Imagine a relaxing evening out with friends, talking, drinking wine, and painting. It’s possible at RSVPaint in downtown Springfield.
Fred Carper started the business about three years ago. Located at 440 S. Campbell Ave., RSVPaint enourages customers to reserve a spot at a session to relax, sip, visit, and paint.
Carper got the idea from other “sip and paint” studios in Dallas. He noticed there was a smaller one in Springfield, so he bought it and started expanding.
“We expanded basically every aspect of the business and kind of went and grew from there,” he says. The business hired more artists and added more sessions to the schedule. Now, it has six artists that lead sessions for two hours each, and the business has a new location in Joplin.
Carper says you might surprise yourself.
Every two-hour session begins with the check-in. Customers come in, get a drink at the bar, prep for the session to begin, and then the artist starts them on a specific painting they can later take home.
“Most people claim, ‘I don’t know if I can do this’ …but most people kind of end up surprising themselves,” Carper says.
With each painting using four or five steps, it’s fairly easy for inexperienced painters to catch on. RSVPaint is more about the experience — it’s not structured or strict. The first part of the motto is relax, to reduce stress for patrons.
As a business, the key is to grow and evolve.
Having to come up with a new piece of art to create for the customers can be challenging, but Carper says, “Business is always in a constant state of evolution.”
He thinks that there always needs to be a new aspect of the consumer experience. At RSVPaint, Carper says the business is always changing something, whether it’s the décor, the paintings, or the artist leading the session. No two sessions will be the same.
“This six to eight months is highlighted lamps,” Carper says. The lamps are near the ceiling on a shelf, giving a calm glow to the studio. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, hey, what have you guys added?’ because our thing to do now is we add different pieces every now and then. … One of our last additions was the deer head and the elephant.”
RSVPaint works to create a distinctive experience, too.
Since its opening, RSVPaint has been part of a few marriage proposals, birthday parties, girls’ nights, and other special events. Sharing those moments with customer make Carper’s job special. “Those are really cool things to be a part of,” he says.
“You’re sharing in somebody’s special moments. It’s an event that they look back on, and they’ll know what they did on that night for the rest of their lives. So you’re part of that, which is pretty cool.” — Fred Carper, owner of RSVPaint
RSVPaint helps you paint your pet.
RSVPaint will also help you paint a picture of your pet. “That’s where people send in a photo of their pet, and we pre-sketch it on the canvas. Then (we) show them how to create dog fur, cat fur, and all that kind of stuff.
“So, people come in just terrified at the fact that, ‘I’m just really going to screw this up.’ …but then they say, ‘Eh, it’s pretty good.’ So, that’s kind of self-fulfilling and gratifying.”
For him, it’s satisfying to see people exceed their expectations and do something they thought they couldn’t.
Time management is difficult, but Carper embraces the challenge.
Carper actually owns two businesses, and they are polar opposites: RSVPaint and a separate IT consulting company. “Art is very forgiving and very fluid, and IT isn’t,” he says. “So, this (business) is kind of an escape for me. It’s a way to unwind and be creative.”
Owning two businesses and having a family can be hard to balance at times, but it is also rewarding, Carper says. “I’d say that’s the biggest challenge — just making sure your time is spent where it should be.”
