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

Hi Katie, what do you attribute your success to?
Success looks different to everyone and I think that is what has contributed to our success over the past year. What looks like success to us is sticking to our brand, serving our clients with top-notch party decor and continuing to perfect our craft. We started this business because we loved throwing parties for our kids and it blossomed into a partnership where we get to create memories for other families and businesses. For us, success is client referrals, repeat clients and continuing to stay true to what we want from this. We have the BEST clients and have already had so many referrals and have been offered such valuable feedback. We couldn’t be more thankful for the clients who trusted us at the beginning and the clients who continue to trust us with their special moments.

As we move forward, we would love to do more corporate/business events – think grand openings, holiday garlands at storefronts or special events celebrating the success of a business. We have a few of those in the lineup coming up and we are so excited! I think moving forward, we also would love to see success in more inclusive party prep; not just providing gorgeous balloons and a backdrop but creating table-scapes and other elements that bring the whole party together!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Both Amalie and I taught for multiple years. Our professional lives have always centered on that. As teachers, we are both organized, creative and natural problem-solvers. Teaching lower grades (3-5) – which made up most of our teaching careers – requires certain elements of fun and organization to help the classroom run smoothly and effectively. While talking with each other, we realized we both love to organize and plan parties in different capacities. Many of our practiced and perfected teaching skills easily made the transfer to event planning and party decor. We have to be organized – think client inquiries, invoices, budgets, inventory, processes, the list goes on. We also have to be creative! This comes in so many forms; rendering mock-ups of client ideas, working within a budget to create what each client wants, taking client ideas and inspiration and bringing them to life…again, the list goes on. I think what makes us the most proud is that we were able to start this business while both of us were still teaching. Teaching is hard and very time consuming but we knew we wanted to do this and we made it work. There were a lot of late nights and a lot of small pockets of time that we used to make this dream become a reality. It wasn’t easy but, with both of us putting in the work, we got it up and running and it has been so successful! We are really proud of what we have accomplished in our first year and cannot wait to see what year two has in store.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Katie – Time in DFW with my best friend would include brunch, shopping, and walking around! Smoky Rose and Dolce Riviera would be musts with their brunch being top notch and mimosas for all. Any mall – Northpark, Galleria, Stonebriar – would take up a considerable amount of time. After shopping, we could hit Katy Trail and get some food at Katy Trail Ice House. Knowing her, she would also beg for anywhere with sushi! One of my favorite spots is Thai Square in Sunnyvale but we would also go to Oishii because it’s the best!

Amalie – A visit to DFW would include fine dining, doggy play-dates and basketball! Taking our dogs to Mutt’s would be on the top of the list. It is a great place to eat and socialize your pup. At some point, a Mavs game would be a MUST! And dinner before the game at Nick and Sam’s would seal the deal on the best day ever!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Both of us would be absolutely nowhere in our business without our families. They have been our support, helping hands, extra cars, and have picked up the slack at home when we are at event set-ups all weekend. There have been so many long nights and full weekends where we have been deep in events and they have taken care of our kiddos, brought us things we forgot, or been at the events setting up or tearing down (shoutout to Bruce, the VIP!). Amalie’s dad has been at several events helping with set up and tear down, my mom has been at multiple helping with the same. Our kids even “help” count and blow up balloons. Our backdrops, balloons, decor and supplies take up an insane amount in each of our homes and our families have adapted and made it work! Their support has been everything in this process and continues to give us the push we need to keep going!

Website: www.teacherswhoparty.com

Instagram: teacherswhopartyevents

Facebook: Teachers Who Party LLC

Image Credits
All photos taken with mine and Amalie’s phones after event set ups.

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