Meet Mike and Kristin Scaglione | Creators and Owners of Firefly Forts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike and Kristin Scaglione and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike and Kristin, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Firefly Forts was born out of the desire to create a place for our children to call their own. We wanted a place that would grow with our children…that would be equally as desirable to a 5 year old as it would be to a 15 year old…or even a 50 year old! Being parents ourselves, we know firsthand what kids are looking for along with the quality parents desire. After seeing the joy the very first Firefly Fort (our own!) brought to our children and our family, we made it our mission to spread that joy to as many families as possible! We believe that a fort has the ability to help families connect and we are passionate about working with our families to create a custom space based on the needs and wants of both the children and the parents. Our goal is to personally connect with each and every family for which we build. We believe these relationships, partnered with our desire for exceptional customer service and the magic of our forts are the keys to the success in building the Firefly brand.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When we look back at our first year in business, we can’t help but smile! Running a treefort business was never in the plans for the Scaglione family! But when Covid caused the hospitals to shut down, Mike, working in the medical device industry, found himself at home for the first time in years. It didn’t take long for cabin fever to set it, so one day, without warning, Mike came home with a truck full of lumber and announced his plans to build a treefort in our backyard. Without a plan or any previous construction experience, he went to work. He chipped away at the project one day at a time and ended up creating an incredible structure that exceeded even his own expectations! It was gorgeous! When we saw the joy that it brought to not only our children, but our entire family, we knew we were on to something special. From that day on, we made it our mission to bring that joy to as many families as possible by creating unique and custom spaces for families to reconnect and share lasting memories in their own backyard.
Has it been easy? Heck no! We have had our shares of ups and downs but we have learned so much along the way and feel that with each lesson has come growth and an opportunity to make Firefly a better and stronger brand. I think at the end of the day, we have realized that taking the risk to venture out and try something new can be scary. But on the other side of that fear of the unknown, is the potential for something life changing. Had we not taken the risk in creating Firefly Forts, we would have missed out on the opportunity to bring joy to so many families and that has been the greatest gift in all of this!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love where we live and we love showing our friends and family all of our favorite spots! For all of our out of town guests, the new Hamilton hotel is by far the best of the best. It is smack in the middle of our favorite place to hang, downtown Alpharetta. Starting your day walking over to The Front Porch is a non-negotiable. Amazing brunch with a southern twist and the best mimosas and bloody mary’s in town. We love exploring all the amazing hiking trials nearby with the Roswell Mill being one of our all-time favorites. After working up an appetite, Chiringa or Pure are great spots to grab a bite to eat. Great outdoor seating, delicious food and amazing margaritas! (Try the Skinny Love at Pure…my fave!) Downtown Alpharetta is full of great shopping. There is even a path over to Avalon so your options are endless. Once happy hour hits, you will almost always find us at Truck and Tap. Laid back atmosphere, partnered with daily food trucks and live music is our idea of the perfect place to sit outside and sip on a cocktail. Our favorite dinner spots are Lapeer for incredible seafood and Lily Sushi for the best sushi in town! And if you are craving pizza, Minnie Olivia’s Why Not pizza will change your life! We love to end our weekends with friends by introducing them to our favorite little local winery, The Painted Horse. Family owned, it is the perfect place to catch up with friends, relax and enjoy some delicious wine and cheese. We have only lived here for two years so we are still discovering all the things our city has to offer! These are just a few of our faves but our list could literally go on forever!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Firefly Forts was an unexpected business born out of a stay at home order and one very bored and stir-crazy father! We were already leading extremely busy lives and adding one more thing onto our plate was definitely not in the plan. That being said, this business has, from the very beginning, felt very meant to be and we have loved every minute of building it together. But starting a new biz is certainly not easy! Mike still works a full time job and we are juggling the day to day life of being parents to two young kids. We would never be where we are today without the help, love, support and encouragement of our family, friends and customers during our first year in business. So many people have cheered us on along the way and it is because of that, we are constantly reminded that we are exactly where we are meant to me, doing exactly what we are meant to do…spreading joy to as many families as possible through our forts.
We also have to give a special shoutout to our lead carpenter, Joseph Jones. While Mike built the very first Firefly Fort, Joseph now leads our construction crew and has taken our forts to an entirely new level or creativity and quality. He was the very first person to believe in our vision and has helped our company grow in ways we never imagined. We are so thankful to have him and our entire crew as part of our Firefly family.

Website: www.fireflyforts.com

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

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