Paint and Sip studio at Redcliffe is on a winner

Redcliffe’s Pinot and Picasso paint and sip studio has beaten 80 studios across Australia and New Zealand to win Suburban Studio of the Year.

It’s the second big win since the studio – known for art, wine, fun and dancing – opened in April 2021.

The award was presented during the Pinot and Picasso gala dinner and ball at Sydney’s Sofitel Darling Harbour late last month.

Pinot and Picasso Redcliffe Co-owners Debbie Lennon and Katrina Humphries also have a studio at Nundah, which they opened in August last year, and say the businesses give them the perfect work-life balance.

“It was sold to us as a lifestyle business, which it is. We’re not artists, so we don’t have a passion for it, but we have a passion for a good lifestyle,” Debbie explains.

“It affords us the ability to still be creative, still work in a party-type environment with people which is what we’re used to doing but a lot of it is online … we come down here, we do the cleaning, potter around and look like we work hard.”

The dynamic duo met when Katrina hired Debbie as a manager for Princess Parlour at North Lakes, business she founded and ran for five years before selling it.

Pinot and Picasso Redcliffe, their new joint venture follows a similar similar theme – mostly girlfriends getting together, having a good time … they’re just a little bit older.

“It’s fun. Princess Parlour was fun and the work was fun and this is the same,” Katrina says.

“We could never do anything boring.”

The Suburban Studio of the Year award win was a surprise because they didn't realise they were contenders in that category and were instead focused on Franchisee of the Year after making the top four in the whole group.

Last year, they won the Movers and Shakers Award, for the fastest growing studio.

Why has the Redcliffe studio been so successful?

“Location, location, location,” Katrina says.

“A lot of people ask that within the group – what’s the secret? – it’s just having this exposure.”

It is positioned at the corner of Anzac Ave and Redcliffe Pde, a prime location for passing vehicle and pedestrian traffic, particularly those visiting the Redcliffe Markets and The Komo Hotel.

Many combine a visit to these venues with a session at the studio.

“They might leave their artworks here and go next door (to The Komo) … sometimes our artworks end up over there,” Debbie says laughing.

“It’s a beautiful location and we knew before we’d found Pinot and Picasso that we wanted to put something in this space. It had been empty for such a long time and we thought how could it not have something in it,” Katrina says.

“The rest is history.”

The have just signed a lease for another year.

The award win comes in the same year the business was flooded, as a result of torrential rain in February, and is a reflection of the team’s resilience, hard work and sense of fun.

“It (the flooding) nearly broke us. We had literally put the last coat of paint on the walls of the gallery studio (next door),” Katrina recalls.

“We didn’t miss one session though. Aiden (my husband) had just gotten home from living in Colorado and got in there and did the repairs.”

How does it work?

People come in, are greeted by the artist hosting the session and are taken through a step-by-step process of creating a designated artwork for up to three hours.

They bring their own drinks and nibbles such as grazing and dessert platters.

“On the way through, there are drying breaks … sometimes our artists get them up, they have a dance, Congo line … every session is completely different and every one of our artists is completely different,” Debbie explains

“We have quieter ones, we have party ones.”

There are up to 35 people in each session from a wide range of age groups.

“We have people who come back time and time again,” Debbie says.

“The artists get to know a lot of them and even have nicknames for some of them. It’s a lot of fun, there’s music playing … some people drink, some people don’t. It’s up to the individual.

“It’s a really popular thing for group activities, team building and that’s what we want to focus on leading up to Christmas.

“Get your family together, see everyone all at once for Christmas, or come together for team building and end-of-year work functions.”

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