How did we get here?
In the summer of 2018, fate brought Brian and Kenzie together, just weeks before Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival. Brian, who goes by his nickname (Twank) on Snapchat, had been curious if Kenzie ever got his message, and it was during her shift at a bustling restaurant that their paths converged. Brian had offered Kenzie a ride to the festival with his crew, but Kenzie never opened the message because she had never heard of a “Twank”. With a touch of serendipity, Kenzie realized she had to make a bold move.
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As the Bonnaroo gates opened, Kenzie made her way through the sea of people heading towards the incredible sounds that come from Centeroo. As she approached the security check, She couldn't help but spot Brian and his friends walking up from the campgrounds. It was no accident; destiny had intervened and Kenzie had to make a move. She rushed over, calling out his name, knowing he would never hear her. Fortunately, Brian noticed a familiar face walking towards him through the crowd, and the next chapter of both of their lives began.
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Fall came quickly, and they spent every day together, rediscovering themselves and letting go of the past. January brought those three magical words, "I love you," from Brian, cementing their bond. Their connection was pure, devoid of past pain, and brimming with newfound energy.
Their path forward was one of dreams and ambition. They envisioned a life where they could nurture their creativity in a space of their own, build a family, and continue to chase their dreams outside of the traditional norm. Today, they find themselves in Huntsville, living the life they once only dreamed of, continuing to build out their future.
Kenzie, Floral Artist
I am from Meridian Mississippi and graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Mississippi State University. I made the move to Huntsville, Alabama in October 2019 with my husband and family. ​Two months after moving, my flower preservation journey unexpectedly began after my sister went through the tragic loss of her daughter during childbirth. During this harsh time, I wanted to provide a piece of art in memory of my beautiful niece. After many failures, I finally mastered the art of preserving flowers and delivered the gifts to my family members. Seeing my family's reactions to the flower preservation pieces convinced me that I had entered a market in which I could create artwork that would preserve people’s happiest and saddest days. Since then, I’ve preserved many memories from weddings, to memorial services and everything in between!
But that’s not where the resin experiments began...
It all started when my parents had ten gallons of resin leftover from a countertop restoration project. I had no idea what I wanted to do with this material or even how to use it. At the time when you looked up resin artwork you’d see the typical resin river table DIY project. Then one day I came across Crystal Ma’s instagram page (@ma.artlife) and found her Youtube video on the making of Opallius. This opal process simply blew my mind, and it triggered a series of ideas. During this time I was prepping materials and inspiration for my senior thesis show at MSU and knew that I wanted to do something non-traditional. It was time to step away from the oil paints & pastels, self portraits and still life paintings, and step into the abstract world. The goal was to create my own room that could be exhibited somewhere like Meow Wolf or Burning Man, and that's when The Soul Pod was created. A space that you could enter and all of your senses would be set off, forcing you to interact with the art. While building The Soul Pod, I tested my limits with resin, I put everything I could find into these resin pieces from shattered glass to dog hair, testing depth and strength until I understood resin better than my oil pastels.
My five years of experience with resin is like no other, I have worked with it on numerous projects not including flower preservations. I can efficiently mix, pour and finalize 5 gallons or 2 ounces of resin, no project is too big or too small. Reach out to make your dream project become reality!
Brian, Craftsman
but more specifically a jack of all trades trying to master the ones I like. Throughout my professional career, I have worked in several industries ranging from construction and
oil & gas, to restaurants and freelance photography.
Before all of that, I was born and raised in New Orleans. I had my life turned upside down when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005. From there, we moved to a very small town called Enterprise, MS where I would finish high school and really have most of the experiences that made me the man I am today.
I have been a builder all my life and have always enjoyed working on projects for myself and with friends and family. With this in mind, I decided to pursue a trade, one where I could work with my hands and make good money doing it. The Mississippi job market seemed pretty dry when I left college in 2011. After receiving my credentials as a “book smart” electrician, I began the pursuit of finding a job as a real electrician.
Long story short, it was hard, but I found that job with an offshore drilling company in 2013 and worked there for about 6 years, which eventually led me to start my own electrical contracting company, which ended up being a crash course in business management over anything else. I learned a lot in regards to the trade and actual business, but eventually decided that path wasn’t right for me (at that moment) and I closed up shop.
For the past 4+ years, I have been working with Kenzie’s family to help build and manage their restaurant business in Huntsville, AL. We packed up life and moved to Huntsville in 2019 to begin working on the new restaurant venture. The restaurant opened in June 2020 and we hit the ground running. As things began to take off with the restaurant, Kenzie was behind the scenes getting things in order for us to start a venture of our own.
Studio KenziB is something we’ve always dreamed of. We have always wanted a space where we can build things and create. A workshop / studio space has always been in the cards, and we would just work with what we had until that space came along. In July 2020, Kenzie was given the opportunity to build out her first studio space at Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment, Studio 301. Year over year, Kenzie was able to bring in more customers and add new products to her line. Outgrowing the first studio was bittersweet, but it has allowed us to see how far we have come, casting light on the possibilities of how far we can go.
In May 2023, we moved Studio KenziB into a bigger space at Lowe Mill, Studio 201. Leading up to the move, I decided to quit my job at the restaurant to fully dedicate my time towards growing our business and helping it reach its full potential. We have lots of cool projects on the way, so stay tuned for what’s to come!
We bought an Airstream
Brian and Kenzie's combined love for travel has consumed their relationship since day one. When Kenzie saw this Airstream rotting away in Brian's yard,
she knew it had major potential. Once they were able to purchase the Airstream, they moved it to Huntsville to begin the slow restoration process. It will probably take a few years, but they are already dreaming about roadtrips with their families, pulling this gem along the way. If you want to keep up with their Airstream renovation or media in general, follow them on YouTube and TikTok
@ What Ya Gone Do !