Little Rock Couple Brings Innovative Business to Central Arkansas, Elevating Selfies into Works of Art

 

No more selfie sticks. No more embarrassing backgrounds, bad lighting or photo bombs from strangers. Boring and uninspired selfies are a thing of the past, thanks to an intriguing locally owned business in Little Rock. 

 

Nestled among the shops in the Outlets of Little Rock is a colorful, whimsical place called Selfish House of Selfies. The first of its kind in Arkansas, Selfish House of Selfies is an interactive photography studio designed for people to use their cell phones to capture unforgettable photos. Think funhouse meets art gallery meets unlimited source of creative content.

 

Commonly referred to as “selfie museums” — so called because of their art gallery-like installations — the rise of these modern-day photography studios has been featured by media giants such as The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. 

 

Now, Little Rock is home to one of these novel businesses, joining a list of cities around the globe including New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Tokyo.  

 

Owners Deidre and Jerry Vigil Cordova, who have been married for 12 years, opened the studio on New Year’s Eve 2021. 

 

“We felt Arkansas needed something new, something bright, something shiny, something to bring us all together,” Deidre says. “Selfish is our way to bring love and joy to our community.” 

 

Both 41 years old, Deidre spent her childhood between Oceanside, California, and Nashville, Tennessee, while Jerry hails from the Chicago area.

 

When entering the studio, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the hypnotic bright colors, dazzling lights and wildly creative details of each of the 17 themed sets or “selfie stations.” 

 

Jerry and Deidre.
Makeup by Amari B Studios

 

Some of the mind-bending selfie stations include the “Upside Down,” which features a cool optical illusion; a candy-themed set featuring giant lollipops, an oversized cupcake and a candy cart filled with cotton candy; and sets with giant pink angel wings, UFOs, rainbows and disco balls. One of the newest sets, Flight to Utopia, which debuted in April, features a VIP plane with Pepto Bismol-pink leather seats and windows with a view of the friendly skies. 

 

“People leave with so much content! It’s different than studios in the past where you had to wait and go back to the studio, and then get charged a million bucks to get your pictures printed,” Deidre says. “Here, you leave with all the photos on your phone, and you can post them immediately.” 

 

For $25 per hour, people can bounce around from set to set at their own pace and produce Instagram-worthy photos, TikTok videos, Facebook photos and more. 

 

“It’s affordable for your budget. When you come in here, you get to be a model for a day. You have this place to do whatever you want to do with it,” Jerry says. “You get to use that guilty-pleasure part of your brain, be a little selfish, and really lose yourself and escape.” 

 

 

Every station comes with a professional ring light with two cell phone holders. Customers are given a shutter remote that syncs with their phones, enabling them to snap photos without the hassle of using self-timers. Only 20 people are allowed in the studio per hour to ensure that customers have the time and space to express themselves without experiencing overcrowding. Private dressing rooms are available for costume changes. 

 

“People can edit their photos and add whatever filters they want to bring out their personalities,” Jerry says. “Some people may bring three ring lights into their stations to make the photos appear ultra-washed out. Some people just use natural light. It’s interesting to see each person’s approach.”

 

“I like to use the analogy that our studio is like a candy shop,” Deidre says. “You can be indulgent. You can be silly and be a kid for a little bit. Everyone needs that right now. It’s really cool to see the creativity that comes out of here.” 

 

Although all shoots are interesting to watch, Jerry and Deidre share a few that have really stood out. 

 

“One day, a lady came in with her granddaughter to celebrate her 76th birthday,” Deidre says. “She referred to herself as ‘The Purple Lady.’ She literally had purple hair, a purple dress, purple shoes, purple nails, purple phone — purple everything. She rolled up her sleeves and showed us a Purple Lady tattoo in small letters on her arm.”

 

One night, a couple came into their studio on a date, and one of them was not so enthusiastic about being there. 

 

“You could tell the guy was playing it cool. But he eventually started to loosen up,” Deidre explains. “We heard them laughing, and he came to us and said, ‘This was a lot of fun! I didn’t think I was going to like it.’ He did a complete 180. People will often tag us in whatever they post. The next day, he tagged us in eight pictures of just himself, and didn’t include any of him with his date!”

 

Although it’s referred to as a selfie studio, the business attracts more than just individuals wanting to capture unique selfies. It’s a popular place for family nights, date nights, girls’ nights, birthday parties, corporate group events — you name it. Many teenagers have used the backdrops for their senior and prom pictures. The studio is available for private events and private sessions.

 

In addition, models use the studio to add work to their portfolios, which brings us to the subject of professional photographers. “We welcome photographers,” Deidre says. “Photographers can bring their cameras and take photos. They just need to pay the regular admission rate.”  

 

Jerry says the studio offers photographers an attractive benefit. 

 

“Most of them tell us it’s a nice alternative to having to find a location and making sure the weather is right for their shoot,” he says. “Models and photographers can still do their thing. They can incorporate their style projected upon what we built.”

 

Only a couple of weeks after opening, the studio gained the attention of an award-winning fashion photographer, Orlando Behar. His clients have included InStyle, Psychology Today and The New York Times magazine. He chose the studio as a background for an editorial photoshoot called “Walking in a Dream.” The photo collection was published in Solstice, a fashion and beauty magazine based in the U.K. Behar is an in-house advertising/fashion photographer for Dillard’s.

 

Another professional photographer, Renee Giambalvo, owner of Elegance by RG Photography based in Benton, uses the studio to book sessions for her clients. 

 

“I saw a post a friend of mine had shared on social media about their grand opening and I knew I had to look into it myself,” Giambalvo says. “The studio attracts those who really want the different types of backgrounds, to let their inner child be free and have the ability to be as creative as they want to be. 

 

 

“It gives us photographers and everyone else the ability to step outside of the normal outdoor or indoor mundane backdrops. It helps both me and the models tap into our deepest and most creative selves.”

 

Jerry and Deidre are both artists themselves. Before launching the studio, Jerry was a graphic designer and played bass guitar for several local bands. Deidre was a hairstylist, salon owner and color educator. 

 

“Literally, there were times when Jerry had two band gigs on the same night,” Deidre says. “He was running all over the place. I was running my salon, and at one point traveling three weekends a month teaching color. We weren’t taking days off.”

 

An unfortunate yet familiar story: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted their jobs. Jerry got laid off from his full-time graphic design position and went from performing in about five bands to eventually none; Deidre’s salon business had to be put on hold due to COVID-related restrictions.  

 

“The pandemic put a screeching halt to things,” Deidre says. “We kind of got still for a second. And we realized that it wasn’t so bad to be still.” 

 

Rather than wallow in self-pity, the couple used this strange time of stillness to their advantage. 

 

“We would take long drives and get lost in Arkansas,” Deidre says. “While driving, we would have long conversations about what we could do next.”

 

For years, they had entertained the idea of opening a business together that would merge their talents. 

 

“We both have big personalities,” Jerry says. “The question has always been, what would we be good at? I’ve done construction, design work, and I’ve been a musician. She’s run a business before. How do we combine our powers to make something of value?”

 

They had heard of the selfie museum business model and were curious to learn more. 

 

“This business format seems like it fits every bit of our skills and personalities,” Jerry says. “We decided to go see one of these firsthand.”

 

The closest selfie museum was in Memphis. 

 

“On a Sunday, we got up, put on some cute clothes, bought our tickets and headed there,” Deidre says. “We had a blast. The next day, I went to work at the salon and my landlord walks in with the lease. That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks: I realized that I can’t do hair anymore. I loved it, but it takes a real toll on my body.”

 

Selfish House of Selfies

 

The couple knew what they had to do next. Deidre closed her salon in June 2021 after being a hairstylist for 19 years. 

 

“On Sunday, we checked out the business model. On Monday, we started planning it,” Jerry says. “This business is a big experiment and an experiment with our lives, but building this studio uses the perfect combination of our skills.” 

 

From concept to creation, it took about five months for them to gather supplies and build the structure and sets. 

 

“We blacked out all the windows of the studio while we were building and painting. We weren’t taking days off, and we were working through the nights,” Jerry says. “It was like working on the surface of the moon. We didn’t know if it was day or night. It could have been raining, snowing, or on fire outside and we wouldn’t know. We kind of lost touch with reality and lost track of time, which was good during the pandemic. It allowed us to escape.”

 

Jerry and Deidre decided to build everything themselves rather than hire a crew. 

 

“It was a big empty space with only one wall when we leased it. We built all the walls and sets. Everything is hand-painted,” Jerry says. “It separates us from anyone else who would want to do this. Anyone could order stuff online and put it together and pose in front of it. It’s different when you find the things yourself and piece them together. It puts our personalities on display.”

 

For the sets, they used oddities they found at flea markets during their road trips in Arkansas. 

 

“We love taking forgotten things and making them into something,” Deidre says. “We had a table in the back room that we would eat dinner on at night. Jerry said to me, ‘Can I cut this table up? Look at the legs on it! They would look great for a candy cart.’ Now we eat at a folding card table every night.” 

 

The couple are the sole employees at the studio, which means they are working long hours every day, except on Tuesdays when they give themselves a day off. But they say it is worth all the hard work and effort.

 

“It’s so gratifying to see people come in and smile and have a good time,” Jerry says. “I think they can feel the energy and the love and work we put into this. It’s wonderful having a front-row seat to this every day. It never gets old.” 

 

•••••••••••

 

June 21 is #NationalSelfieDay! 

Here are a few fun facts about selfies and the history behind the national holiday:

 

• The selfie culture has become so popular that the phrase “selfie” is listed as a word in the Oxford English Dictionary. 

 

• The first selfie is widely credited to Robert Cornelius, a pioneer in the history of American photography. In 1839, he had to sit still for 10 to 15 minutes to create the first self-portrait using the daguerreotype method of photography.

 

• In 2014, Rick McNeely, DJ/radio show host for the Texas-based Fishbowl Radio Network, founded National Selfie Day, which was made official in 2017. He said he choose the date because in 2014, June 21 landed on the summer solstice, the longest day of light.  

 

• Since 2014, National Selfie Day has gone viral, with many well-known celebrities participating, such as Ellen DeGeneres, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and the Muppets. 

 

• Selfies became a worldwide trend in the early 2000s with the introduction of the first cell phone camera.

 

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