WS Chronicle

Social distancing is now the new normal and it makes it difficult to enjoy events with our family and friends. Drive-by celebrations have become more popular as a result and two longtime friends have developed a creative way to make them seem more like normal.

Glam my Yard LLC (GMY), a concept developed by Porchea Steele and Shaniqua Johnson, turns your yard into your own party area. GMY turns a traditional drive-by celebration into one that gives you the feeling of a normal one.

“It’s a custom yard greeting for parties and baby showers,” said Steele.

The idea for the business came from the pandemic shutting down most gatherings, so the ladies wanted to develop something that would enhance the drive-by celebration experience.

“I have four kids of my own and with birthdays coming up, we really couldn’t do much, so I came across some stuff and I then called Porchea and asked if she was ready, because we are going to do this,” said Johnson on how the idea for the company came about. We have been friends since middle school, so we are two friends with kids that are just trying to do something different.”

The pair created the business in August of 2020. They have done work for birthday parties, baby showers, and even a local elementary school welcoming back kids into the building.  

“We spell out the occasion, we put their name, their age and whatever their interest is, whether it’s football, basketball, skateboarding, or gaming,” said Steele on the different themes they provide. “We have different packages we have listed, and we include their interest into the yard card.

“We can include their favorite colors and we also had a yard we did for a Winston-Salem State alum and she was also a Delta. We did hers in red and black and we incorporated the Delta aspect into her card as well.”

The response from their customers has fueled Johnson and Steele to work even harder in their business. They enjoy bringing some sense of normalcy during a time where there is so much uncertainty.

“The kids love it and the parents are excited,” Johnson continued. “We just go off of what they request and we bring it to life. Several people have even booked us twice, so we are getting a lot of good feedback.”

The two longtime friends say they did not expect to have this much success so early on in their business venture. They feel the uniqueness of their business during this pandemic was one of the major contributors to their quick success.

“We were not sure how people were going to respond to it, or if we were going to get this many hits, but it’s been great so far,” Johnson said about their quick start. “The first month we kicked it off, we were booked up for every weekend. We really didn’t expect for it to take off as fast as it did, but it’s been doing great and we just hope to excel even further in the future.”

The ladies say the preparation time for the yard cards can vary from a day or two or longer, based on the complexity of the card, or if items have to be ordered. They require a two-week advance notice to ensure the product they produce is up to their high standards.

Currently, GMY strictly does their work outside of the home or place of celebration. Once the pandemic is under control, they would like to expand their business to include indoor space as well. 

Johnson and Steele don’t want the boys and young men to find the name misleading. They have options for the males also.  

For more information on Glam my Yard, please call 336-355-1151 or email at Glammyyard@gmail.com.