Ybor City Selfie Studio A Labor Of Love For Mother-Daughter Team

YBOR CITY, FL – Inspired by the popularity of selfies, a mother and daughter have joined forces to provide Tampa with a unique service that’s proven wildly popular at a time when the community is seeking a sense of normalcy.

British-born Ann Richardson, a prominent Tampa Bay Realtor, and her daughter, Kalys, a nightclub manager, had successful separate careers.

However, the mother and daughter, who have always been close, realized they really wanted to go into business together after taking a trip home to England in 2019 for Kalys’ 30th birthday.

“We decided we were going to start a food truck business specializing in British pastries,” Kalys Richardson said.

They put down a deposit to purchase a food truck and were busy with the details of opening their pastries business when the coronavirus pandemic was declared in March 2020.

Like people throughout the country, the microscopic virus turned the Richardsons’ world upside down.

“Real estate came to a halt and the nightclub I managed closed for 4 ½ months,” said Kalys Richardson.

Moreover, the person who was selling them the food truck suddenly stopped returning their calls. When they investigated, they discovered she’d simply disappeared. They lost both their deposit and their dream of opening a business together ... or so they thought.

In June, the nightclub Kalys Richardson managed reopened and, after an especially busy night, she arrived home exhausted at 4 a.m. But sleep escaped her. She kept thinking about their trip to England and all the selfies they’d taken in front of memorable landmarks.

She began exploring the possibility of opening a selfie studio, offering a variety of exotic, funny, romantic and artistic backgrounds where people could take their own creative selfies.

After touring a selfie studio in Orlando, the Richardsons became more convinced that this would be the ideal business for them – combining Ann Richardson’s talents for event planning and organization with Kalys Richardson’s imaginative and artistic flair.

“It was literally everything we talked about,” Kalys Richardson said.

On Nov. 10, they signed a lease for the perfect location – a vacant 3,000-square-foot building in the heart of Ybor City, 1701 N. Avenida Republica De Cuba.

While the location of the building was everything they hoped for, the condition was less than ideal.

Formerly used as an office building, the shell of a building had water damage, exposed air ducts and wires hanging from the ceiling.

“There were wires everywhere,” said Kalys Richardson. “It was a disaster. But I told my mom that I could envision what it would become and asked her to trust me.”

Except for hiring a contractor to install new electric outlets and a bathroom that met Americans with Disabilities Act codes, the two women did all the renovations themselves.

“We just hit the ground running,” Kalys Richardson said. “Some days I would sleep here and wake up and start painting. We put our blood, sweat and tears into this business. We began working on it on Jan. 4 and, 27 days later, we opened our doors.”

Kalys Richardson said they were surprised at how quickly and smoothly the business came together.

“My mom and I have a very, very close relationship, and I think we only bumped heads once during the entire process,” said Kalys Richardson. “She just let me explore my creativity. The only thing my mom insisted on was that one of the rooms have a lime green piano.”

Following a successful grand opening April 1 with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, the results of their labor spread quickly throughout the community without having to spend a dime on advertising.

Enjoy Ya Selfie contains 21 walls and six rooms decorated with a variety of themes for those who love taking selfies.

“People were blown away,” Kalys Richardson said. “They kind of stand there in shock when they see the studio.”

Richardson incorporated ideas from her travels around the world and her love of art into the themes.

Backgrounds include an artsy alter ego wall; a birthday room with a life-size cake (created by a friend); a wall inspired by a lady’s fantasy shopping spree; a wall covered entirely of stuffed animals, mostly donated by friends; walls inspired by England including a life-like phone box door and a light-filled place they visited in Bristol, England.

It soon became apparent that Enjoy Ya Selfie was much more than a selfie studio.

The Richardsons began getting requests to host birthday parties and other events at the studio including one organized by three adult daughters for their elderly mother, a sweet 16 party and a birthday party video shoot by a popular drag queen.

The Richardsons began getting requests from modeling agencies, musicians, bands, dancers, singers and other performers to shoot short TikTok videos, longer YouTube videos and 30-minute standalone films at the studio. They even booked an aerial artist who wanted to shoot a video at Enjoy Ya Selfie because the high ceilings and rafters of the studio were ideal for an off-the-ground performance.

The Richardsons added a dressing room and lockers to accommodate those wishing to make costume changes.

“It seems there’s a shortage of studio space in this area,” said Kalys Richardson. “We never anticipated that there was this need out there. I had this vision of a target audience of young people who like to do selfies, but it’s turned into a place for everybody.”

Kalys Richardson was also determined to make everyone feel comfortable at Enjoy Ya Selfie.

“I grew up bi-racial, and me and my brother used to get picked on when we were kids,” she said. “So I wanted it to be inclusive because I know what it feels like to be left out.”

The studio caters to customers of all sexualities, races, religions and abilities.

Because they have family members who are autistic, the Richardsons even took special training to allow them to work with autistic children and adults to create an atmosphere that accommodates their sensory sensitivities. They recently hosted their first event for autistic children.

In addition to offering hour-long selfie tours for $30 in which the studio provides the tripods, lighting and props and customers use their digital cameras or cell phones, Enjoy Ya Selfie offers $150 hourly rates for performers and other customers, photography packages, decorations for themed parties, and Kalys Richardson even offers in-house event planning services.

They've also had great success with special events including a Mother's Day brunch with a full brunch menu and mimosas, a special selfie frame and floral gift. Coming up is Creative Nights networking event for businesses on May 27 from 9 p.m. to midnight with an open bar, three hours of photographs with guest photographers and raffles, and June 4 at noon is an International Bring Your Corgi Day event. Click here to register.

A sensory awareness event takes place the four Tuesday of the month for anyone on the autism spectrum and Wednesday is Bring Your Pet Day.

“I can’t believe we did this – me and my mom,” said Kalys Richardson. “Everything has just fallen into place. We’ve been able to do something quite amazing for ourselves, and for the community.”