Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Potts.
Hi Kelsey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
As a true lover of entertaining and hosting, I found my passion for parties and connecting people at a young age. Growing up, my siblings were 20+ years old than me, so I very much lived the only child party of 1 life. I learned quickly that my friends were as important as family and I developed a deep desire to keep friendships authentic and alive by gathering friends and making memories that last a lifetime. I have always leaned into my love language of connecting people and relationships through experience instead of tangible things. Socializing sparks joy for me and heartfelt hosting comes second nature – yet to many, opening your home or curating a celebration is often an avoided stress or an unknown territory. Born & raised in Kansas City, I authentically know and appreciate the magic of the Midwest. In 2016 I moved back to my hometown of Prairie Village, after spending years in Dallas, Texas as a corporate event planner and medical sales rep. I saw an opportunity to bring together the loud & proud southern charm I absorbed in Dallas & the midwest modesty from my roots. Combining those styles & traditions with my detail oriented and event planning experience with my entrepreneurial & go-getter sales experience to build Social Shop – focusing on a specific corner of the event market – easy yet elevated event & tablescape rentals that are full of color, pattern and statement styling.
What started as a passion project hobby to show people how you too can enjoy hosting at home, proving the power of popping up a party anywhere and find confidence in color all seasons – quickly turned into a real business. As the party people spread the good word of our services,, we quickly grew from a hobby to a hustle. Growing from a limited inventory of tables & chairs to now a full on-stop-studio equipped with a client showroom for design meetings to plug & play with the pretties and a full warehouse of tabletop & event rentals galore. We are thrilled to be part of the business boom in growing Downtown Overland Park.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We recently celebrated our 5 year Social Shop Anniversary! While the growth of the business has been smooth and extremely humbling and exciting, the pain points of growing with the needs – both personally and professionally has certainty had its challenges. From overflowing and smothering storage of inventory in my own home, many mornings of ironing tablecloths and napkins before the sun comes up to learning the value of my time and my own expertise worth – I have adapted to hiring (amazing) helping hands, partnered with a great local dry cleaner and learned the power of the pivot.
When party season in May 2025 kicked off, we had grown so much that our showroom in Mission, Kansas was exploding with inventory and we were faced with a crossroad filled with overwhelmed and overworked emotions. The flow and functionality of our day-to-day just wasn’t sustainable anymore. After many chats with myself and others, the next chapter of Social Shop came down to two options. Throw in the towel and sell the business or inventory or giddy up and grow with not against our growth. I once again, learned the power of a pivot & decided to keep the party going. I dug deep into the why and put focus on the how. I set out to find a space that could fix our pain points and give Social Shop a home that was functional yet warm and welcoming. It was important that our studio was a convenient location to myself as well as our clients, a place to party prep, polish and pack for upcoming events and store our inventory in a functional yet flattering space that clients and my team felt at home.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Social Shop specializes in 30 people or less seated events, meaning all of our tabletop inventory is available in counts of 30. We equally specialize in large cocktail style larger gatherings, such as backyard parties, baby showers, birthdays and endless gatherings and celebrations. Our inventory is bold with creative colors, playful patterns and seasonal trendy pieces that push the boundary of standard and stale black, white and gold stale rentals. We help people find color confidence through statement styling that wows guests while putting an extra heartbeat in hosting for you. Whether your a seasoned host looking to change up your usual styles or a newbie with no idea where to start – our rentals offer an affordable solution without the investment of purchasing new items that change seasonally, have a short life spand & add clutter to in home storage.
I once heard the advice that as a business owner should never consider themselves their target market. While this limited perspective advice may apply for some businesses, I have 100% built Social Shop by using myself as my target market. By going against the grain of sticking to purely what styles, colors, patterns and creating relatable social solutions to my own season of life, we have been able to capture a corner of the market and grow tremendously. From identifying needs and problems to solve with Social Shop through my own similar seasons of celebrations and personal styling taste, we have built the keep-coming-back clients whose guests see our inventory and witness the host’s ease and elevated style- and thus those guests become clients, and the circle of social continues.
I am most proud of our business’ personality: fuzz free & flexible. We truly believe that fancy isn’t fun & fun isn’t fancy. We leave the fuzz & frill behind and take pride in our laid-back, approachable and flexible business model that gives us the flexibility to meet you where you are – from a seasoned or first time host. Rent what you need, mix and match with what you have or go all out with the full sha-bang. We do not have a minimum simply because every hosting and gathering experience looks different – we believe everyone and everyday should be celebrated – events big or small. You’re having a party.., we have the pretties! We are here to help with whatever you, as a host, may need to make that magic happen,
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me can be summed up by a quote by Judge Judy 🙂
“The greatest gift that you can give yourself, is to find something that you are naturally adept at and figure out a way to make living at it because if you do that, every day will be a play day. You’re never battling upstream, as you love what you do, and if you love what you do, don’t stop”,
Success to me is happiness. Working hard to build a job, that doesn’t feel like a job. I have found that success as a reflection of my happiness in life. Once I turned the daily dreaded grind into a lifestyle career, I found that success (happiness). I became a better me. A better wife, a better mom, a better friend – and to me. being a better me for the most important people in my life is a success story in itself.
Pricing:
- $2-$5 per tabletop rental
- $22-$40 per tablecloth
- $6-$15 per tables & chairs
- Dry cleaning & tabletop cleaning is included
- Client Pick Up, Direct Delivery & Full Set up are all offered per project
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.socialshopkc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialshopkc
