LANSING, Mich. — Get your camera ready because the Love Your Selfie Factory is open for business.
Shanise Ollie first got the idea to open a selfie museum after visiting one in Detroit.
"I'm riding back in the car, I'm like, hold on," she thought, "this is an amazing opportunity that can I can bring to my own community."
With the help of her family, the Love Your Selfie Factory was born. Shanise and her husband Quandrell Ollie built every photo scene by hand.
Quandrell said, "We did this, it has a personal touch to it. When you see this, you see us."
Shanise knew there were other selfie musuems, but she wanted hers to be different. She wanted to draw in and inspire women of color, and provide them with a place where they feel beautiful.
"I felt like God was like, this isn't about you. This is not about you. This is about other Black and Brown girls and boys, and women, minorities, seeing another successful business in their community," Shanise said. "It's important that we do this, it's important that we do this for our, for our community, it's important that we do this for women, Black women."
Quandrell said places like this inspire people. He believes the museum is a place where you can take pictures that you can't take anywhere else.
"It's important to have places like this because you never know... those moments you're gonna have they're gonna change your life. You don't think of a place like this where it will lift somebody up or give them empowerment, but this, this could be that place," he said.
Shanice is a mother of three, a wife, and a woman of color. She says that her business is bigger than a museum. It's a community need. And she recognized that in her own experiences.
"This is what makes this moment, even more sweeter because I went through a metamorphosis from dealing with anxiety from dealing with doubt, from dealing with low self esteem-- to this place," said Shanise.
"I've seen her at the bottom... I've seen her come from when she was struggling in her mind or struggling with anxiety and not wanting to drive to where she is now," Quandrell said.
The Love Your Selfie Factory is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and costs $21 for 40 minutes.
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