroom setting you're focused on yourself , but when you're playing bingo , while you are focused on winning , you get to talk and laugh and really get to know your neighbors . So I think it's such a great thing .

Speaker 2 3:34

Exactly , and you come with maybe a friend or two , but you're sitting at a table full of people . So I met wonderful people there and you could see just the community in the space of getting to know the people around you .

Speaker 1 3:46

It was fun . I'm going to go to the next one how big is the space ?

Speaker 2 3:50

It's 800 square feet and it is upstairs . Okay , so it is second floor . So unfortunately we don't right now have handicap entrance . You do have to be able to get up the flight of stairs , gotcha . But yeah , 800 square feet . It's well lit . We have beautiful natural lighting , there's tons of windows and that's been a huge draw . That's usually the first thing people say is oh my gosh , they love the lighting in there .

Speaker 1 4:11

And how many people can you fit into the space ?

Speaker 2 4:14

So Pender County approved us for 49 . Okay , we are playing around with what feels comfortable and . I think what feels comfortable is probably up to 45 if , like you're doing a mingle type of event . But if you're doing a sit down , you want to be somewhere between that 20 to 40 range . It depends on the intimacy of this type of event that you have . But bingo , for example , we had 30 and we did increase it to 40 because we can fit it with the tables and chairs .

Speaker 1 4:41

You could get more , yeah , so do you have the tables and chairs already on site or do people need to bring

Venue Description

Speaker 1 4:46

their own ?

Speaker 2 4:46

Yeah , so as we expand , we're expanding more supplies , so we definitely we're trying to keep as much as we can . We have a really small space for storage , so some people may prefer rounds or different types of chairs , and they can . You know , we have collaborations with different rental companies in the community . But we do our best to keep as much as we can on site so that people don't have to bring in .

Speaker 1 5:11

Add that extra expense for rentals . Exactly , okay , good .

Speaker 2 5:13

Okay .

Speaker 1 5:14

Exactly , you were talking about the natural lighting . Tell me about the decor inside and how you do you change that based on who's coming in for an event .

Speaker 2 5:23

Sure . So it started off being very plain . We wanted to keep it very chameleon , like , where people can continue to control the environment with their decor . But I actually got a lot of feedback from people , as they were in there , that they wanted to see a little bit more of a homey feel . So I'm listening and I'm really allowing the community to kind of help the space build as we grow . We actually have a local artist that just hung a lot of artwork in the studio and it's all for sale , nice , yeah , so she's hanging stuff and continuing to paint and bring things in , and we have other artists that are interested in doing the same thing .

Speaker 1 5:58

Nice . What about just the seating in there ? So let's say , you don't want tables and chairs like a classroom , but more like a I'm thinking coffee shop , like a couch and comfy where you can kind of sink into things . Do you have that ?

Speaker 2 6:10

Yeah , we do have a few cozy chairs , individual chairs , I've considered couches , but there's a lot of work that we do , floor space like a lot of yoga and things where people are laying on the floor , and I feel like I don't want to restrict them and shrink their classes , because that would really take up a lot of space . Yeah , bringing couches , and you can't easily maneuver them in and out the classes so what we bring in . we try to make sure what we have that's in the studio at all times , is something that can be broken down and pushed aside very easily , like we have a little , you know , dining area in a sense , but that table is very adaptable and it can be broken down and put to the side . You know , it's just things that are flexible in there so that we can really appeal to a variety of events .

Speaker 1 6:53

Let's talk about the amenities that you list online . The lighting you've got a lot of natural light , but do you have any type of studio lighting ? Or if people are having classes at night , obviously , what lighting do you offer ? Is it just like ?

Speaker 2 7:04

overhead . So we do have overhead lighting and there is a dimmer switch . That was a request , that was an upgrade . Nice , okay , as we came in , we heard the feedback , so we added the dimmer switch . Was it too bright ? It was pretty bright . Okay , it was pretty bright and a lot of you know again , a lot of our events are kind of a cozy environment where people really want to melt into the moment . Yeah , so we allowed the dimmer switch to be put in . That was a beautiful addition . I also brought in some kind of soft lighting , so if people don't want to use those big overheads , they have other options as well . The natural light is fantastic . We've had photographers work in the studio and not have to use any additional lighting . So you got a beautiful day , you know , with the sun shining and luckily we're just facing just perfectly that the light comes in and creates delicious photos .

Speaker 1 7:50

You listed Bluetooth speakers .

Speaker 2 7:52

Yeah , Right now we do have audio . We have Bluetooth speakers and we do plan to upgrade to get permanent fixture speakers in the studio and we also have a 60 inch TV and that has the HDMI connector . It is on a cart that can be moved around the room . It's wonderful . It's been fantastic for anybody that has PowerPoint presentations .

Speaker 1 8:12

I was about to say . As you bring your laptop , you plug into the computer or Bluetooth it and you can have your PowerPoints , yep , so meetings .

Speaker 2 8:19

There's been some HOAs that have asked can we meet here ?

Speaker 1 8:22

You know , there's a great idea actually .

Speaker 2 8:24

Yeah , little things like that , where people just need a space . What about Wi-Fi access ? Yep , we have Wi-Fi availability for everyone , so and you did mention an outdoor space . So when you come up to the back of Peer Pan Family Dentistry , they have a little patio out there with some picnic tables . So , a few of the people that have had full day events , where they break for lunch or you know , have any kind of need for a moment to step away and be outside . they will use the patio area and set up a little picnic out there at the picnic tables , but we don't have a full space outdoors

Memberships

Speaker 2 8:59

.

Speaker 1 8:59

Okay , and you mentioned it's at Peer Pan . Peer Pan , am I saying Yep .

Speaker 2 9:03

Peer Pan Family Dentistry is the building we are upstairs and our entrance is in the back .

Speaker 1 9:08

Okay , and that is right across from the Lowes Food Shopping Center . Correct , plenty of parking spaces for everybody .

Speaker 2 9:15

Yep , we have 27 parking spaces in the actual location . There's also a few different areas nearby . You know where you can park and walk over if you need to . Luckily we are evenings and weekends only , so our hours don't actually conflict with some of our neighbors , so that's been beneficial for parking if we needed more For parking spaces , right ?

Speaker 1 9:35

Can people bring in their own balloon arches and decor like hang streamers . Can we get ? How crazy can we get in there ?

Speaker 2 9:44

Have as much fun as you want , it is wonderful . So you know you can bring in your own . This is another thing that makes us stand out . You can bring in your own food and beverage , Okay , so that really our prices is kind of set to be very affordable , because then you're in charge of what you're drinking , what you're eating . And you can kind of control that . You can control decorations . We did just start a collaboration with Lindsay Nicole Creative . Okay , so if you wanted to come into the space and not have to worry about decorations , she is an event coordinator and she is gonna work alongside with us . So people that are interested in having an event and not and wanting to be hands off and somebody- else manage it . Yeah , Lindsay's wonderful . She has over 10 years of experience and she's just the sweetest .

Speaker 1 10:31

That's awesome , Absolutely

Colaboration with Lindsey Nicole Creative

Speaker 1 10:33

yeah . I think a lot of people would take you up on that . Okay , so let's move on to your hosting memberships . Tell me who is the membership program built for ?

Speaker 2 10:42

The membership program is built for people that want to continually work out of the space where they're . Essentially . That's where they're building their business and that's where they want their clients to come and reach them . So we have a wonderful woman who does breath work at the studio and she's found a home within our studio so she's there weekly . We have some yoga classes , like you had mentioned , for adults , for children . There's a lot of people that just want to come in and maybe have a meetup once a month and have an event once a month . So anybody that wants to do those continual things and come back and be regulars . It also includes being listed on our website . So when people go onto our website and they are able to sign up for things , the people that are hosting those are our members . So they get a package where we're collaborating , a marketing plan together and they're also getting a discounted room rate because we have that guaranteed every month . We're seeing them more every week or bi-weekly .

Speaker 1 11:39

I think this is a huge selling point , because there are a lot of people who have an idea , an entrepreneur , they want to start this business , and this is kind of like a soft way to ease yourself into starting your own business . So you're basically renting a business space , an office space , to give it a go , exactly . I think that's so great that you're offering this to the community .

Speaker 2 12:00

That's where my heart lies . Not only is it an exciting thing for the community to see at Upstairs Amstead , but I'm looking at all these beautiful people that want to try something , that believe in something , and they say I can't rent like a brick and mortar for myself but , I'm ready and I have something , that I have , a skill , and I want to offer it to the community . So it's just that beautiful . I always assumed it would just be kind of a stepping stone . Some people are like but I want to root here . I'm like , I welcome you , I love that .

Speaker 1 12:33

So we have both . This is so cool yeah yeah , so and as we grow . I might have to rent your space for my podcast .

Speaker 2 12:40

Hey , it's one of the things that we envisioned , you know .

Speaker 1 12:44

So yeah , I'm gonna have to go check out the sound quality over there .

Speaker 2 12:47

Oh yeah , bring the stuff .

Speaker 1 12:48

So tell me about the minimum commitment that's required .

Speaker 2 12:51

Monthly it would be . A once a month is the minimum for our membership .

Speaker 1 12:54

Okay , okay .

Speaker 2 12:56

And we do it . It's not a long commitment . My contract started three months because , again , I want people to feel comfortable trying out something new for themselves and feeling like they don't have to over commit themselves , because there's so many people that have really beautiful talents to offer to our community and they just need to get in there and see that it's something that they wanna do and that the community wants as well .

Speaker 1 13:19

And it's not just the space that you're offering . You're offering the marketing aspect of that , but you can also set up your appointments . The appointment setting is already built into your website , Correct ? And you even need to pay for their own website . Basically .

Speaker 2 13:32

Correct . Yeah , I collect all the information , the fees , and then there is a payout at the end . So my memberships will either pay me out or I pay them out , just depending on what the relationship and what the class looks like . Everything is shared . There's no . When they come in as a member and we have people signing up , they have access to all of their client's information as well . I'm not holding that within myself .

Speaker 1 13:58

Gotcha , how do you share that information ? Is there a portal they log into ?

Speaker 2 14:02

Essentially I use Google share files . I mean , I do it all . I'm behind the scenes managing all those . So anytime anybody signs up , I get an alert and I put it into the appropriate class's spreadsheet and whoever is the host for that has access to all of their information and it's live . So I usually have 24 hour turn time . So within 24 hours of somebody signing up , the event host has all their information as well . I also host some of the events , so we do have and I like to put this out there we do have some mediums that come and work out of the studio .

Speaker 1 14:33

I know I saw that that was very intriguing .

Speaker 2 14:36

So some of the mediums come as their own , but some I host as well , so they don't get access and I know like people like to know that , like they don't actually see the list of people coming because there's that kind of protection .

Speaker 1 14:50

Oh , I get it , because you don't want them to know anything about the people that are coming in .

Speaker 2 14:55

That's very smart yeah so there are some you know . So I am the event host for , say , for some of the events like Bingo . The Medium , the Small Business Network , is a collaboration between me and some other community members and you know we're working together . So there is you know me as an event host is being seen , but most of the time I prefer other people to come in and host the events .

Speaker 1 15:16

That's really cool . So everyone here . Danielle is a transplant . I have met a few natives . You can usually hear it in the accent , so tell me where are you from originally and how did you find your way to Hampstead , north Carolina ?

Speaker 2 15:36

Absolutely so . I'm from Chester County , Pennsylvania , which is just a little bit west of Philadelphia . It's the suburbs around Philadelphia . I was born and raised there . I stayed within that Chester County parameter .

Speaker 1 15:48

Was it a small town ? No , no , not very small .

Speaker 2 15:51

There's a lot of little towns within it but it is a big , congested , very populated area . So , as you can imagine , we're only two hours from New York City about two and a half from DC . We're right by Philadelphia .

Speaker 1 16:04

Oh , you're in the middle of it all .

Speaker 2 16:05

Yeah , there were . I mean , there were so many people that commuted , so there was the train stations . You know , like it's just , it was a hub . It was a hub and it was very congested . I loved my home . I really did . But in 1996 , my best friend in high school moved to Wilmington

PA to NC

Speaker 2 16:20

. She was still in high school , so her mom and her relocated . I don't know that she would have if it was her choice , but it was a very exciting time to come down . My best friend moved to the beach in North Carolina . You know that was the coolest thing . I missed her so much . But so I found a home within that , a second home , and I started visiting Wilmington , north Carolina , every chance I got Nice . So it became a second home to me back then . And then turns out I ended up meeting my husband in Wilmington . Here I was here so I met him . I really tried really hard to . I'm sure your family was thrilled . They knew my mom always laughs . I always knew you know you were a Southern Belle . I apparently have dreams about the South . So she knew when I started coming down here in 96 , this would be my home and I tried to move here many times prior to oh really Three years ago oh yeah , so I tried to move my husband to Pennsylvania . It was like when you're by the ocean , it was like fish out of water . So I ended up coming here and it was how long did you ?

Speaker 1 17:24

did y'all give it a go in Pennsylvania ?

Speaker 2 17:26

We did for three years For three years , and then my husband's mom had dementia so we sent him back down to help care for her .

Speaker 1 17:35

Oh , okay , she really needed Gotcha , she really needed support .

Speaker 2 17:38

When I came down prior , I was still in Pennsylvania with my son who was in middle school at the time , and then COVID happened . So I'm in Pennsylvania with my son .

Speaker 1 17:47

Your husband's here , my husband's here , yeah .

Speaker 2 17:50

So , oh , that's tough . There was , you know , now we had done long distance for four years , so we were very , you know , sound in knowing that we would be okay . Okay , but when COVID happened , everything shifted for everyone and things just happened so organically and naturally and he got an offer for a job and we were both looking for different homes for permanent until my son was out of high school .

Speaker 1 18:16

That was the plan at the time was you mean , he got a job here in North Carolina , he got a job here in North Carolina , I was working in Pennsylvania .

Speaker 2 18:23

We were both looking to purchase because we knew we had another four and a half five years apart .

Speaker 1 18:30

Cause that was the plan was for me to stay in Pennsylvania .

Speaker 2 18:34

COVID happened , things shifted and he just kind of dropped a sentence one day

And then Covid Happened

Speaker 2 18:40

. He said what if we , what if we tried something different ? What if I was working and you came down here and you just jumped ? We just tried it so that that very next week was Memorial Day weekend in the middle of COVID , we came down we looked at houses . We bought a house that weekend . Oh my gosh that's really fast .

Speaker 1 18:59

And I went home . Oh , he'd already been looking that right , no , this was our .

Speaker 2 19:02

We together went and looked at houses on a Saturday and we put that offer in and we had house on the afternoon . Wow , that's fast so wow , one day we knew walking into that house . Oh , you did , we knew . We looked at each other , we were like this is it ? This is it , this is our home .

Speaker 1 19:19

It's our forever . How was your son feeling about this ?

Speaker 2 19:22

I think he was very nervous .

Speaker 1 19:23

Yeah , you know he was a teenager . He's in the thick of teen grade .

Speaker 2 19:28

Teen grade . You know , just at the end of eighth grade we're . You know he's getting ready to roll in the summer before high school and here I am like we're gonna move to North Carolina Now . He'd been down here many times so he knew , you know , he knew the area . But now for him , I think it was , you know , the unknown was really the hardest part . But I'll tell you , we moved here . I mean , I went home , told my whole family all at once , told my job at once , two months .

Speaker 1 19:57

What was the reaction from them ?

Speaker 2 19:59

Really a lot of you know sad . We hate to see you go but there was a lot of support .

Speaker 1 20:04

I mean .

Speaker 2 20:04

I definitely had people in my life that just it knew it was just inevitable . They knew it was just a matter of time . So I don't think I let anything . Really , I was so excited .

Speaker 1 20:16

Were you really . It felt like the most right thing you know , oh , I love to hear that .

Speaker 2 20:21

So it was . Covid was a really really hard time for everyone , but for us .

Speaker 1 20:25

Yeah , all of this is happening when everything is shut down .

Speaker 2 20:28

Correct , we had just gone back to work . I worked in North Carolina office and we , you know we're back in the office . So that was gonna be a hard transition because I was doing a dual role in that office and finding that coverage . But I was ready and my family you know . I was working long hours and my son was home solo and you know Matt was here . We were separated , not separated but like physically , literally separated yeah , separated in two different places . So COVID was very hard for a lot of families . For us , it was this beautiful gift of bringing us back together and really guiding us into the next beautiful phase of our lives . My son is so happy here

Easy Transition During Shutdowns

Speaker 2 21:09

and it didn't take him long at all to really just be in his own here , and I mean my husband and I just having this moment where it's like this , our forever home , we don't have anything to worry about anymore , no more like Pennsylvania , north Carolina long distance , long distance relationship is done .

Speaker 1 21:24

We're done , it's done .

Speaker 2 21:25

It's been beautiful , it's been calm and I think that has a lot to do with , you know , moving in towards what happened with this next phase of finding upstairs . Hampstead I was really . I came into this space and North Carolina is beautiful and quiet and serene and I know Hampstead . A lot of people moved here . And I know a lot of people talk about how busy it is . But , we really still have a small town feel and there is a much slower pace here . And leaving the Philadelphia suburbs and coming down to Hampstead , I was able to breathe . It was the first time in my life that . I just was able to really like step in and kind of calm things down Like there was no hustle anymore . I took a job working remotely for ironically a Pennsylvania company , a friend of mine has a company up there , so he was aware that I was looking and- .

Speaker 1 22:16

You can take the girl out of Pennsylvania .

Speaker 2 22:19

She's gonna keep working in Pennsylvania . Everything I do all day long . I'm talking to everyone in Pennsylvania you know , so it was . it was common quality that I was still tired but working from home and having a little bit of flexibility and- . So my son came in in high school and what a beautiful gift for him , for anybody coming into high school in a new school to have that COVID transition time where it was one week on and two weeks off . Yeah , so that ease of really kind of getting to know people in a small class environment , rather than having you know somebody coming into a traditional year without COVID , a packed school where everyone knew each other . You know , for him COVID was kind of a blessing in the sense where he was able to come into a new school where everyone had been , you know , remote learning and middle school . Everyone was nervous about starting high school . They had all been separated for a while . There had been a lot of transitions with people moving and relocating even back then . So for him it was a beautiful gift to kind of come in slowly and build his high school experience with an easy start rather than just being thrown into like a packed school . We can really look at COVID in our house and our home and see the beautiful gifts that the shutdown was able to give us . It really it took the beauty of the quiet that COVID gave us really brought us back to the simplicity and the burnout mode that we're all living . This is a really big , important topic that not a lot of people really talk openly about . I don't think , at least I don't hear it . We were all living in burnout and COVID came in and quieted things down and it gave us a gift to remember what were the important things . My family grabbed ahold of those important things and move forward in that way of life . But there's been a lot of mental shifts and businesses recognizing that you can do things differently . And that was a gift for me too , because I ended up working remotely , you know , for a Pennsylvania company down in North Carolina where I was in control of my workload and schedule and if I had a busy day I could work in the evenings and balance that work-life balance . And there's a lot of people are really going a little bit more deeper into themselves and doing some work for themselves and that's been a gift too , to see that kind of blanket it across humanity . And that's another beautiful thing about how this all ties into what Upstairs Hampstead is able to bring .

Speaker 1 24:54

Let's talk about what led you to open Upstairs Hampstead .

Speaker 2 24:58

Absolutely so . During my transition into North Carolina , I was also seeking some more quiet things to ground me . I love yoga and I was excited to get back into yoga practice , so I stumbled upon Hampstead yoga . You know how could you not ? You're in Hampstead . Yeah , it was an easy fit right . And at the time that's what was above Peer Pan Family Dentistry . So I had done some classes there and that's when I discovered the space and the beauty that that space had offered , and it was just very serene in that space and I loved it . As I continued to work and the business that I was working for was building , I ended up doing a little bit more yoga at home . So I didn't realize that Hampstead yoga was closing and I had seen a post in one of our Facebook groups of a yoga instructor looking for a new space to work out of and I saw a picture of the studio in her

What Lead to Opening Upstairs Hamsptead

Speaker 2 25:53

collage of photos and like I caught my breath , like it , just like it was the knee-jerk reaction . I picked up that phone and called Peer Pan Family Dentistry and I just put that call in saying I caught wind that the space upstairs might be available and I'd love to talk to whoever is in charge of managing that . And I left that message and I hung up and it was like the alignment and the beauty that just fell into the pieces that happened so fast .

Speaker 1 26:21

Was it already listed publicly as a no , not at all . Not at all .

Speaker 2 26:25

And the woman was like you could tell she was caught off guard when . I called the office representative . I don't remember who it was that I spoke to , but yeah , it was a quick knee-jerk reaction . I just something intuitively , just like , made me pick up that phone and call . I remember that it was around Easter it was right before Easter because I was supposed to go to Pennsylvania and it was a busy week and me and my son decided last minute we both were just a little bit overrun that week . Having a trip was just too much , so we both decided not to go which was totally at not our norm . Normally it's like we're gonna go to Pennsylvania . We're going to Pennsylvania like you know our family . You know his friends , my friends . It's a beautiful time to go visit . And we didn't go . And it's amazing because my mom said said you needed a break . And here you are , like you just started a business this weekend because it all happened so fast . Oh wow . So as soon as I was on the phone with the pier pans and talking about what I wanted to do in the space , it just started pouring out of me . In my past I've always loved to connect people and I've always had like fun little events at my home . You know I mentioned the medium earlier . Well , I always had , like this , one woman who was a tarot card reader and people got a kick out of coming to get readings at my house . Well , while they were waiting , I would bring in somebody else and you know , we had all these little parties and little gatherings and somebody would be selling this while we'd be waiting for this , and so I was new to the area . I wanted a way to meet people , other people . I could feel in all the different , you know , facebook groups and people that I met , just organically , like trying to find a place to connect . And I love , you know , seeing joy like from connecting one person with a talent and another person who would love to receive that talent , like I love the connector , so I feel like I'm a connector . So as I started talking to the peerpands about what I want to do with the space , I was like , well , what if I kind of leased it out to other people and , you know , and it just started organically happening and it flowed right through me . They were so funny .

Speaker 1 28:34

They were okay with that , like right off the bat .

Speaker 2 28:36

Because what worked for them was that somebody was using the space when they weren't , Because of them and their business thriving . They couldn't have an active business upstairs during the day and I said , well , this could be nights and weekends only . You know , a lot of us worked during the day and that's not something we all need .

Speaker 1 28:55

It was a perfect scenario for them . Yeah , it was perfect for them .

Speaker 2 28:57

It was perfect for me , who still works full time . So nights and weekends is how we kind of that it just worked .

Speaker 1 29:04

You know it's ultimate .

Speaker 2 29:05

And as I continued to talk about the ideas it flowed . You know , I had just built my first website for my husband just a few months before for his business , and I was like I can do this , you know , when you're determined .

Speaker 1 29:18

Yeah .

Speaker 2 29:19

And you want to make something happen . So I , within 30 days , had all of my softwares in place . We had our first event . Ah , that's awesome it just happened so fast , everything just perfectly aligned , and that's when you know you're doing something right . And every time I would talk to people about what I was doing , they were excited . They said this is such an important piece and Hamp said that we need so , like I'm hearing the feedback and it's just driving my excitement to just keep building it bigger and better .

Speaker 1 29:53

Yeah , it was beautiful .

Speaker 2 29:54

It was beautiful .

Speaker 1 30:02

So everything seems to be going very well . You're getting a lot of good feedback and people are loving it . I do agree with them . I think it's such a great concept and I'm very thankful that someone like you is coming in and giving us that here in Hampstead . Can you tell me about any future plans , both short term and long term ?

Speaker 2 30:18

Absolutely so , like I said , I really love feedback . So anytime people give me feedback , I really hear it and I think about what we can do . One of the most exciting things that we just rolled out is collaborating , like I mentioned earlier , with Lindsay Nicole Creative . So she's really taking a lead in the venue aspect of it , because we kind of have different things happening at upstairs Hampstead . You know , there's the classes , the workshops and the seminars , and then there's the celebrations and the venue side of it . So that's not my forte . OK , I will own my skills and I will own my weaknesses . I'll be the first to

Feedback and Future Plans

Speaker 2 30:57

say it . So when Lindsay Nicole Creative rebuilt here , we decided that that would be a great way to bring the venues and celebrations and , in a different level , to upstairs . So that's exciting . So we're really excited to start with Christmas parties . You know we went out and prepped everything . The room is beautiful . It's going to be wonderful for hosting holiday events and gatherings . So , and then moving forward , just any kind of event that you want to have community , you know , birthdays , anything , baby showers , baby showers , yep , retirement parties . You know there's so many different things , so we're excited about that . Very good so that's being rolled out right now Lindsay , nicole , creative , correct , ok , correct . And you can see that collaboration . If you jump onto our social medias you can see the collaborations there , the connections we often do , collaborated posts and such , so you can find her there . You know , not only did I connect with you with Topsoil Insider to do a podcast , but we're growing in the community . We're also gonna be featured in the Hampstead Neighbors Magazine for December .

Speaker 1 32:02

Nice . So there's a business spotlight . I love that one because I can get it and pick who I want to interview next . That's my head of the game this time .

Speaker 2 32:11

You are and I'm very excited because it came . It all came together at the same time . You know all these things and I know again it's because the community is excited . People are talking about it , so these things just keep opening up the doors , keep opening . I'm so happy for you , thank you and we want to just keep going . You know People are asking for vendor shows , for a little holiday shop , so we're putting it together . So I just want to always say , as we grow in the future , I really view this space as an ever-evolving studio that is really taking the demands of the community and Hearing them and putting out there what they , what the community wants . So I really want to ask people Come at me . Let me know what you want to see . Let me know if you're curious of trying things in the studio . My event hosts . We always say it only works if it works for both of us . So if you want to think things through and see you know how you can build something for yourself and bring your talents Into the community , give me a call , let's work it out , let's find a way . So I just want to keep growing and I want to keep offering new things for everyone and hopefully upstairs Hampstead becomes , you know , maybe upstairs Wilmington yeah , you know maybe we just keep getting bigger , you know , maybe we have a bigger space that offers daytime . Those are the things that I see in the future . I'm very excited . Oh my gosh . I really just want to do a shout out to all of the community members that have been there , that have felt good in the space , that have loved it just as much as we have , and Keep coming back and keep talking about it , because it's really it's . It's happening quick .

Speaker 1 33:48

I love that you welcome the feedback and you don't just welcome it to reply back or to push it down . You welcome it and you're you're taking it to heart and you're making changes and evolving your space to fit the feedback that you're getting For the community by the community love that .

Speaker 2 34:06

It's really important . I mean , I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all the feedback . You know , the feedback is helping us continue to thrive .

Speaker 1 34:14

So , for final thoughts , what is the one thing that you really want the listeners to know about ? Either you , daniel , or your family , or Upstairs Hampstead ?

Speaker 2 34:25

So I think it's really important for everyone to know when it comes to my heart and my intentions for the space , I am a more the merrier kind of person . I love to welcome all the people you know . I love to welcome all the ideas . When you come to the studio and you have an experience , my heart wants you to have a positive experience , whether you're learning , whether you know you're you're zen out or whether you're there to celebrate . I really want you to have a positive experience and I don't ever want anyone To feel shy about coming to me if they had a different experience Than that . I really want to continue to really build

Final Thoughts

Speaker 2 35:12

the response and the relationships of this community and I really want this to feel like their space and that they can talk about it openly . If there was something that wasn't positive , we haven't had any negative feedback yet , but I always just like I'm an open person I want to talk about it . So I want everybody to feel welcome . I want everybody to feel like they can communicate about their experiences . My intention is really pure about just people having joyful experiences . Unplugging , reconnecting you know these are the keywords that really drive me , and just I'm so appreciative For how this has all come together so much , and it's just people that I've met through this experience . They changed me on a daily basis . It's beautiful , it is beautiful the purity of the people coming in that want to make a space for whatever they're offering . The excitement and the purity and the joy within them , it's just . It lifts me up so much .

Speaker 1 36:15

I get that about you . I can sense it about you when you walked in the door . You're super calm . Even my dog was like she's then . She's good , I'm good . It's just even talking about the COVID thing . You do find ways to take things and and see the light and see the positive and I love that you're trying to share that with everybody else . I mean even going back to the feedback if you did receive some negative , if someone could come and freely feel Capable of going to you and saying I didn't have the best experience , yeah , you're the type of person with a turn that around . Just by allowing someone to give you that negative feedback , yeah , and then you , you find a way to turn that around for them . That is a positive . That's how we grow is people ?

Speaker 2 36:55

is constructive criticism . I mean , I remember asking , you know , years and years ago , in a new career , in a new field , I remember asking my boss in a review , asking him for feedback , like how can I be better ? What do I need to focus on to learn more , to be a better fit in this role ? And it was really hard for him to give that to me . And I remember thinking to myself like , but this is how I'm gonna grow , you know ? So , upstairs , hampstead's gonna grow by knowing those experiences and knowing the details of how people felt .

Speaker 1 37:29

Let's talk about your contact information . Do you want to take care of that big list for me here ? I sure do .

Speaker 2 37:35

Sounds good . We're located at 17097 Highway 17 , where Sweet Bee in Hampstead , north Carolina . We're located above Pure Pan Family Dentistry , which is across from Lowe's Foods and our entrances in the back of the building . You can reach us by phone 910-665-7992 , or website at wwwupstairshampsteadcom , and I try to keep a nice theme going for everyone .

Speaker 1 38:05

So if you wanna email me upstairs Hampstead .

Speaker 2 38:08

head to emailcom and our social media Instagram and Facebook is upstairs Hampstead and you can find follow us . But I really absolutely would love for you to jump on our mailing list . We send out newsletters with what's happening now , what's coming up . So if you're interested in being on the newsletter , just

Location and Contact Information

Speaker 2 38:28

let me know what . We should have a pop up there for you to just put your email address in there and that's how you're gonna keep abs and what's coming up and have reminders . So if there's an event that you haven't signed up for yet . You can jump on that .

Speaker 1 38:39

Two things I love that you do upstairs Hampstead upstairs Hampstead and I did find sometimes to find people on Instagram was a different handle than on Facebook , and I haven't even gotten to TikTok yet , but having that same handle for everything is very convenient . I did notice that about you when I was putting your stuff together here .

Speaker 2 39:00

You know , the worst thing is when you go on Instagram and you say oh , let me show you , and then you stop and realize you don't remember their handle . I know , I know you don't remember their handle , so everything .

Speaker 1 39:13

I can do that all the time .

Speaker 2 39:15

It happens to me all the time , so I try to keep it really simple . I mean , even just upstairs , Hampstead our name . It's just very clear .

Speaker 1 39:23

Also , I just launched my website and I would really love for everyone to sign up for the mailing list , because the socials are out of control . Like I would really love to just leave as much of that behind as I could and let's just go to the website and do the mailing list and let me push stuff out to you there . So yeah , for both of us , if you could please go to our websites and go ahead and sign up for the mailing list there , because that is our favorite way to communicate with you obviously it's the easiest around those darn algorithms that . So I'm a plug . You just go to topsilinsidercom and please sign up for the mailing list there . You can also leave me a voicemail on my website , and if you leave me a voicemail , make it really good , because I just might insert it into the next episode . Enough about me .

Speaker 2 40:13

I love that I'm gonna start leaving you voicemails . Oh , that's funny . Get crafty .

Speaker 1 40:17

Well , I just wanna say thank you , listeners , for listening to this episode today . I really appreciate it . I've enjoyed it too . So thank you , danielle . Such a pleasure to talk to you . I'm so glad to have met you . Oh , thank you , and I'm going to your event tonight . Do you wanna just plug that really fast , because I know this is not airing when people will hear this and go tonight . Yeah correct , but that's gonna be an ongoing thing , right ?

Speaker 2 40:40

Absolutely so I stumbled in . Not only do we have Facebook and Instagram , but we also have Nextdoor , and I stumbled upon a woman who was really trying to drive a small business networking group . That wasn't just for women . There's a lot of women focus groups . It's for everyone . It's for the small businesses of Hampstead and the local areas and she was having trouble finding a spot and somebody had recommended my space and tagged upstairs Hampstead . So I followed up with happy to . I'm happy to donate the space Anything that can help our community do something that's beneficial . So we maxed out tonight . I said it at 30 just to kind of see how it would feel with that many people talking to each other and mingling probably raise it up a little bit , but we

Small Business Networking Group

Speaker 2 41:26

put out these feelers and the small business networking group . I know there's a lot of small little groups and somebody's already reached out to me . So if you have something going on and you wanna talk about collaborating , this is not something where we're trying to keep it our own . This is something where we're really trying to bring unity and getting people together to shake hands again and know their community business leaders . This is for everyone . There's a lot of really cool businesses that have signed up and all we ask is that we look at the communities between Wilmington and Jacksonville and that's where we want those businesses , because we know Wilmington and Jacksonville has a lot more offerings , because of the bigger community , but we're really trying to just zero in on our smaller community . So tonight is the first meeting and we have put out a big questionnaire for everyone . We're very excited to get feedback again , like we talked about . I love you hearing what people have to say and we wanna create this for what the majority was looking for , so it's exciting .

Speaker 1 42:31

There are a lot of small business groups for women and I didn't think about you know how those men sitting back there , like what about us ? You know , yeah , the men are really important .

Speaker 2 42:40

There's a lot , a lot of businesses that we would really be struggling if the men weren't running .

Speaker 1 42:46

The men are very we can't leave them out so much , man . No , no , this .

Speaker 2 42:49

I really you know I believe in lifting those women and supporting those women but , I also believe in lifting us people and supporting us people together .

Speaker 1 42:58

Yeah , agree .

Speaker 2 42:59

And I think that that was just something that maybe was not intentionally overlooked , but it's something that we really recognized and the woman , Kim , whose idea it was to bring this , I really wish she was here and could speak , because this was her beautiful gift of an idea . I'm just supporting her along this road . She said , you know , wanting to shake hands again , wanting to just be face to face and shake hands and really just support each other and know who is your plumber , who are the plumbers in the neighborhood you know , if this one's busy , who do you know and just knowing who's coming into your home and just having those connections and having those relationships ? Who is our bookkeepers ? Who you know ? Who are all the people that are really keeping all of us small businesses going and how can we help them ? If somebody's not , you know , strong in marketing , where somebody's not , you know , doesn't know about the details and all the new software's , that keep coming out . You know we're here to really just like help build each other up and keep us going .

Speaker 1 43:57

I'm looking forward to it . Well , thank you so much . It's been fun . I wish we could continue talking forever . It was so nice . Thank you so much for having me . My pleasure Bye . Hey , thank you for joining me today on Topsoil Insider . If you liked today's episode , please hit the follow or subscribe button so that you can get the Topsoil Insider podcast delivered automatically to whichever podcast platform you're listening on . And if you're a business owner and you wish to set up a pre-interview or you wanna advertise , please email me at topsoilinsider at gmailcom . Please also find and like the Topsoil Insider Facebook page . I provide links to the new podcast there each week , as well as providing photos of the businesses that I'm highlighting , along with any of their upcoming events . So , hey , let's do this again next week . I'll see you around Topsoil .