In the middle of doing projects at her new home and going to school and work full time earlier this year, Chelsea Burrell had to plan her daughter’s birthday party.

She knew she wanted to have a candy theme, but she couldn’t find the perfect place to have the party in Seymour.

They were either too big or too pricey.

“I like really themed, exciting parties,” Burrell said. “I don’t go just subtle on anything, I guess you would say. I couldn’t find any locations that really did that for me.”

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

For quite some time, she said she had thought about starting an event venue that wasn’t like any others in the city. She decided to share the idea on her Facebook page.

“I was like, ‘Wouldn’t you moms love a place to be able to host events for kids, like a fun theme?'” Burrell said. “And my Facebook exploded.”

At that moment, Confetti — The Social Venue was born, and planning began for the city’s newest place to host events.

Among the comments she received, one from Megan Wince stood out.

“She was like, ‘I’m all about this. Contact me. Let me know,'” Burrell said. “I knew that I wanted someone to help me, but I didn’t know that somebody like Megan would reach out immediately and be so willing to take on that risk and to take on the financial burden of a business.”

Wince said becoming Burrell’s business partner happened quickly.

“It was so super-fast that I didn’t even have time to consult my husband,” Wince said.

“I did that with mine, too. I was like, ‘Hey, I started a business,'” Burrell said.

“They just knew not to underestimate us,” Wince said, smiling.

Burrell said it was the perfect pairing because she and Wince are in their mid-20s, have kids, are enrolled in college and work full-time jobs.

“When I started, I knew I wanted someone with brains. I needed somebody with smarts because while I have a very strong creative mind, I needed somebody to bounce ideas off of, both financially-, business- and creativity-wise,” Burrell said.

“I think that when businesses go in with one person’s vision, it doesn’t open it up to an entire audience. You have people that think like you,” she said. “So when you have two opposite minds going at the same time, you broaden your horizon of what you have the ability to offer and ideas.”

The next step was coming up with a name for the business. Burrell said she wanted something that said “party” without limiting it to birthday parties.

“It was Confetti, like you throw confetti in the air for anything fun and exciting,” she said.

She chose to add “The Social Venue” so it would be open to various types of social gatherings. The multifunctional concept is not only for rental purposes but also for the business to host events for the community, including wine and canvas, parent and children events, vendor fairs, holiday parties and benefit or charitable events.

“I didn’t want to put us down this very narrow path of what we have the capability to attract, so we called it a social venue,” Burrell said.

Confetti officially opens Sept. 5 in Suite 214 at Shops at Seymour, but Burrell and Wince already have booked several dates.

What makes Confetti unique is it offers three different rooms, so multiple events can be conducted at the same time. Plus, the walls, ceilings and floors in each room are soundproof.

The largest room, at nearly 2,000 square feet, is known as the Fancy Room. It will be available for larger parties and come furnished with tables and chairs.

The other two rooms, which are about 1,000 square feet apiece, are the Dude Room and the Glitz Room.

The Dude Room, geared more toward boys and men, will have gray walls, tables and aluminum flash chairs.

The Glitz Room, focusing on parties for girls, will have white walls covered in glitter, white tables and foldout chairs and chandeliers.

Some decorations will be available for people to use or they can bring their own. People also can bring their own food and drinks, but alcohol would require a permit and a waiver.

Burrell and Wince relied on feedback from the community on what to charge to rent the rooms. The cost and the deposit depend on the day and number of hours, as it’s cheaper weekdays than it is the weekend.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. If someone suggests having an event until midnight or even overnight, an exception could be made.

“If they brought it up, we would entertain the idea. We’re not going to box ourselves into any one type of thing because we’re rolling with whatever people want to do,” Burrell said.

“I’ve found that in a Seymour business, if you’re not willing to adapt and willing to change frequently that you’re going to become stale,” she said. “I’ve noticed that with a lot of restaurants with business. Once they stop changing and stop evolving, that’s when their businesses kind of plateau, and we’re not going to do that.”

People also will have access to the parking lot for large items, such as a bounce house.

The facility also will have a front desk and seating area, and the back of the building has an area for storage, restrooms, dressing rooms, a microwave and a refrigerator.

An open house is being planned and will be announced on Confetti’s Facebook page. Burrell and Wince also are considering hosting a block party outside in the spring.

Both of them are excited about this venture because it’s their first time owning a business.

Wince said she has always wanted to own a business in Seymour because it’s where she was born and raised.

“Everyone says, ‘Oh, I want to leave. I want to go somewhere different.’ I don’t. I want my kids to be here, and I want my grandkids to be here (someday),” she said. “Whether we make it in business for two years or whether we make it for 20, we’re still going to make connections that broaden our horizons and allow our children to have better opportunities. That’s our biggest point.”

Burrell said she likes interacting with and helping people, and owning a business allows her to do both.

“If I was going to go into a business for anything, I knew that it would be something with parties and something with people,” she said.

“I love a job where I get to interact with people all day and help them and give value to them,” she said. “My favorite thing is when you get to make an impact on somebody and leave an impression. I want to be able to do that. We want to be more than a party venue. We want to be able to develop relationships, and when you leave here, we want something more than we just helped you throw a party.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Confetti — The Social Venue opens Sept. 5 at Shops at Seymour, 357 Tanger Blvd., Suite 214, Seymour.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For information, call 812-530-7377 or visit facebook.com/confettisocialvenue.

[sc:pullout-text-end]