Today we’d like to introduce you to Deanna Lopez.
Deanna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started off hosting charity events at local restaurants in the League City area almost 5 years ago. My mother and I then started a non-profit no-kill dog rescue and I started hosting adoption events to help get our dogs out into the community to meet potential families and also to help fundraise. Mostly these are craft and vendor fairs that happen in parking lots or parks. With large outdoor spaces, we are able to include lots of local small businesses and many other rescues and shelters. Since, I spent most of my time the last 4 years taking care of dogs and trying to get them adopted it helped to find a way to work that into my actual business… so that I could work and still help the rescue. That has turned into also hosting shows in local shopping malls, and a few in other areas.
My main focus right now is the mall shows. We have one almost every weekend. Currently, we are in First Colony Mall, Willowbrook Mall, Baybrook Mall and the Brazos Mall locally and a few in other areas. I also run a small business referral group, Referral Revolution. And, I am now also the managing editor for Hulafrog Pearland, TX. A family-friendly events website that helps families find fun things to do close to home. While the mall shows are keeping me very busy, I still love to host pet adoption events to help our local shelters find homes for their animals. With my new Hulafrog site, I am hoping to also host lots of family-friendly events in my territory.. and I am sure lots of them will include the rescue community. I am definitely happiest when my events are fun for families and help homeless pets… while also being successful with my awesome vendors!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been hurdles. Aside from taking care of many dogs through our rescue.. which at times can feel like a full-time job (that I don’t get paid for), I am a single mom, I homeschool my son and I run my business from home. So, we are always busy! I have had a few shady business people try to copy my events, I have had people slander myself and my business… some going as far as trying to convince people that my events don’t happen.. when they are actually in progress and doing very well. I have had rescue drama interfere with my business and my non-profit. But, I love what I do, I work hard to make my shows a success and my vendors are like family… so, I keep working! I have met so many amazing people through this business that it makes up for the undesirables. My main hurdle is finding new and different venues and events while I am constantly being followed by those trying to profit from doing what I do 15 minutes later. It gets extremely frustrating at times… but I am not letting it stop me. All of the hard work is definitely paying off with the expansion of my business into so many malls. It has been so wonderful for my vendors to have these opportunities!
Please tell us about Vendor Events by D.
I think what I am most well known for is being a crazy dog lady. I specialize in adoption events. And now that we have been doing more of our mall shows and there are so many I am starting to become more widely known for that. I am most proud of the work my business has been able to do to help local non-profits. I think what sets my business apart from others is the diversity of our events and that I am always trying to find new and different venues rather than just hosting events in the same places everyone else uses. Since most of my events are dog-friendly, I think that helps people who want to support the local rescues, but who might not be in a place to adopt another dog at the moment find a way to help out because shopping our vendors helps to support local rescues. I love that my mall shows give local businesses a way to showcase their products to so many people. And now that summer is on its way, I am excited to have events that won’t be affected by the heat and will still have great traffic. Summer is normally a hard time in the events business… so, I am looking forward to this summer full of fabulous indoor mall events! I hope that what sets me apart from others most is that I am easy to work with, honest and trustworthy. I work hard to bring quality events to my community and to help my vendors grow their businesses!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memories are all of taking road trips with my family. We would just hop in the car and GO! There was always something fun to do and something new to see.
Pricing:
- Mall Shows are $300 for the weekend mallshowsbyd@gmail.com
- Mutt Mesh Bash Events are $40 for the day www.vendoreventsbyd.com
- My VIP Vendor group is $100 for 6 months and includes one $50 booth fee and exclusive deals mallshowsbyd@gmail.com
- Referral Revolution membership is $200 for the year and is limited to one per type mallshowsbyd@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vendoreventsbyd.com / Www.muttmeshanimalrescue.org
- Phone: 832-425-8772
- Email: mallshowsbyd@gmail.com
- Instagram: vendoreventsbyd
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/vendoreventsbyd/ / Www.facebook.com/
muttmeshanimalrescue
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
