Shelby Lopinto brings energy, warmth, and creativity into every corner of her life, whether she’s building businesses, raising her daughters, or dreaming up her next big idea. With a genuine love for community and a passion for making meaningful moments, she radiates the kind of grounded optimism that makes you feel like anything is possible (as long as there’s coffee involved!). Meet the mom, entrepreneur, and all-around force behind the joyful chaos.
Husband: Chris Lopinto
Children: Elle (5) and Lovie (3)
Occupations: Owner of Little Fins Swim Academy, Owner of Create and Play Club, and Author and Illustrator of Sleepless In Louisiana
Hobbies: Running and watching The Great Pottery Throw Down in her free time
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
SHELBY: Because there are so many moving parts, every day looks different. Typically, my husband leaves before we wake up, so I’ll wake the girls up. We’ll get ready for school or camp, and then I’ll do school drop-off. Then, I go to Moxie on Metairie Road and get a matcha—they know my order when I’m walking in the door. After that, I’ll start to do my work. I’ll answer emails, DMs, coordinate with my employees [on] any needs that they have, and solve any problems we have. Once I’m done with that, it’s usually time to pick up the girls. We either come home or go to the park, and I’ll try to wrap up any emails and anything I need to take care of. Then, we’ll come home and do dinner or go out to eat, and then we do bedtime, which is like storytime or playing Barbies. We’ll talk about our day—that’s when the girls are most chatty. Then, my husband and I will go to bed or watch a show.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BUILD A CAREER AROUND KIDS AND CREATIVITY?
SHELBY: When I was in high school, I started teaching swim lessons, and I found that I really liked doing it. I liked that I was outside, I got to talk to people, and we were providing a life-saving service. And what I learned is that every family remembers their kid learning to swim, and having that kind of impact was really cool. I decided in my junior year of college to take the $1,500 my parents were going to give me toward tuition and put it toward leasing a pool for the summer to open my own Swim School. [That] was in 2013, and it was kind of trial by fire. I was just figuring it out as I went. I was 21; I had no idea what I was doing as a business owner. I just knew that I liked people, I liked being outside, and I liked having this impact on families. I have done that ever since.
Once that got started, I had [Elle] a few days after the first (COVID-19) stay-at-home order went into place. Once I had her, everything changed, and I never [wanted] to leave her. That was the start of me kind of cutting the swim school back and rethinking the structure of things, because it wasn’t something that allowed me to spend time with her. I knew she would start school eventually, which she’s doing now, but swimming is weekends and afternoons; I knew I didn’t want that to be my only source of income. I always had it in the back of my mind that I was going to do something else. Once Elle got to be a little bit older and lockdown ended, I realized there was a huge void in the toddler activity area here. There were jump parks and things like that for older kids, but there was really nothing I could take her to when she was 10 months old.
I was looking for an art class or a sensory activity or something where I could meet other moms and have her out of the house. There were some options, but nothing exactly what I was looking for. [Create and Play Club] started off with the idea of it being a toddler art studio, and then I thought about adding sensory, and then culinary came into the mix. All of the things that inspired our classes, it’s so special when you’re doing it with your baby. It feels so good when you’re making happy memories with them. That was the other aspect: It was as rewarding as swim, because you’re bringing something like that to families that wouldn’t otherwise have it. I was hoping it would be a lot more flexible for our family.
WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST REWARDING PART OF CREATING BUSINESSES FOR LOCAL FAMILIES?
SHELBY: The happy memories that you’re making. The one thing that I would say is most rewarding—if I had to put my finger on it—is the community we’ve built. We have a teacher from Florida; She moved here six or seven months before we opened, and her daughter’s birthday party was recently at the studio. Everyone that she invited to the birthday party was someone she met through the studio. Seeing people who wouldn’t otherwise know each other become friends is really cool.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE RUNNING MULTIPLE BUSINESSES WITH BEING PRESENT AS A PARENT?
SHELBY: One thing I’ve learned, being in business for as long as I have, is putting systems in place. That’s something we’re still working on with the studio. Admittedly, it’s very hard. We have definitely made sacrifices with our family time. We’re together a lot because we don’t do aftercare, I do pick up and drop off, and I’m with the kids most of the time. But finding really good, quality, memory-making time is harder because of the businesses. When we do get the time, we try to make it really special, put our phones away, be really present, and make sure we’re making core memories.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WISH YOU KNEW BEFORE BECOMING A MOM OR LAUNCHING YOUR FIRST BUSINESS?
SHELBY: Before becoming a mom, I wish I had known it’s okay to do things for yourself. Elle was born during lockdown, so it was just the two of us for months. The first time I left her was for only an hour—and she was nine months old. I was with her day in and day out, and even taking a shower felt like time away from her. Looking back, I found doing those little things for yourself actually makes you a better mom. It makes you happier, and taking care of yourself is really important.
With my business, I’m a perfectionist, and I wish I had known that things will happen outside of your control. They might not be major things, but even minor things used to really affect me. I used to take things personally if they didn’t go exactly as planned. But I’ve learned that you have to keep going, and you can’t dwell on every problem. I’ve learned, “Done is better than perfect.” I am a perfectionist and someone who obsesses over every detail. A lot of times, just putting your idea or plan out there—whether it’s a business, a schedule, or anything else—just doing it is better than making sure it is absolutely perfect.
WHAT DO YOUR KIDS TEACH YOU?
SHELBY: There’s a million things that they’ve taught me, but I would say the most—the coolest—thing about being their mom is their little relationship and how loving they are with each other. Today, we were at the car dealership, and one of my girls was with me this week, and my other daughter is in camp (my youngest), and my five-year-old made sure to tell the dealership lady who was giving her a coloring book, like, “Oh, I have a sister, and she’s gonna want these too.”
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU’RE PROUD OF?
SHELBY: [Elle and Lovie] always look out for each other. It makes me feel like we’ve got to be doing something right if they’re that sweet and thoughtful and so kind to each other—and to us—but especially to each other. It’s not something I ever thought about before becoming a parent. That feeling you get when you have your baby and you hold them for the first 10 minutes and your heart is just exploding… that same feeling is something I get watching the girls do stuff like that for each other.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
SHELBY: I am a serial entrepreneur; I am always thinking of something or wondering, “How could we solve that problem,” or, “What if we did this or that?” I always have a ton of ideas in my head, and there’s no telling what we’ll do next. But for now, we’re working on franchising. We’re expanding the studio, helping other moms with the experience that I’ve had over the last 12 years now, running businesses and opening their own Create and Play clubs. [We’re] giving them the tools, the support, the systems, all of the things that we need to succeed, and giving that to them in their town, wherever they want to put their Create and Play club. That’s our main focus right now.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER PARENTS?
SHELBY: To soak it in. It’s really hard to do, because even the moms I know who are getting a job, like being a nurse, or stay-at-home moms, I feel like it’s so easy—with how fast life moves— to get caught up in all the things you have to do. There’s a different sport every night of the week, there are so many things that have to get done, but just soaking it in and thinking about the fact that you won’t get that time back, [because] they change every single day. Like today, we had a big milestone: Elle (my oldest) got into a booster car seat for the first time. And in my mind, I feel like I was just strapping her into her baby car seat and freaking out over whether it was installed correctly. It’s so crazy to me how fast it goes. So that’s my biggest piece of advice: just soak it in, and enjoy the time you have while they’re little.
QUICK Q’S
- Fave Spot For A Treat, Just For Me… A Bar Class
- Go-To “Mom Superpower”… Patience
- Something That Lifts My Mood… Spending Quality Time With The Girls
- Current Favorite Books… John Grisham Books
- One Thing I Never Leave The House Without… Coffee
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