Nixie Sparrow Flies Out of the Coop - Outgrowing Space
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When the Nixie Sparrows, Megan Lawrence and Sarah Beinstein, flew into the Telephone Building on Beacon's Main Street across from Key Food to set up shop as a creative workshop/make/drink/learn space, they awoke or made stronger everyone's creative spirits and yearnings to make something beautiful. Their office reminded me of one of the first Etsy Labs that I toured with a friend for my very first blog.
What started out as workshops for groups of people quickly expanded into private DIY parties for locals whose friends were coming into town for a visit, or for bridal showers or corporate events. Intriguing pictures of what tools they would be using in a workshop had many glued to the Nixie Sparrow Instagram stream.
That's about the time big signage started showing up more and more in their stream. There were hand-painted signs in beautiful fonts with floral detail, and trips down to Charleston and other cities to design and transform spaces for weddings.
And then the house-flipping started. The Nixies, as they are known around town, could not be contained in their 510-square-foot office. They "came in like tornadoes," said their landlord, Deborah Bigelow, restoration artist for Gilded Twig and restorer of the Telephone Building (which has been home to Nixie Sparrow, Beahive, and several other creative businesses). Meg and Sarah bought a fixer-upper house on the West end of town and began renovations, never having renovated a house before.
Next thing they knew, the DIY Network found them. Meg and Sarah had been posting a few house-flipping pictures to their Instagram, and the show "First Time Flippers" found them. The network proposed that the girls do an episode of live-flipping. They agreed, and months of new work began. You can catch the episode replay on one of these upcoming dates!
Which brings us to the present day, when the Nixie Sparrows announced that they were moving out of the workshop space in order to pursue the calling of where their business was taking them: event decor and styling. Several attended their going-away party, including myself. Before they left, we interviewed them to learn more about what they are pursuing next.
ALBB: What types of projects could you not do in this space that you wanted to do more of?
NS: Over the past year or so, we have had a lot of individuals coming to us for decor help with their weddings and events. It is something we really enjoy and didn't want to turn down so our business began to take a different route than planned. We started accumulating all sorts of materials and staging pieces in addition to our workshop supplies.
So with both decor styling and workshops taking place, there were many projects we couldn't handle. We didn't have running water in our space, which made it difficult to wash paintbrushes or use chemicals that required water (etching solutions, etc.) and we couldn't store a lot of our larger pieces, stain wood, spray paint or use any products that were strong in odor (casting resins, strong glues, etc.).
ALBB: Where have you been traveling to for projects?
NS: We need better ventilation or spaces where we can easily step outside to paint and get a little 'dirty.' We would end up doing a lot of our projects at home in the backyard, where we could spread out and really store our pieces.
ALBB: Are there more house flips in your future?
NS: As for future house flips, we aren't searching for them, but if an opportunity presents itself you never know! We do love to transform spaces, so working with design and esthetic within a home is more favored by us.
ALBB: What was both of your favorite parts about the flip?
NS: Meg's favorite part about the flip was learning the process, being that it was her first flip; forming contacts and relationships with subcontractors and learning everything first-hand.
I (Sarah) really enjoyed helping pick out paint colors and design elements. If Meg hit a road block in terms of picking out particular colors, tiles, etc., I would try and help narrow options. Picking a palette or theme when there are so many decisions to make helps get the job done.
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| Photo credit: Nixie Sparrow |
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| Photo credit: Nixie Sparrow |
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| Photo credit: Nixie Sparrow |
And then the house-flipping started. The Nixies, as they are known around town, could not be contained in their 510-square-foot office. They "came in like tornadoes," said their landlord, Deborah Bigelow, restoration artist for Gilded Twig and restorer of the Telephone Building (which has been home to Nixie Sparrow, Beahive, and several other creative businesses). Meg and Sarah bought a fixer-upper house on the West end of town and began renovations, never having renovated a house before.
 |
| Photo credit: Nixie Sparrow |
Next thing they knew, the DIY Network found them. Meg and Sarah had been posting a few house-flipping pictures to their Instagram, and the show "First Time Flippers" found them. The network proposed that the girls do an episode of live-flipping. They agreed, and months of new work began. You can catch the episode replay on one of these upcoming dates!
 |
| Photo credit: Nixie Sparrow |
Which brings us to the present day, when the Nixie Sparrows announced that they were moving out of the workshop space in order to pursue the calling of where their business was taking them: event decor and styling. Several attended their going-away party, including myself. Before they left, we interviewed them to learn more about what they are pursuing next.
ALBB: What types of projects could you not do in this space that you wanted to do more of?
NS: Over the past year or so, we have had a lot of individuals coming to us for decor help with their weddings and events. It is something we really enjoy and didn't want to turn down so our business began to take a different route than planned. We started accumulating all sorts of materials and staging pieces in addition to our workshop supplies.
So with both decor styling and workshops taking place, there were many projects we couldn't handle. We didn't have running water in our space, which made it difficult to wash paintbrushes or use chemicals that required water (etching solutions, etc.) and we couldn't store a lot of our larger pieces, stain wood, spray paint or use any products that were strong in odor (casting resins, strong glues, etc.).
ALBB: Where have you been traveling to for projects?
NS: We need better ventilation or spaces where we can easily step outside to paint and get a little 'dirty.' We would end up doing a lot of our projects at home in the backyard, where we could spread out and really store our pieces.
ALBB: Are there more house flips in your future?
NS: As for future house flips, we aren't searching for them, but if an opportunity presents itself you never know! We do love to transform spaces, so working with design and esthetic within a home is more favored by us.
ALBB: What was both of your favorite parts about the flip?
NS: Meg's favorite part about the flip was learning the process, being that it was her first flip; forming contacts and relationships with subcontractors and learning everything first-hand.
I (Sarah) really enjoyed helping pick out paint colors and design elements. If Meg hit a road block in terms of picking out particular colors, tiles, etc., I would try and help narrow options. Picking a palette or theme when there are so many decisions to make helps get the job done.
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I know I speak for everyone in saying that we look forward to seeing where the Nixie Sparrows fly next, and several of you may already have hired or in the future hire them to get their special look in your home or for your project or event. Congratulations!
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| Photo credit: Nixie Sparrow |
