Today we’d like to introduce you to Gena Johnson.
Hi Gena, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Lachelle and I are leaders at a large non-profit and the work can be very stressful. In working together and combatting stress, we soon bonded over secret hobbies we didn’t know anyone else liked– playing purse bingo, binging true crime podcasts, crocheting, and especially miniatures!
As our confidence grew, we realized our “secret” hobby was something many people enjoyed! We expanded our projects, started an Instagram account and opened a small online shop to sell and share our upcycled and renewed dollhouse accessories and materials. Taking a hobby with an old, dusty reputation, and turning it into something modern, beautiful and fun, has been a joy. We post videos of our miniatures set to hip-hop music that get thousands of views! And funny memes, DIY demonstrations, and photos of our works in progress inspire others to make their own modern miniatures. Our social media following has grown quickly and we love leading the charge on a new look at an old art form!
While it would be a dream to make a living off an art form like this, we mostly pursue this hobby because we love all the elements of this artistic outlet from start to finish. For example, we love the thrill of the hunt — as passionate thrifters, we love rescuing discarded minis and rebuilding, painting or reupholstering them. Then, we love the thrill of a project well done – We sell our upcycled products on our Esty shop, or swap and share them with other miniature enthusiasts online.
Renovating dollhouses, rehabbing furniture and accessories, and sharing the process on our Instagram account has made our friendship stronger and brought so much joy to us and, hopefully, the people that buy our products! We find we are even better leaders at work because we have something so positive to balance out the stress of our work. And we are amazed by the friends we have made, and those that have been so excited for us as we have built a new community of those that share our passion for miniatures.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
People sometimes hear the word “dollhouse” and think it’s silly– a hobby for either little kids, or grandmas. We love proving that this hobby can be beautiful, modern and fun!
One challenge is simply making time for a hobby when work and family life can be so demanding. This is an issue for any working mom who wants to make time for something that fulfills her. Another challenge is space… dollhouses are big! But we are lucky to have supportive husbands who don’t mind if we take up some space.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Lachelle leads an internal team and Gena runs an external team at a national non-profit. We are very mission-focused people and share a passion for supporting children and families. But this work can be draining and our artistic outlet gives us the opportunity to re-charge and the energy we need to go back to the office and give it our all every day!
How do you think about luck?
Luck has played a huge part in our ability to develop and grow Tiny Tycoons! First, what amazing luck to both work at our non-profit — meetings as strangers, then working well together and becoming good friends. Luck was present again when Lachelle found a dollhouse at a thrift store that needed our help! Then we benefitted from the luck of great recognition on social media, growing our Instagram to more than 1000 followers in just a few short weeks. We can’t wait to see where this goes next!
One more word about LUCK… Lachelle is insanely lucky and wins every contest she ever enters! Gena has passion and a competitive spirit, but less luck. We entered the St Paul Pioneer Press’s annual peep diorama contest this spring. Building on our passion for true crime, we created a diorama featuring a famous Minnesota crime, the heist of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Judy Garland museum! Lachelle’s luck, and Gena’s bad luck, balanced each other out with an Honorable Mention. But we loved the validation that our miniature scenes were fun and appreciated by others!
Pricing:
- Items on our Etsy shop range from $1 to $50
Contact Info:
- Email: tinytycoonsmn@gmail.com
- Website: etsy.com/shop/TinyTycoonsMN
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinytycoonsmn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinytycoonsmn
Image Credits
Gena Johnson and Lachelle Semanko Photo descriptions: Lachelle with her newest acquisition, a blue house with a wrap-around porch Gena’s first dollhouse renovation – a $5 thrift store find that she turned into a fairy house Who is the Peepetrator? This diorama featuring peeps made the top 10 in the annual peep diorama contest put on by the St Paul Pioneer Press Gena and Lachelle rehabbing minis on a delightful Crafternoon! Gena created a miniature podcast studio in honor of the true crime podcasts that first made Gena and Lachelle friends!
