A waste-free decoration idea from a single mother in Sorrento for some extra money on the weekends has turned into a highly successful business four years on.
Jasmin Franceschi started Epic Installations in 2020 with just $500, the idea stemming from attending kids’ birthday parties and seeing bags of decorations thrown away at the end of each event.
Four years on, her unique idea for some extra cash has turned into a full-time business with her working up to seven days per week, employing five staff members and working at venues including Optus Stadium and Crown Ballroom.
“I had a baby at the time and I just needed something for weekends for extra work, pick up some extra money to support me and my son because it’s just the two of us,” she said.
“I guess I was trying to think of something no one else was doing. I jumped on Pinterest and got some ideas and played around with different textures and different fabrics, ribbons and plastic.
“I did a photo shoot to see if anyone wanted to hire one and then it went nuts from there. I got bookings straight away and requests from event companies and it snowballed from a garage set-up in the house to a warehouse within 18 months and then this year we have moved to a bigger warehouse.”
Ms Franceschi said all of her decorative pieces were hand-cut and made before being used hundreds of times, with the odd touch-ups to keep them looking new.
She said her decorations usually had a life span of two years, but some had lasted since the beginning of the business four years ago.
The successful zero-waste idea has led to the business installing decorations in Optus Stadium, various Westfield shopping centres, Crown ballrooms, music festivals and the Channel 7 Christmas Pageant.
The business started with five events per week but has grown to 20 per week.
Ms Franceschi said Christmas time pushed the team to its limits, with up to 30 jobs per week and the team spread out across four vans around the city.
She said it had been a great learning experience both from a business and problem solving perspective, with each installation needing its own solution.
“There’s no way I thought I would be climbing with scissor lifts and installing in massive shopping centres. It was all very new to me; I kind of had to adjust and roll with where the business took me,” she said.
“I definitely didn’t expect to be a tradie in a way. I thought it would be just decorating and doing pretty stuff but it’s very hands on with lots of heavy lifting.”