May 8, 2017

Meet Alexie Young of Invizion Colorz in North Lawndale Community

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexie Young.

Alexie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am an artreprenuer and owner of Invizion Colorz Inc.

When I was young, I knew that I would be an artist. I grew closer to my passion for art while attending North Lawndale College Prep. Although I attended high school in a really rough neighborhood, I had access to so many resources that inspired me to start my business in North Lawndale.

For 8 months now, Invizion Colorz Inc. has been an art based-team building company by day, “Wine and design” studio (on-the-go) by night! Only 5 years ago, I had a baby and couldn’t party with friends anymore; I needed an outlet painting fulfilled a void. I believe art is one of the best self-care strategies available to people especially because we live such stressful lives. Now, I advocate for the artist living in all of us.

My goal is to acquire a space but until we are able to do so, we deliver our mobile service across the Chicagoland area!

While I enjoy painting and creating commissioned work, clients respond in a very emotional way, sometimes in tears. Although I see painting as an outlet, I also see it as a bridge for people to explore interpersonal relationships. I see it as a way to repair ourselves, or to recoup what stress has unraveled within us.

The most rewarding part of this business isn’t just about creating fun ways to celebrate with our custom paint parties. I especially love working with people who believe they aren’t creative at all. They tell me at the end of the class that they love their work and that they didn’t know they had it in them. While I pride myself on pushing everyday people to unleash their creative sides, I also see how these experiences push people closer together.

I know that what we do, helps people get in tune with themselves. It takes people back to a freedom they once had as a child when creativity was encouraged.

I love that I have the opportunity to show that art has a place in the world and that it has a special effect on how we communicate with ourselves and others. I am sponsoring a Creative Careers Summit in May to further my support of the arts and to inspire people to consider careers in creative fields.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The only struggle I have truly faced is overcoming doubt. We live in a society that sometimes makes it difficult to start a business because we spend most of our time working for someone else. However, when I was laid off last year, I forced myself to explore an opportunity that I could create for myself.

Sometimes I feel that there are a lack of resources or funding for startups like mine to get off the ground in my community. People are used to certain types of businesses where I live and I want to bring something refreshing to the table, but it is difficult to have a voice when you don’t have the financial means to back it up. Some days bootstrapping my business feels like the hardest job I ever had but I comes with the best results I could ever achieve. The further I get, the more supported and inspired I feel.

I started a GoFundMe campaign, a Kiva loan application, and business competition entries to get my business in full gear. At this point I am simply fighting for my business to exist so that I can continue growing! Doing this full-time is scary, but I know that this path will allow me to impact my community and create new opportunities for others as well.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Invizion Colorz Inc. story. Tell us more about the business.
Invizion Colorz Inc. offers painting, crafting, and creative workshops for private clients and organizations. We don’t offer typical painting experiences, all our private client paint parties are offered custom compositions. We also offer customized team building experiences while using art as tool to connect people and strengthen teams. What makes us special is that we are fully mobile and bring the experience to our clients. We also understand that art is a form of self-care, and often share self-care awareness practices with our clients.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
The role of exercising my natural abilities has played a key role in this experience. There isn’t much luck, but there is a lot of action involved. I try to take action on my ideas so that I can see them flourish. I know that my ideas are meant to impact others.

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