Meet David Spasic | Business Owner & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Spasic and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The business grew out of friendship. We were just a some college friends living together after art school trying to find ways to make rent and be creative. Initially, Superelectric Pinball Parlor was just one of a few different jobs we each worked to get by. Thankfully, over time the success of the business let us shed our side jobs and develop new ones within our own company.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think all artist entering the workforce learn early on that you are your business and brand. In school they work on honing your skills in art but often leave the business aspect underdeveloped. If you aren’t advocating for yourself as a business and treating your work with the respect of other businesses, you’re going to get walked on or left behind. Thankfully we’ve found the niche of injecting our creativity into the work and creating something that people think is worthy of buying and experiencing.

We also have to walk a fine line creatively working as a partnership. Superelectric isn’t meant to reflect any one creative person, but balance between our different aesthetics and personalities. That balance is reflected in our space, our merchandise, cocktails, even our other collaborators.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in the woods connected to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park now, so I would start there. We’d visit the Kendall Ledges or Brandywine Falls and head up the tow path. I think the transition from the park into the Cleveland steelyards and up to the flats is one of the most interesting paths through natural and manmade environments in the world.

We’d maybe get some red bean buns at Park To Shop in Asia Plaza or crepes in the West Side Market. I’d try to get out to Collingwood for a show at the Beachland or just to bop around the shops and galleries. We’d definitely spend some time in Gordon Square, probably to see some bands at the Happy Dog or to get some Il Rioni pizza and a pint at Stone Mad Pub. I’d also check out a 3rd Friday at 78th Street Studios, if the timing worked out.

We might do a trip up Terminal Tower to the observation deck or a baseball game at the Jake. We could catch some tunes outside Jacobs Pavilion floating in our kayaks or maybe just a quick trip from the Wendy Park “Giants” art installation up to Merwin’s Wharf. Definitely some Lake Erie time here. If you’re already there it only makes sense to stop at Hooples, too.

I’d probably just spend a day shopping at my favorite places like Lion & Blue, Flower Child, Cool World, Paradise Galleria and Rook Modern.

I’d dedicate a day to University Circle. We’d see the Cleveland Museum of Art, MOCA, botanical gardens, and cultural gardens. Food at Tommy’s.

Lastly, I’d spend some time in the Van Aken District maybe getting brunch and some cocktails. Rarely do we visit without a trip to the parlor, but that may go without saying.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We were lucky to befriend Sean Kilbane and Sean Watterson from the Happy Dog, just up the road in Cleveland, through our mutual love of all things pinball. Early on Kilbane was extremely encouraging to us about pursuing a location in the neighborhood where we could realize the pinball parlor. Having someone who was doing it — really taking off with Happy Dog — cheering us on, made it feel possible. Tragically, Sean Kilbane pass away before seeing Superelectric Pinball Parlor where it stands today.

As some opportunities started to unfold for us, we got push back from different people questioning whether artists should be allowed to open this up. They’d say, “They don’t really have financing or business history”, etc. I remember coming into meetings with politicians and business professionals who were saying they were pretty skeptical, but Sean Watterson thinks we should go ahead. “He really believes in you.”

Even later, when we had opened and faced difficulties in our own partnership, I hung on to the idea that Sean Kilbane had wanted us to succeed and the memory of him kept a drive going to push through those challenges.

Website: https://superelectric.tv

Instagram: superelectricpinball

Twitter: SuperPinball

Facebook: SuperelectricPinballParlor

Image Credits
Darkroom Pinball