Meet Trena Courey | Co-Owner of Building Block Play Studio

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

Hi Trena, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
.”We need an indoor play space!” “We need somewhere to get out of the house!” “We need to meet other families with young children!” We heard these needs first in our own living rooms and then heard them echoed in our community – at parks, school pick up, and the library. We had a vision to meet the need – so we went for it!

What should our readers know about your business?
The heart of Building Blocks Studio is to build community for children and their caregivers through the three C’s : Creativity, Character, Connection. We are excited to offer our customers an engaging, safe, comfortable, and accepting place to play and learn with their children. Our goal is to create a space where families can engage in creative play-based activities that nurture growth and creativity, while also allowing parents to interact with other adults, foster friendships, and maybe get a little work done!

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When we started sharing the idea for Building Block with our community, the response was always the same, “A play studio? Here? In Springfield? We need that!” Valerie and I are both former teachers so the planning and designing of the studio came naturally … the business side of things did not! We met with SBDC over and over to help develop a business plan, make projections, and create our financial model. We are still learning everyday!

One of the sweetest lessons I’ve learned is that people are gracious. Being moms of young children, there have been days where we have to close for sickness, or missed emails … it’s easy to think of all that’s gone wrong! But so much has gone right and our guests continually remind us of that and cheer us on. We have an incredible community.

I think one of my most fulfilling moments was watching two moms who had just met exchange phone numbers. It was proof that friendships were being made! We are so thankful to be able to provide this space for our community, while continuing to prioritize our growing families.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love this question! I would start with coffee and breakfast at Un Mundo Cafe. The bagels and coffee are incredible and the owners are a gift to the whole community. Then we would head over to Building Block and run off some energy, walk across the street to Frame Haven to check out some local art then over to Salato for lunch! After lunch we would head to the reservoir for a hiking adventure and finish out the day at Speakeasy Ramen for noodles and sushi. That’s a one day itinerary but I think we packed a lot in!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Valerie and I would still be dreaming our big dreams if our husbands hadn’t encouraged us to go for it. They have supported us every step of the way!

Website: https://www.buildingblockplaystudio.com

Instagram: @buildingblockplay

Facebook: Building Block Play Studio

Image Credits
Kayla Waldron