INSPIREMS

Blairhaus {Insider Inspiration}

7/2/2018

Happy Monday y’all!
We are so excited that the Fourth of July is right around the corner! We hope that y’all are gearing up to have a wonderful celebration with your loved ones full of good food, fireworks, and a good times!. Today we wanted to introduce y’all to Traci Lewis, the owner of the wonderful Blairhaus, located in Tupelo. Blairhaus is truly a one stop shop when it comes to home staging, interior design, furniture, lighting, and even home customization. Traci is so incredibly talented and we are honored to share her story with y’all today as a part of our series on inspirational female business owners in Mississippi!

{Tell us a little bit about you!}
I am married with three children and four dogs, my fur babies. My background is pediatric nursing and pediatric high tech home healthcare management. When my husband accepted a job offer in Tupelo almost 11 years ago, there were no nursing positions within my specialty. Although I do have adult ICU and trauma experience, the thought of working with large humans again didn’t appeal to me. I have always LOVED fine linens, textiles, antiques, interior design, landscape design, building and remodeling, etc. So in 2011 I opened my first small business and it has continued to evolve. II built my first house when I was 21 years old, my second house build was at the age of 25 and since then my husband and I have remodeled 7 houses for us personally - it's a sickness really :)

{What lead you to opening Blairhaus?}
Blairhaus opened as the design, home furnishings and fine linen component of The Farmhouse Tupelo (I co-owned Farmhouse as well). Farmhouse and Blairhaus split at the end of last year. Blairhaus is the culmination of all that I love - interior design, fine linens, quality and customizable furnishings, beautiful and unique lighting.

{What can Blairhaus offer its clients?}
The Blairhaus Team has Interior Designers, certified home stagers, professional photographers, artists, and graphic designers.
Blairhaus offers full service interior design services, home staging services, quality home furnishings and accessories, unique gifts, fine linens, lighting, etc. We work with builders and homeowners to design their home from concept to completion. We specialize in 3D modeling of clients’ floor plans and beautiful, realistic renderings of clients' homes before the foundation is even poured! This proves to save the homeowner money by seeing the complete design of their home - paint colors, finishes and fixtures, furniture layout, lighting, flooring, etc - prior to beginning the build so that costly changes do not have to be made during construction. We offer this service to both our design clients and to other designers who want to provide renderings/3D modeling for their clients and don’t have the time or expertise.
The Blairhaus showroom in Tupelo is a retail boutique featuring a sampling of great furniture, gifts, fine linens, lighting, original art, rugs and home accessories from some of our favorite vendors. We welcome other interior designers and decorators to utilize our showroom, fabric library and vendor relationships for their clients as well. Our showroom team loves helping clients pull together bedding, customizing a piece of furniture or just finding that one perfect piece to complete a space.
Blairhaus also offers home staging services for realtors and homeowners. Statistics show that home staging sells your house faster and for more money. We provide both occupied and vacant home staging services. When we stage an “occupied” property, we consult with the homeowner on ways to improve the home to highlight its best features while utilizing the homeowner’s belongings. For homes that are vacant, Blairhaus will design and install home furnishings/decor so that buyers can properly visualize the house as a home.

We also provide Redesign services for clients who love their belongings but just want to freshen up or liven up their home without buying new things. Our design team then redesigns their space with what they already have to give them a whole new look!

{What is your biggest inspiration?}
Wow - that’s a hard question. I am inspired by so many random things, LOL. My family inspires me to persevere through the hard times - they are my biggest cheerleaders and my biggest critics - that’s why I find it so important and rewarding to have them involved in everything I do. My team at Blairhaus inspires me with their ideas and their diverse talents - they are imaginative, inventive, hard working and so, so talented. My team rocks!!

{What is your favorite part about working in this industry? }
Collaborating with others to find solutions to problems and thinking outside the box and creating beautiful spaces that function for a person/family’s lifestyle is very rewarding - I love turning a client’s home into their happy place!

{What does being a female business owner in Mississippi mean to you?}
I am very blessed to have a supportive family that encouraged me to take the leap into a different profession. Also, I am surrounded by other female entrepreneurs that are so talented and intelligent who don’t mind sharing their knowledge and expertise. Women need to support other women - we should encourage each other and not tear each other down. Everyone has a unique talent and something special to give - my gift may not be your gift but that doesn’t make my contribution any less valuable. No matter the gender of the person, we should acknowledge each person’s unique gift and learn from them, not focus on their flaws - that's the biggest challenge for women to overcome.

{What type of business is Blairhaus? }
Blairhaus is a family run business with a small staff. My family is involved in every aspect of the business from delivering furniture to working in the showroom to attending markets/shows with me. I wouldn’t want to have a business that didn’t involve them - my husband, kids and fur babies keep me grounded.

{What do you see in the future for Blairhaus?}
My team and I have big dreams for Blairhaus but ultimately our biggest desire is to provide the best possible service to each client. We are still a young business and we are very excited about what the future may bring!

We just launched our Ecom shopping site on our web page Blairhaus.com. Shoppers can now shop our store 24/7. We also just launched a new instagram page @blairhausboutique to highlight great products in our showroom. @blairhausinteriors is our FB/IG page that highlights our design services/projects/inspiration.

Photography by Stephanie Rhea Photography

Mississippi Championship Hot Air Balloon Festival {Events}

6/27/2018

There is something undeniably magical about watching the bright colored balloons float up and away into the summer sky. Canton, Mississippi is hosting the thirty third annual Mississippi Championship Hot Air Balloon Festival this weekend, June 28th through the 30th.

From the Canton board of Tourism,“Featuring over 25 balloons, a fireworks extravaganza, colorful balloons of all shapes and sizes, entertainment, concessions, and lots of fun. You’re guaranteed a good time as you experience the mirage of colors decorating the summer sky. Our Independence Day heritage is highlighted by fun family activities that will treat the family to an old-fashioned weekend of togetherness. There is a vast array of competitive events for pilots to test their balloon savvy in pursuit of valuable cash prizes. There is also the ever popular Balloon Glows at sunset to delight children and adults of all ages. Come watch the balloons flicker and dance in the evening twilight. We are excited to announce this year's Balloon Festival will feature special shape balloon all the way from England, Tall Steve the penguin!

For more information on this year’s festival please visit the Facebook page.

Southern Legislative Conference {Events}

6/27/2018

In the summer of 2017, Mississippi hosted the 71st Annual Meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Each year, the Annual Meeting serves as the culmination of the SLC’s yearly activities and continues to be the largest single convention held within The Council of State Governments. In 2017, Mississippi’s Speaker of the House, Philip Gunn, served as Chairman of the SLC. “We were very honored to host the SLC on the Gulf Coast this year,” said Gunn. “Organizers told us to prepare for about 900 people. More than 1,300 people attended the conference. People were excited about visiting Mississippi and all of our partners did a wonderful job showcasing our great state.”

Legislators and staff from the 15 member states of the Southern Legislative Conference descended on the Gulf Coast for the conference, which combines substantive programming on pressing state policy issues and also gives the host state the opportunity to shine. “The SLC Annual Meeting has emerged as the premiere regional public policy gathering for state legislators, legislative staff, and government officials in the South,” says Amanda Wells, Mississippi’s Host State Coordinator. “At the conference, policymakers are provided a forum to engage on the issues that matter most to them and their constituents. As host state, we were also able to really showcase Mississippi hospitality to those that may or may not have ever had the opportunity to experience our state and its people.”

In addition to policy sessions, Mississippi speakers spoke to issues important to lawmakers. Laurel’s own Erin & Ben Napier of HGTV’s Hometown spoke to the SLC Executive Committee about small town revitalization and their passion for historic preservation. Mississippi’s own football king, Archie Manning, spoke at the opening plenary session on leadership and coast native and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise spoke at the closing plenary about his experience in space research.

Throughout the conference, various venues and cities along the Gulf Coast came to life to showcase all things Mississippi. “At the Opening Reception at Gulfport’s Jones Park (Mississippi’s front yard), we featured Mississippi cuisine like turnip greens, catfish, Delta tamales, and Mississippi mud pie,” says Wells. “At that event, Emmy-winner Bobby Rush brought down the house and really proved why we are known for our music,” smiles Wells. “We had fireworks over the Gulf and a really, really great time. Fresh Cut Catering provided wonderful cuisine, Davaine Lighting helped light up the Park, and Cathead Distillery made a signature cocktail for the reception.”
An old-fashioned beach party was the theme for Family Night in Ocean Springs. “We had s’mores, carnival food, ice-cold lemonade and the like,” says Wells. “Country music star and Greenville native Steve Azar provided entertainment as well as the show-stopping march of JSU’s Sonic Boom of the South (my personal highlight of the conference.” The State Dinner was held at the Beau Rivage and featured music by celebrated pianist Bruce Levingston and American Idol runner up, McComb native La’Porsha Renae.

Throughout the conference, guests of legislators were treated to guest tours. They toured the Coast’s craft breweries, visited Shearwater Pottery and learned the history of the Anderson family, had a cooking demo by Chef Martha Foose, and enjoyed a Q&A with Richard Grant, author of Dispatches from Pluto and a Mississippi transplant.
Even the youth that attended had several great opportunities to see the fun that Mississippi has to offer. They saw dolphins at the Institute of Marine Mammal Sciences and spent a day at Lynn Meadows Discovery Center where the Ohr O’Keefe Museum helped them with an art project, showcasing our state’s rich arts culture.
“As the host state, we had a unique opportunity to showcase Mississippi hospitality at its finest and to bring a great economic boost to the coast, both of which I feel like we accomplished and more,” remarks Wells. “It was so much fun to dive even deeper into what our state has to offer than I have in my past work. It was certainly an honor.”
To learn more about the Southern Legislative Conference, please visit www.slcatlanta.org.

Article written by Jill Dale, Photography by N.T. Bullock

Static A Salon {Insider Inspiration}

6/25/2018

Happy Monday y’all! I hope everyone had a fantastic, productive day and stayed cool! The incredibly talented Molly Gee Webster is next in our series of inspirational female business owners in Mississippi. Molly is the owner of Static a Salon in Madison. Molly Gee’s creativity and talent inspires us every time we see her work. Keep reading to hear her take on owning and operating her own business!

{Tell us about you!}
Hi! My name is Molly Gee Webster and I am owner of Static a Salon in Madison, Mississippi. I also work behind the chair full time as a cosmetologist and on location for wedding/event hair and make up styling. My background started in fashion with a degree from MSU in Fashion Merchandising and living and working in New York City. It was there that I created a line of bridal hair accessories and later moved my business to my hometown of Madison. Over the next few years, I gained a reputation for myself as the go-to designer for keepsake bridal accessories, opened wholesale accounts with over 40 stores nationwide, married my husband and went through cosmetology school to offer hair and makeup styling along with the custom accessories I designed. As I grew a clientele and a vision for salon ownership, I set my focus on hairstyling and closed the chapter on sewing/design. 2017 started with a bang as we purchased Static a Salon and expected our first born, Cyrena. Salon ownership and motherhood have been two wonderful new worlds to navigate! We also have two sweet pups named Fern and Zoey.

{Tell us about your business!}
Static a Salon is located in the heart of Madison and provides numerous beauty and hair services such as haircutting, styling, hair extensions, keratin treatments, hair coloring and more. We also provide hair and makeup services for occasions like weddings and events in the salon and on location. Our mission is quite simply to set and maintain the standard for attainable beauty and unsurpassed customer service. Staying on trend with the latest techniques and continually perfecting our craft is a number one priority as we attend hair shows and education classes throughout the year. We also offer high quality, cruelty free hair care products such as Paul Mitchell and Kevin Murphy.

{What kind of inspirational women do you work with on a daily basis?}
I have hand picked a phenomenal team of highly motivated, well qualified stylists who encourage and support each other on a daily basis. We bounce ideas and share our skills with each other, working as a unit. We love our clientele and the idea that we can enhance their mood or self confidence with the change of a cut, color, or style. We wouldn't be where we are without their dedication to us and our salon.
{What was your inspiration for starting your business?}
It's funny how interests shift and mine have definitely evolved over time. My goals changed from fashion design in a big city to a new, creative life in hairstyling in the close-knit family community where I was born and raised. Each step of the way, I set a goal to offer exceptional service in each industry and evolve where I saw a need.

{What’s it like being a female business owner in Mississippi? Can you speak to any advantages or disadvantages?}
Thankfully I haven't felt any disadvantages in being a female business owner. I do feel that I understand the needs and wants of other females in the area of beauty and style. Listening to my customers and knowing what service to best offer them is key in this industry.

{Are there any resources you used to open your business that you would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs?}
The internet and social media are very powerful sources if you are motivated and seek out the answers to your questions. There's also nothing like a mentor who has been in your shoes and willing to offer helpful advice. We can all learn from each other!
{What words of advice would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs?} Owning a business is so rewarding but it's not for the light at heart. One must have set goals and a dedication to hard work and hustle along the way. As tough as it can be, failure can also be a huge motivator and way to figure out what works and doesn't work for you and your business!

{What’s your favorite part about living and working in Mississippi?}
I love the sense of community Mississippi offers. Word of mouth has been my biggest source for growth and the wedding vendor community in particular is like family. We cheer on each other's successes and it's so rewarding to see the outcome of each joining together to create a beautiful and memorable day for a happy couple.

Give Static a Salon a follow on Instagram @static_a_salon and make sure to like their Facebook page.

Photography by Lauren Liddell, Ashleigh Coleman, and Ashley Upchurch

Summer Cover 2018 {En Pointe: A Ballet Inspired Wedding}

6/22/2018

Though it’s surely felt like summer for a while now, today marks the first official day of the summer season! Here at Inspiration we love everything summer stands for. Something about the season lends itself to making wonderful, lasting memories with family and friends. From backyard cookouts to beach vacations and weekend pool days, we hope that y’all enjoy every single second under the summer sun!

This year’s summer cover was inspired by the United States International Ballet Competition. Every four years, Jackson, Mississippi, becomes the center of the dance world when ballet dancers and guests from all over the world arrive for the International Ballet Competition. Using the Competition as the inspiration for summer wedding, The Barn at Bridlewood in Madison was the perfect backdrop with its serene setting and stunning sunset. The bride was radiant in her beautiful gown and her blue pointe ballet shoes provided the perfect “something blue” for her special day.