Meet Valerie Barendregt | Tea parties and Events Purveyor

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

Hi Valerie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process was simple; exit the 9-5 world, build a business that I can work alongside my daughter teaching her how to be an entrepreneur so that I can eventually give her the business one day. Like many people that pursued their passions during the pandemic downtime I chose to create a business that was fun, beautiful and that filled a niche market. I also thought that there are not many ways for people to get together that are not centered around alcohol; tea and afternoon tea time are such a great way to bring people together without it.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I always chuckle to myself when I think of my business and where I came from. I am prior military….I mean I was hardcore 82nd Airborne with about 50 jumps and a tour to Afghanistan under my belt. I chuckle because my fellow Soldiers would never believe this is my occupation now as I am not a very girly girl by nature. That being said The Cheeky TeaCup is my baby. We provide Instagram worthy elegant tea parties for bridal showers, baby showers/sprinkles, birthday parties, etc.

I have the exact formula down to a science regarding the table and what needs to be on it for a successful tea party. The key is for the guests to not have to get up from the table; everything must be within arms reach and they must be able to converse with each other easily so no high floral arrangements. I am a minimalist at home but my tables are designed as if I was a maximalist; there is always something on the table that sparks conversation but everything on my table is useable. Everything on my table is vintage and real; real china, real linen, real homemade food and real flowers. I believe that if you are going to spend money to entertain friends and family with an Afternoon tea, it should be as authentic and pretty as possible. And my “Me time” is spent going to estate sales to find these real items. If your Grandma had it, I will take it and make it into something trendy in my tea parties. Maybe I am a bit extra with my table settings; I went to the UK and was unimpressed with the Afternoon tea there but we probably make a bigger deal of it here in the States because it is not every day that we take tea.

I have learned a lot in the year and a half of being in business. I have learned to be crystal clear about what I offer and to be firm on my prices. Early on I had a friend tell me that when she first started her business that she threw in a lot of freebies and so I took her advice and did that too for the first year. Now, I know my value and those freebies are now extra. I did have two clients that were tough and taught me the very valuable lesson of putting everything in a contract. Every day I am refining my business and hopefully passing along the lessons to my daughter.

I would like the world (or at least Greater Atlanta) to know that no matter if my business goes belly up tomorrow that spending time with my daughter and watch her grow her business acumen has meant so much to me. She is a typical moody teenager but I swear she leaves all that at the door when it is tea time. We are so in sync when we work together that the comradery bleeds over into our regular lives. I don’t know if she realizes it yet but she can do this without me. I’m not going to be the one to tell her that though for at least a couple of years.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a huge fan of the outdoors so I would take my friend to Stone Mountain to begin with and we’d eat lunch at the little German restaurant afterwards because who doesn’t want a schnitzel after a hike.

Next I would probably take my friend to the Oakland cemetery because I am obsessed with it. Did you know more people are married there than buried there each year? Then I’d take them to the Buford Highway Farmers Market to get food for a nice dinner at home. I go to the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market for most my shopping needs.

At night, I would make sure to take them to Sister Louisa’s Church of the Ping Pong Emporium because hello people watching and it is always a good time. And this is right next to Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth home and that whole area. And depending on the time of year we’d hit up Piedmont Park and maybe I’d have a lovely afternoon tea picnic style to surprise them.

I would avoid the Coca Cola factory, CNN and Chick Fila football experience and certainly avoid the ferris wheel because that is way too touristy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to thank my partner Kourosh Fatemi for supporting me mentally and financially while starting my business. He is a Persian immigrant and like most recent immigrants starting a business in America is the goal and it really inspired me to create my own. He owns Temmer a luxury natural stone company and it is really impressive how far he has taken it.

Website: www.thecheekyteacup.com

Instagram: @thecheekyteacup

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecheekyteacup