We recently connected with Philicia Muldrow-Lewis and have shared our conversation below.
Philicia, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
As a premier event and conference venue located in Carlisle, Mood Swings at the vault continues to serve the community in an unprejudiced fashion by knitting back together the normalcy of gatherings that COVID-19 destroyed. When we first saw the vault, I fell in love with the elegance and charm of the place. When we reflected on the year that we just had, a positive mood change is what we needed. Our name “Mood Swings” was inspired by the vision to offer pleasant customer experiences that shifted any mood into a positive direction after all the mayhem COVID created. “At the vault” represents the historic charm of the 1800’s vault of the former Carlisle Deposit Bank & Trust Company as the focal point of our stunning venue entryway. After speaking with the original owners, they shared some of the original safe deposit boxes were incorporated into the design of the bar area reflecting the ages they all were when they purchased the building which we thought was relatable because we were 27 when we inquired as well and downstairs additional restrooms grant good luck to those who walk across the threshold with upward facing pennies.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
To be honest, my life has been crazy to say the least I could write a best seller! I was born in Jersey City NJ and moved to Harrisburg in 2002 with my mother and siblings. My family will never let me forget, as a young child I planned to be a clinical psychologist that would adopt children and save the world. I was focused and career driven only, and you can only imagine that after being raped at seven by a family member, there was no trust or time for love in my life. Being in Harrisburg started off rough because they instantly put me in speech therapy for my accent and it just really shot my confidence even more. Then we moved and were actually robbed the first night that we spent in our house on Kelker Street. My mother always worked hard, showered all of her children with so much love and our homes were always beautiful, but we lived next to a drug-infested abandoned building which, after the robbery police raided it, was knocked down. So, you can only imagine after that I was not too fond of creating new friendships, but I met a few people that were persistent and cared for me whether I wanted them to or not. To fast forward to around 2007, I can say I renewed my vision on life because I wanted friends. Everything happened so quickly, I met some great friends and Ephraim; to my dismay fulfilled his promise of making me the mother of his children and wife. Crazy how life happens but at the time I just laughed him off honestly. I had a great high school experience, Nadinah and I met senior year and on graduation day Ephraim proposed. I went to Clark Atlanta University to become a clinical psychologist that summer and I loved my HBCU. It evolved into a whole new experience of black excellence for me that I carry with me every day! I had scholarships that somehow the funding disappeared and my mother wanted me to stay so she paid the 2,000 balance they said I had and even though I kept every receipt when I went to pay the last of it at the end of the semester, there was still a 2,000 balance that my mother was willing to pay but I decided to return home. So now it’s 2013, we get a car, and apartment together, and start working. I get married, start Angel Sweets then bomb the car accident, and in 2014, the three of us moved to Georgia. Life moves faster and I have my first child. My husband Ephraim and I opened an event planning business called EzPz Affordable Events in 2017, named after us and our children whose names all start with z. In 2019 I moved back to Pennsylvania after my father gets sick and the pandemic shuts everything down. Put the business on hold and my world rocks when my mother dies from COVID in October of 2021. I cannot describe the full dept of depression I was in and still my older sister and I planned her funeral, divided and sold some of her things, and I had surgery the week of her repass. It was a blur, and I can tell you that I will never forget the pain, it still weighs heavy and feels unbearable at times to know the truth; she’s gone forever. Of course, I had to go back to work, and I was great as a Family Engagement Specialist for Harrisburg School District, but I couldn’t be focused and who I once was. At this time, I have three children, so I know that I have to do something, and cooking came to mind because it made me feel close to my mother. I had been cooking with my mother since I was seven years old and teaching, so I searched for a restaurant for us to take over. I knew a few people that had the skills to elevate my ideas, so I called them up. While all four of us were at a restaurant viewing in Mechanicsburg, a realtor heard our background and insisted that we view a venue that had been empty for a few years in Carlisle and the story began to write itself. I started with three other partners when we signed in July 2022 and by December, it was only Nadinah and I. When I look back, I know that everything in my life prepared me for now and I’m ready to know it out the park and gain the financial freedom that my mother deserved to have, and I will give to my children.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
My cofounder/business partner is Nadinah Thompson, and we met in 2012 while seniors at Harrisburg High School. We had AP English together and she was always pleasant to be around and smiling which I noticed since the first day of class. Nadinah and I met and have been like Thelma and Louise since. Our personalities complimented each other, and we became close quickly. We purchased our first car together, moved into our first apartment and shortly after started a pastry company called Angel Sweets with our partners at the time. We did exceptional until while going home from a delivery our car was totaled by a tractor trailer. I was not in the car, and I was in shock after I got the call, but fortunately she was ok just a busted lip, now my husband had a broken foot, so we dispersed the business. In 2015, the three of us moved to Georgia and by 2019 I moved back to Pennsylvania and Nadinah followed after in 2020 right before the pandemic shut everything down. While both of us worked our 9-5 any business ideas we had were put on hold. My mother was really a mother figure to all of my friends including Nadinah who took it hard as well after her passing. It was time to put our entrepreneurship in high gear. I had been cooking and teaching Nadinah what I had known since we met, so I called her to go into business with me and we started the search for a restaurant. While at a restaurant viewing in Mechanicsburg, a realtor heard our background and insisted that we view a venue that had been empty for a few years in Carlisle and the story began to write itself. We got accepted and we became venue owners of Mood Swings at the vault. We started with four partners when we signed in July 2022 and by December, it was only Nadinah, and I. We understood from the beginning that there was an issue of cautious individuals being around each other with a fear of contracting the corona virus and that had devalued social engagements all together. We instantly reached out to the community to communicate and find ways to appease the necessities whether it be a food drive, supply giveaway, or an enjoyable event that helps them have momentary happiness.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Mood Swings at the vault evokes a favorable change in our clients’ moods by hosting creative festivities, charitable giveaways, health focused and resourceful sessions. We used public participation to learn the community needs of having affordable things to do, supplies, and a safe environment to have fun. In return we chose to host events that would optimistically influence them and change their perspectives. We offer hosted events aimed towards diverse groups, and seasonal deals for anyone to be able to rent with us or get the Mood Swings experience. Since opening the venue in July of 2022 our greatest accomplishment has been achieving our vision to alter moods with undeniable positivity once individuals have come into Mood Swings at the vault. Amongst many we created kid-based affairs, open mics, giveaways, game nights, group discussions, catered, and seasonal events from community input and word of mouth referrals. Mood Swings at the vault creates the opportunity of human interaction so we host events whenever we can, offer an unprejudiced secure environment for every individual that enters our establishment, and provide an encouraging atmosphere for clientele as we continue to grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.msatthevault.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moodswings_thevault/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoodSwingsAtTheVault/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mood-swings-at-the-vault/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@moodswingsatthevault/about
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mood-swings-at-the-vault-carlisle