Meet Lillian Puleo | DIY Creative Art Studio

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lillian Puleo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lillian, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Personally, I have never been artistic or creative, but have always loved being around people and seeing them smile. I started working at Board and Brush East Cobb back in August 2019. Before that, I was a stay at home mom, but wanting something to get out of the house and get around other adults. About six months after starting work there, the owner decided to sell and asked if I would like to purchase the business. My immediate thought was “Heck no! I have NO clue how to run any kind of business and I’ve never even managed people!” My husband pushed me to reconsider, as he knew how much I loved Board and Brush. With his encouragement, I decided to purchase the business in Jan 2020. My ownership take over was March 15, 2020- the weekend the whole world shut down. Great timing, right?? We decided to take this time to move the business store front and focus on getting our customers to not forget about us during this time. We ended up opening our doors May 1, 2020 and have been thriving ever since! Have there been scary times this past year and a half? Yes! But more than anything, I have learned how to lead, connect with my customers and run a successful business! My main goal is to make sure my customers have a wonderful time and smile in our workshops! If I accomplish that, then my job was a success. These past 16 months have taught me so much about myself and others. Its taught me how resilient I am and how taking risks can be a good thing! It has let me see the good in people. It has taught me how to bring out the creative side of people, when they thought they didn’t have one. It’s taught me how to empower women! That they CAN use power tools and sand and stain wood! And let’s not forget the guys that come in thinking they are just there to please their significant other, and end up loving it themselves! We make our workshops fun and keep it light. Nothing can be too serious, right?? We are also BYOB so that always helps things out! Ha!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We are a DIY farmhouse signs shop. We teach people how to make amazing works of art for their home or as gifts. My main focus and goal has always been customer service, I always tell my staff that people can go into any Hobby lobby and buy many of the items we are making, but we aren’t selling a sign here, we are selling an experience and memories. We want to make sure our customers KNOW that we appreciate them and that we want to make them happy, but we also want to empower them to know that they can do something that they may have never done before- using power tools or being creative!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Since I love home decor and shopping, I would probably take them at the Avalon to hit up some amazing stores then later in the week hit up Marietta Square for more local mom and pop shopping and of course, Bubble Tea! Some of the best food places would be Canoe, Tupelo Honey (one of my favs!), Semper Fi for an amazing burger, and downtown Roswell and Woodstock for some fun night life and drinks!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shout out to my husband who encouraged me to pursue my dream. My amazing staff that has been there with me from the beginning- ya’ll are rockstars and I couldn’t do it without you! And to my customers who has supported us since PRIOR to being able to open our doors. Without you, I wouldn’t even be here!

Website: https://bit.ly/bb-marietta-eastcobb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boardandbrusheastcobb/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boardandbrushmariettaga