We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Riaza recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

The biggest trend I’m seeing in this (and many others) industry is our clients’ Instagram content creation purpose. It means that we are seeing how a lot of people are hiring companies like us, more than for the original purpose of my business, which is to gather with family and friends to relax and have a good time; but also, and in very high priority, to access a nice space where to create content for their personal/professional social media pages.

We had one customer approach us for an event quote who didn’t end up hiring us. The company they did hire, we were able to see the pictures of the event; and even though it was very pretty, it was also very different from what we usually do in our set ups. We try to set up a picnic space with two main purposes in mind: COMFORT and INSTAGRAMMABLE BEAUTY. In order to achieve both, we have to place our prices a little above some of our competitors because we have to bring more furniture and decor items to our setups. But we realized, in this client’s case, she was not looking for comfort and relaxation; just the instagrammable setup and therefore, that setup with just one purpose in mind, makes it a little more affordable.

I think that every business needs to adapt to current trends in order to be successful and thrive, but also you have to stick to your own values and design ideas, which is what will set you apart from the rest of the industry. Our biggest concern with this trend is profitability because for us to keep doing picnics in the way we like, we would incur more costs and therefore, less profit. But we managed to make this issue an opportunity by tweaking our packages a little bit, for clients to have the choice of how big/complex they want their set up to be starting at a certain point (which is our bare minimum, design/look wise).

The opportunities of this trend are many: we can play with our creativity to make beautiful designs, which is what I believe will set us apart from everybody else. Another opportunity is that we can actually end up making more profit from all the different choices and design ideas we are currently offering our clients based on their need for instagrammable experiences.

Jennifer, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Graphic Designer in my current profession, but I also have a bachelor’s in psychology and post-graduate degree in the area of social/organizational psychology. I worked in the field of Social Psychology for 15+ years but decided to leave corporate America to work full time in Design/Art, which has always been my passion but I was doing it as on-the-side activity.

I’m latina (Colombian), a wife and a mom to 1 teenage girl and 1 furry good girl.

My family on both sides are all entrepeneurs. On my mother’s side they are all into finance, and on my father’s side they are all into Art/Sculpture. Since I was very little, I started crafting and experimenting with art and design and then, learned the basic of business management and some finance.

Right now, with Black Basket Picnics, we are helping our customers create perfect gathering experiences in picnic settings and around the table, in a fashionable way. I am very proud of our creativity and client service skills when working on any project. What sets us apart from everybody is the fact that you won’t be able to find anything similar anywhere else, and we work hard to fulfill the customer’s vision.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As I mentioned before, I was working in the Social Psychology field since graduating college; this was my main career as a business consultant in organizational/performance management. About 9-10 years ago, I fell very sick and found out that I have a chronic health condition that prevents me from a lot of physical activity. At first, I thought it would be temporary but soon realized it was a condition that was here to stay, and I had a decision to make.

Graphic design and event design was always an on-the-side hobby, that I was using to create products and services for children’s parties. This was something I did as a side job besides my main one; but when I had a decision to make, I decided to make this field my main career since now I’m able to have more control over my own time and can manage my schedule according to my medical needs.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, as Psychologist, I fully understand the importance of relaxation, gathering, family, friends, laughter and grounding. And as Designer, I fully understand how a harmonious and aesthetically pleasant surrounding has a direct effect on your emotions.

The saying “You can’t pour from an empty cup” has a very profound meaning and now, more than ever, mental health has a big role in our lives. My personal mission with Black Basket Picnics is to, in a way, keep providing people with a service that aids mental health and in the long run, promotes a better life performance.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blackbasketpicnics.com
• Instagram: @blackbasketpicnics
• Facebook: blackbasketpicnics