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

Hi Farrah, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have to give credit to my friend and former business partner, Suzanne Platt, for coming up with the idea to bring Board & Brush to Athens. But I had been exploring possibly buying a different business when she proposed this idea to me. I liked the idea of having a business partner and since she had more of a business marketing background, I thought it would make sense to go in with her. Having my own business appealed to me because, at the time, my kids were younger and I wanted to be able to make my own hours and be home for them or be able to attend their school and sporting events. I also knew how owning a business would help me connect more with my community. Board & Brush is a place where people can gather and DIY together. I liked being able to provide something like that for our community; where people can get creative and fellowship with one another, de-stress, and have a fun experience.

What should our readers know about your business?
Board & Brush Creative Studio offers inspiring DIY workshops for people who love to sip, paint, create, and connect with friends. We are your place to build on-trend, farmhouse-classic, inspirational pieces of décor for your home, office, or cottage.

Our DIY paint and sip workshops teach you the techniques needed to create a décor piece that looks professionally made and is worthy of your walls. We promise a creative experience you won’t forget.

What sets us apart is our workshop setting. Our instructors take our customers through each DIY step and our table assistants are there to support and provide advice and assistance. We make it a fun atmosphere where our customers can have a great experience. Our goal is for our customers to want to return and bring friends back with them.

It hasn’t always been easy. I am not a business person by trade. I was a certified athletic trainer, so the business side of things has been a ‘learn as I go’ deal. I have had to lean on other small business leaders in my community to help me. My biggest advice would be to join your local Chamber of Commerce so that you can have those business connections when you need them.

A full studio excites me. I love to see all the tables full of DIY projects and people having fun and laughing and creating together. I love when husbands and wives attend a workshop together. I love when mothers and daughters or sisters or groups of friends come together. I love people gathering in the studio. It brings me joy and I feel like the customer receives joy as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh goodness, that’s so hard in Athens! We have so many amazing things to do. Ok, so we would have to eat at Chuck’s Fish. They have the best sushi around.
For breakfast we would go to Mama’s Boy one morning, Another Broken Egg the next and then The Flying Biscuit the next. (breakfast is my favorite meal of the day)
I would take them to Sanford Stadium, the Arch, the Botanical Gardens, Wire Park (and have a beer at South Main Brewing), go to Oak House Distillery for their famous Gin and Tonic. I’d drive them down Milledge to see all the sorority and fraternity houses. If theres’s a good show at Georgia Theatre, we would hit that up. We’d shop around downtown and Epps.
And of course, we would go to a workshop at Board & Brush!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout goes to my husband, Scott. He has always encouraged me in all that I do. We may not always see eye to eye on the business side of things but he supports me and helps me bounce ideas around. He helped build our furniture for the studio and is always willing to help fix anything I need help with. He’s pretty handy. He shows me unconditional love and support and I would not have made it this far with my business if it wasn’t for him.

Website: www.boardandbrush.com/athens

Instagram: boardandbrushathens

Facebook: Board and Brush Athens

Image Credits
The outside and interior studio shot with no people were by Blaine Marable Photography. The headshot is by Oconee Creative Studio.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.