Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine England.
Hi Christine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Oh, man! My story is like navigating through a game of Candyland! I was a Director of Experiential Marketing for brands + did events before moving to Charleston. I thought I wanted to be one of those normal Monday – Friday people only to find out I am TERRIBLE at it. I love organized chaos, creativity, madness, + travel. I became a real estate agent + I am pretty freaking good, trained some pretty amazing agents that are killing it but like most people, COVID changed my life.
I think you realize, that when your back is up against the wall, what matters. Life is too short. Two things happened during that time. First I started Lowcountry Eat Out! What is now the largest food group in the Lowcountry started as a place to get all the info for your take-out/delivery needs! I even won the Jefferson Award (created by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for community service). I spend a lot of time educating the public on the ins + outs of the restaurant business, in hopes to create empathy. At the same time, we host questions like best pizza.
During this I had the opportunity to get involved back in events, I had a ton of equipment already + was watching all of my friends in Los Angeles really get outside of the box (and their comfort zone) to keep their livelihood going. Watching some people do some picnics, having it suggested by an acquaintance I knew this was my direction. Where I no longer wanted massive 3-day festivals in Chicago or celebrity charity events I wanted to get back to connecting families, loved ones + friends via food + picnics. I already had the food connection + event equipment I just needed some tables. Amen for my hubby.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not. It’s constantly a source of learning + growing. There is learning about weather, wind + tides. These affect our most popular, the beach pop-up picnic. Then we have the apps + which is the most accurate. You have each city/county that has their own ideas of what is acceptable + then, even if you do everything right, a local still calls the city to complain. It’s been all about finding the balance of how to operate and when to operate + that doesn’t include the creativity of the job or the basic skills of entrepreneurship and social media.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a creative, a business, and a philanthropist. I am not exactly sure I fit in one box these days. Currently, I get paid to be an agent in raw land deals + for my investor clients. Most of my time I am doing what I love events. I curate luxury experiences and handle engagement, bridal, and baby shower designs + our most popular luxury pop-up picnics. Anything that is an intimate experience. Ohhh and lots of bachelorette parties! They are always the best. Always ready to have fun + get creative! In my limited free time (aka really it takes over my day) I have Lowcountry Eat Out! getting out all the food info to our community.
Being the largest food group has been a blessing and a curse. I have met amazing people. I also have a lot of haters because I won’t let it be a review page. My goal was to be a place where we talk about the places we love, we celebrate. My philosophy is in the time you took to complain about something you don’t like (and bad publicity is still good publicity) you missed an opportunity to lift someone up, to give them credit. Your favorite place lost a social media plug which is so imperative these days! Thus, I don’t allow it in the food group, you don’t like a place.. I do not care. Which has created a plethora of angry keyboard warriors. Two years, 70k people later I don’t care. It’s working + we are making a difference!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Never give up. Keep going. Never stop, never settle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/pampasandpicnics
- Instagram: instagram.com/pampasandpicnics
- Facebook: Facebook.com/pampasandpicnics
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@pampasandpicnics
Image Credits
Jenni Lauren Photography
