Dell Ann Upp now is painting broad strokes for Kansas City-based Creative Culture and plans to expand throughout the Midwest.
The DIY creative studio, which opened its first spot in 2020 in Westport, soon will have four locations. It expanded to Portland, Oregon, and to Leawood’s Park Place last spring, and in March, its downtown Omaha studio is slated to open.
“I plan to grow this business fairly large,” said Upp, who co-founded the business with her husband, Kelly.
The goal is to open two to three locations a year in the Midwest and eventually expand in the North. One sign for expansion has been the number of emails and social media requests Upp receives asking about launching locations in other cities. She takes those requests seriously, she said, and follows up with market research. The expansion to Portland, however, was more personal, than anything.
Upp, who lives part time in Portland, said she had gotten bored out there.
“I needed something to do because I’m a workaholic,” she said. “But when you do something you love, it’s not really work.”
Read more in the Kansas City Business Journal.