Meet Tia Calhoun | Interior Architect & Balloon Artist

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

Hi Tia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought actually occurred when the world was shut down during Covid in 2020. I love flexing my creative muscle and staying in the house all day that year made me want to do various creative projects around my house.

Next thing you know, my cousin asked me to decorate for her gender reveal and then my family asked me to decorate for our Christmas Banquet. People kept telling me I should be an event planner so instead of acquiring all that inventory to start off, I decided to launch a Balloon Business Instead. 😊

What should our readers know about your business?
The name of my business is ArchiDesigns Co. The “Archi” signifies my current career and child hood dream of being an architectural designer and the “designs” signifies who I am as a person: a designer of balloon art, an interior designer, fashion designer, the list goes on.

I’ve actually always wanted to be an entrepreneur. That was another childhood dream of mine and ironically enough, my balloon company wasn’t my first business. I created and sold jewelry as a 10 year old so I wasn’t a stranger to any business strategies: costs, expenses and profit. I think those simple skills as well as a bunch of courage has gotten me to where I am today.

I think I also have a large positive outlook on life and that has caused me to constantly be able to conquer what seems impossible to most. I think the thing I was/am most excited about was that in my first year of business, I was able to generate a 5 figure business! And trust me, that was no where near what I thought was possible when I launched in January of 2022.

I would also say no, that wasn’t easy, especially in the first year. The main strategy was posting somewhat consistently on Instagram and Facebook and people spreading the word via word of mouth. The other strategy was having a lot of faith in the good I knew I was/am building.

The main thing I learned during that first year was to not judge a book by its cover. The first few months of 2022, I received little to no inquires. 0 income coming through my business. My negative thoughts almost got the best of me. Then came Summer of 2022 and I received 4 or 5 inquiries and bookings a month. That remained pretty consistent for the remainder of the year. Like I said, by the end of the first few months, I thought I wouldn’t make much from my business and look at her now! Don’t judge the book by its cover! It’s really a mindset shift that has to occur when you’re a business owner.

I created this business to share my design light with the world ! (In a generic sense haha) I truly believe I have a gift and all I would like to be is of service to someone in need of my gifts.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oweeeee, I’m a planner at heart so this question is gold for me!

If my best friend was visiting me for a week, I’m showing her ALL of Atlanta: the eccletic east side, the industrial west side, the luxurious north side and the eccentric city center.

We would start by exploring a few of the cool shops of the east side such as Junkman’s Daughter and RagORama at Little Five Points. We’ll sprinkle in lunch or dinner at the Vortex too!

Then we’ll meander to Inner City East side by exploring a few shops and restaurants at Virginia Highlands and exploring Ponce City Market and the Roof Deck. If we have some down time, we’ll take a stroll on the Beltline near the skate park and enjoy a few street performers while we do.

Next day will be all about midtown Atlanta. We’ll have to decide what restaurants to choose from because they’re so many! If it’s a 2nd Sunday, we’ll catch the free entry to the High Museum and maybe a show that night at the Alliance Theater.

Another day would be dedicated to exploring a few of the parks and mixed use buildings of Buckhead! We may do a morning hike at some park and then do some afternoon window shopping at Buckhead Village.

Last day will be exploring Howell Mill Area. We may see what’s happening at the Interlock building and maybe go to the Painted Duck or something.

If it can fit in our itinerary, we’d have to check out a Braves game at the Battery too!

All things considered, my best friend would have an awesome time but we’d definitely have to take the whole week off work! Haha

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?
Honestly I wouldn’t have taken a leap of faith if it wasn’t for the encouragement from my family and the support of my best friends (Julien and Valencia). Til this day my family allows me to flex my creative muscle with any event we have and my boyfriend/best friend Julien has been my number 1 employee since I’ve launched my business!

Website: archidesignsco.com

Instagram: @archidesignsco

Linkedin: @archidesigns

Facebook: @archidesignsco

Youtube: ArchiDesigns

Other: TikTok: @archidesignsco Email: iamarchidesigns@gmail.com Pinterest: @iamarchidesigns