First selfie museum opening in Columbus. Here’s a sneak peek and how friends created it
The idea for the first selfie museum in Columbus bubbled up during a brainstorming session two years ago, when Sherricka Day and some friends discussed possible business ventures that could be fun to pursue.
Outside of full-time employment as a compliance analyst at Aflac, Day runs a nonprofit organization called Minor in Business, which mentors Columbus area youth interested in becoming entrepreneurs. So she wanted to walk the talk by starting a business.
A selfie museum is a gallery of thematic scenes designed for customers to take photos and videos of themselves in different environments under one roof — ultimately to share them on social media.
Day knew about selfie museums in other cities, and friends figured such a business would fit her skills and interests.
“I take selfies, but I think it was just creativity, energy,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I like to have fun, and if I can do something different, I’m going to try it.”
Day hadn’t visited a selfie museum, but she saw them promoted on TikTok videos. The idea finalized while she sat in Nedra Young’s hair salon, The Vanity Lounge.
“She’s very creative, really the genius behind a lot of what you’re seeing,” Day said. “She can think of an idea and make it happen.”
Day recalled Young telling her, “Sherricka, if you don’t do it, I’m going to do it.”
“All right,” Day replied. “Let’s try.”
“Our bond has gotten stronger over the year,” Young told the L-E, “so I just felt like she would be a great business partner.”
Another friend, Francine Foster, joined as the third co-founder and — long story short — their new business, The Photoshop Selfie House Museum, is set to open July 15 at 1425 Third Ave.
Thinking ahead that moment, Day said, “When the doors swing open, I’m looking forward to a bunch of smiling faces.
Tour of the Selfie House
As Day gave the L-E a tour of The Photoshop Selfie House Museum, she shared more about how this idea went from a dream to a reality.
“What you’ll find is a lot of bright, fun backdrops for you to come and take your pictures,” Day said. “You can do selfies. You can do ussies. You can have a friend take your pictures. We might hop in and take a picture for you. But it’s really just to change the whole photo experience.”
The Photoshop Selfie House offers 22 scenes on one floor of the two-story historic house that Day estimates to be approximately 5,000 square feet. Scenes include:
- Phone booth
- Magazine covers
- Basketball
- Picture frames
- Popcorn
- Happy birthday wall, which can be switched to celebrate other occasions
- Bicycle
- Boxing
- Music
- School, including classroom and locker room
- Graffiti wall, featuring pieces from artist Mike Hodge
- Forest
- Butterflies
- Mario Brothers
- Washing machine
- Crime scene
- Living room
- Grocery store
- Columbus themes depicted by artists Jade Collins, Ralph Frank and Jarrett Holbrook
The number of customers allowed inside at the same time is limited to 30. Reservations for one-hour time slots can be made online at thephotoshopga.com.
The Selfie House is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, and on Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
The entry fee is $25 Wednesdays-Thursdays and $28 Fridays-Sundays. Admission is free for children 3 and younger.
The co-founders are planning to use the upstairs area to accommodate groups that want to have a meeting space, plus a photography studio and an art gallery. Phase 2 of this project could also bring visits from food trucks and allow groups to rent the entire Selfie House for a party or other private gatherings, Day said.
Finding the right place
Last autumn, Day was having a tough time finding a space for their selfie museum that’d fit their concept and budget. Another friend, Dragonfly Trails executive director Becca Zajac, connected them to Columbus lawyer Ken Henson, who owns and develops properties.
Henson suggested the historic house at 1425 Third Ave., where tenants were moving out. Day couldn’t envision a selfie museum in the space, but Young certainly could.
Thanks to Young’s handy husband Napoleon constructing walls to partition the space, and a combination of donated and paid labor including local artists, they transformed the house into a selfie museum in about three months.
They secured props for the scenes from their homes, relatives, friends and buying items online.
“That was fun,” Day said.
Not fun was the frustration when a scene they tried to create didn’t come to fruition. An example that Day especially laments was a scene of breakfast cereals with a gigantic bowl.
“It just wasn’t looking right,” she said.
But it eventually might appear. Day expects to rotate scenes every three months to keep the space fresh and inviting.
Day estimated The Photoshop Selfie House’s startup cost at around $15,000. She called it a labor of love, providing Columbus another fun place to gather and make marvelous memories.
“I felt like it would add another attraction to Columbus, add an experience we just didn’t have,” she said, “and just attract and get more visitors here as well.”
Day hopes this effort inspires more folks to try something new.
“I really feel like they’ll get that feeling from here,” she said. “I mean, a year ago, you couldn’t have told me that this was going to happen.”
A similar business is also scheduled to open July 15 in downtown Columbus. The Happy Heart Mirror Hype House website says the facility at 15 W. 11th St. is an “open air, 100% interactive touch screen, fully animated photo booth.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 2:54 PM.
