Dave Flessner
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) This fall, Mikesha Lacy plans to open an Instagram lover’s dream! At her “Chattanooga Selfie Museum” people will be able snap pics in at least 15 rooms or booths set up with different visual backgrounds.
Chattanooga
Mikesha Lacy opened the Luxe Spa in East Ridge two and a half years ago and immediately noticed that many of her clients were eager to get a selfie photo after their body sculptures and were looking for the right background for such shots.
Those requests sparked another business idea for Lacy, a self-described “serial entrepreneur” who at age 35 has already started several ventures.
In September, Lacy plans to turn that idea into the Chattanooga Selfie Museum where persons can take selfie photos in at least 15 rooms or booths set up with different visual backgrounds to capture whatever mood or appeal someone may want.
Located downtown at 1401 Williams St., the museum will allow patrons to get their favorite selfie images for a $20 admission fee for the first hour and a prorated fee for any additional time. Rooms can be used for professional photo shoots or a casual Instagrammer’s selfie session.
“Pets can tag along too,” she said. “Our mission was to bring a new level of fun to Chattanooga and hence the selfie museum was born.”
Pop-up selfie museums have flooded social media in recent years and Lacy said dozens, if not hundreds, of selfie booths and museums, are quickly springing up across the country.
“I was going to open up a photography studio, but then I recognize there was a real demand for a selfie museum, which we don’t have in Chattanooga,” she said.
The room will feature everything from floral or candy backgrounds to a mock-up of Vogue for someone who might want to have a cover shot on the popular women’s magazine and even a human-sized cell phone.
With its location on the Southside within a few blocks of the Chattanooga Choo Choo and other nearby restaurants and hotels, the Chattanooga Selfie Museum should appeal to both local residents and tourists and she expects the business to be popular with both individuals and couples or special group events like birthday or wedding parties.
“I love downtown Chattanooga and I think we’ve got a great spot,” she said about her corner site with nearly 3,000 square feet in the 1401 Building at 14th and Williams street.
The Chattanooga Selfie Museum will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
___
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
