Laura Eaton and Katie Kupstas are no strangers to how hard it is to start and sustain a business as an entrepreneur. Laura currently owns Old City Collective, Old City Social and Philadelphia Headshot. Katie co-runs Inventors Club Worldwide with her husband and also owns Katie Kupstas PR. Both are moms. So when business life got even tougher when covid hit what did they decide to do? Start another business together! Enter Insta Philly. Insta Philly recently opened in Old City, Philadelphia. It is an interactive ticketed experience where you can view installations of local artists and of course, take photos with the installations. The co-founders sourced some incredible artists through their networks to help showcase their work and bring it to a larger community. The build out was created by women with no contractors involved. They even involved their children in the process. “We may be small at Insta Philly but we have heart. . . I especially wanted my daughters to see that women can do all aspects of starting a business”, says co-founder Katie Kupstas.
I attended their media preview party and have included a few of my own fun photos here. Things were off to a great start and they already built a following of over 2000 on their brand new Instagram account when suddenly it was deleted. Attempts to connect with the powers that be to find out why or to “reinstate” their account have not been successful so they started a new account and kept it moving. Their new account is listed below. Please give them a follow so we can help ensure these local entrepreneurs can grow their reach and their visitors to this incredible space. They also contended with scaffolding over their entrance for the grand opening and the first month of operation. But that didn’t dampen their resolve to keep going either.
Their plan with Insta Philly is to change out some of the installations periodically and to install holiday focused temporary pop ups that people can visit later in the Fall with Halloween and the December holidays. You can also rent out the space or bring groups for events and birthday parties. Insta Philly has agreements with local Old City pizzerias for parties for children, teens and tweens. Tickets are timed and spaced out to ensure visitors can interact with each installation as well as to ensure covid safety.
They have also partnered with one of my personal favorite non-profits Alex’s Lemonade to offer a give back from a portion of their proceeds. Alex Scott was a local resident in the Philadelphia suburbs and although the non-profit has expanded their reach worldwide, the Scotts are very entrenched in the Philadelphia community. You can snap a photo with the installation representing Alex’s Lemonade as well.
“We want this to be a happy, fun space that showcases artists, local brands and non-profits to share with the Greater Philadelphia community,” says Laura Eaton, co-founder. Ladies, we are rooting for you!!!!
INFORMATION:
Purchase tickets and learn more at https://instaphilly.co/
Location: 219 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Instagram: @InstaPhillyPhoto