Last week, I went to my very first SkillPop class (+ their first class in Greenville – which was sold out!). Tabithia, a.k.a. @theadornedfox, taught us hand lettering, which is similar to calligraphy, using Crayola markers to trace letters on paper – Small steps, people. I went there with the goal of being able to create my own thank you notes. Mission accomplished. ✅

And last night, Logan + Mary learned how to taste coffee like pros, from Will Shurtz, co-owner of Methodical Coffee. There are 7 more planned classes this month: screen printing, hand-dyeing textiles, photography, watercolor, and more – all for $30 – 35.

SkillPop started in Charlotte in Sept. 2015 as a way to engage with the community by finding people who are passionate about their hobby or craft and want to teach others in small groups.

The way we see it: An affordable, accessible, and a totally no-pressure way to explore creative outlets, straight from our local community – something we’re super excited about. (Who knows, we might get in there to teach a writing class?😏)

We got the lowdown on all things SkillPop from Jeremy Elrod, Greenville’s community manager (you might know him from his past life of King of Pops).

Q: Why was Greenville chosen as the next location?

A (Jeremy): Haley (Skillpop founder) and our marketing manager Hannah set off on a six city road trip doing pop-up SkillPop classes throughout the Southeast. They started with Greenville, but also hit places like Asheville, Nashville, Charleston, and Knoxville. Read the full story here.

Q: What local artists are going to be utilized?

A: Firstly I'll say that it's not just artists we'll be working with, but business owners and professionals of all types that are knowledgeable about their particular skill and interested in teaching it to others - whether that's something art related, a hobby they've mastered or their professional trade.

We'll be searching for local Greenville artists and professionals to teach those classes here... so, based on who we have as teachers and what they can teach, we may have some classes that are completely unique to Greenville that aren't offered in Charlotte. (Apply to teach a class here).

Q: What spaces will be utilized?

A: Currently most of our initial classes are scheduled to take place in the Atlas Local co-working space, but we're also steadily searching for other great venues to utilize and spaces to hold classes in as well.

Q: What are people's reactions and the most rewarding part for us at SkillPop?

A: We have people that take classes just for fun, as a cool date night idea or to maybe dip their toes into a new career or hobby they've been considering getting into. Regardless of their reasons for taking the classes though, we've had people make new friendships, find future business partners, get hired for jobs and even start their own businesses, podcasts, side hustle projects, etc. as a result of taking SkillPop classes. And, in most cases, we've found that once they take one SkillPop class they're generally hooked, and are avid class takers from then on.

So the most rewarding part of all that for us (personally speaking anyway) is probably the fact that we're able to create these fun events and unintimidating environments for others to come together in the community, build relationships with one another and take their new found skills out into the world to create other cool things in the community. Hearing those "success" stories from what people get out of SkillPop classes is definitely the best part... whether that's someone learning something new that leads to starting their own business or meeting someone new that leads to an awesome new relationship.

Q: What can Greenville look forward to?

A: A lot of awesome, in-person classes and opportunities that will allow people to try new things, get to know new people, and better themselves by expanding their knowledge and skills.

For our initial classes that we have scheduled, we have people like Anna Duncan teaching a photography basics class, Tabathia Smith of The Adorned Fox teaching hand lettering, Will Shurtz of Methodical Coffee doing a coffee tasting and Brady Hollenbeck from Dapper Ink teaching a screen printing class. We've also been in talks with several other local Greenville artists and professionals about teaching anything from public speaking and interior design to macrame wall hangings and watercoloring. We're planning to have a wide variety of exciting classes to offer, which means we're searching for a wide variety of passionate and knowledgeable teachers to work with.

Keep up with SkillPop on Instagram @skillpopgvl + sign up for their newsletter, which goes out every Tuesday morning. (That's where the classes will first be announced, and where people will have first access to signing up for classes.)

Maybe I’ll meet some of y’all at another class sometime soon.

– Jordan