Literally drilling around and painting the store themselves — along with the help of their artistic father who designed the sign outside — Studio85 opened last October, one month after they found the location.
“We were very hands on. We brought in all of our friends and it took about two months to get the space retail ready. We already had our line ready to put in the store,” said Burriss.
In summer of 2010, a year after the sisters birthed the idea of Studio85 at the coffee shop, they began scouting manufacturers. After a trial and error process, they found a company in Asia that could produce colors and styles, which represented Studio85’s various collections.
“They send us what they can do, what they mix and what it mixes into and we take it from there. There are hundreds of colors than can mix to make another color. It really is about finding the right manufacturer that can cater to your specific needs,” Burriss added.
“That’s really the hard part. We were so excited and we knew what we wanted to do so we had the time and patience to go through all those color palettes. We customized them as much as we could.”
Getting Glossy
Months before opening, in spring of 2011 Studio85 officially launched when the founders received their first shipment of nail gloss.
“It took 4-8 weeks for everything to get in line; to share with the vendors what we were looking for: the various hues, designs and styles,” added Myers. “Everything turned out perfectly fine.“
As kids, the sisters grew up in a house that many young people would approve of. Their father who does everything from sculpting to painting would create works of art all over the house — inside and out.
“He painted anything he could get his hands on in the house and in the basement,” said Burriss.
