A Side Project That Took a Life of Its Own

What started as a fun creative outlet quickly turned into something much bigger. This business began as a side project, simply a creative outlet, if you will. Before long, it became a real business that I ran nights and weekends, balancing creative experimentation with the very real demands of operations, logistics, and client expectations.

At the center of it all was a fully restored 1976 Volkswagen bus, converted into a mobile photo booth experience. We designed and built everything from scratch, outfitting the bus with professional lighting, a camera, live preview monitor, photo strip printer, and a rotating collection of props. It was one of those things that everyone seemed to love. Regardless of age, gender, or status, people loved the bus.

Putting the “bus” in business

Our first big break came through weddings, where the mix of nostalgia and interactivity resonated almost immediately. From there, the business grew into corporate events, restaurant openings, children’s hospitals, community gatherings, and all kinds of private celebrations. Each event brought new audiences, new challenges, and new expectations, which meant staying flexible, solving problems quickly, and delivering a consistently high-quality experience no matter the setting.

Beyond the creative work, this project meant wearing every hat. Branding, marketing, client communication, scheduling, setup and teardown, on-site experience management, and post-event delivery all lived on my shoulders. Running the business alongside a full-time role forced me to sharpen how I managed time, prioritized work, and followed through, while still leaving room for creativity and fun.

This project remains one of my favorite examples of how design, storytelling, and experience can come together in the real world. It reinforced the idea that great ideas don’t have to start big to matter, and that when passion projects are treated seriously, they can grow into something meaningful, memorable, and real.