We’d heard of Skye Barker Maa back when she had a popular music school in our area. Then, we kept hearing about new ventures – another and then another. Then, we attended a special event at one of those new projects, followed the next week by the opening of her Sky Bar, both at Stanley Marketplace. Intrigued by how this woman keeps opening one successful business after another…and wondering if she sleeps…we asked her if we could do an IGTD Q & A together. Join us in getting to know Skye Barker Maa.
InGoodTasteDenver: You now run several unique and varied businesses which we’ll get into. But let’s start at the start, the music school. What were you doing that first led you on your current path?
Skye Barker Maa: I’ll preface this by saying that I sold the school in July 2022 to Ensemble Music Schools. Of course, it’s still an important part of my path so here is the answer.
I actually have never taken a music lesson in my life (and still haven’t). My background is varied. I started my career in politics, then moved to telecom corporate sales, and also worked in community outreach on FasTracks.
Starting my first business, Neighborhood Music, was a complete accident. My son showed an early aptitude for music at age three. In my zeal to find a piano instructor for him, I accidentally started a music school in my home in Central Park. We ran the school out of my home for close to three years. We were hosting recitals and full theatrical productions in my backyard complete with lights, sets, tech and costumes. I had close to 200 students coming through my home by the end. The neighbors all looked the other way because they loved that their kids could safely walk to music lessons. It was crazy but a lot of fun.
IGTD: So you were teaching music out of your home before you opened your first commercial location. Was that move out of necessity because you, personally, were so in demand? Or was it because you had a vision to expand the business?
SBM: Neighborhood Music was an accident! I was a full-time graduate student and mother of two young children. My son was three and my daughter was 18 months old when I started it. I wasn’t fully convinced that I wanted to own a music school so I kept it in my home while I contemplated. Neighborhood Music kept growing and taking over other rooms of our house. We started with a small (home business appropriate) school in the basement. By the end, I had students in my sitting room, dining room, five studios in the basement, and a drum kit in the living room. My husband couldn’t park in the garage and come through the back door because he might interrupt a music lesson. We also went through a period of time where we were eating dinner on the back porch because my schedulers were working out of our dining room. Our garage housed a full-sized stagecoach, windmill and cardboard replica of an Arc de Triomphe. The whole house was taken over by the end.
IGTD: Tell us about the move to Stanley Marketplace. What were you hoping being there would bring to your business and students?
SBM: I met with Stanley leadership when it was just a small little seed of an idea and immediately wanted it to be our home. We shared a community focus and I liked the Stanifesto that was put forth. We ended up moving into another commercial space first because we knew the construction cycles on the Stanley would be extensive. Our original music school is located at 10255 E. 25th Avenue in Aurora, housing ourselves as close to Stanley as possible. We moved into Stanley Marketplace in February 2018 because our 25th Avenue location was supposed to be taken through the eminent domain process. When that did not happen, I went back to the 25th Avenue location and signed another lease. It is now the home of Factory Five Five, our theater and arts collective.
IGTD: Did you have visions of expanding beyond the music school at that point?
SBM: I wanted an arts experience that was robust so it made sense to expand the music school offerings. Students experience music through all senses, and we wanted them to hear, touch, see, feel and smell it. We started expanding our offerings to include any mediums that also overlapped with music. The arts are all interrelated, so our experiences and offerings continued to expand.
IGTD: When and why did you expand Neighborhood Music to include “& Theatre”?
SBM: Theater was a natural offering for us. We had so many vocal students and the desire was there. We were looking for additional avenues for our students to explore music.
Our theater program actually expanded significantly during the pandemic. The Stanley Marketplace team was incredibly generous with allowing us to use different spaces in the Marketplace during COVID. We needed larger rooms to teach in and had to conduct theater with fewer students in smaller groups than we were accustomed to. Unexpectedly, this had the side impact of being very personal/positive experiences for students. Our students were conducting most of their studies at home and our theater program became their primary creative outlet.
By the end of 2020, our program had expanded so much that we had completely outgrown our Neighborhood Music space. I decided to continue to expand the program by opening Factory Five Five in the location that was our original music school.
Factory Five Five houses a black box theater performance space. We are an arts collective. The original intent was for it to house our theater program, a film and photography program, and a fashion design/sewing program.
IGTD: Tell us about Factory Five Five and Factory Fashion? What are they and what’s the connection?
SBM: We started putting a greater technical focus into our theater offerings, which included costume sewing and design. As the desire for more tangible sewing skills grew, we opened Factory Fashion. It was meant to be housed in Factory Five Five but the space was not conducive to the work environment we needed. The Factory Fashion program also exploded immediately. I moved Factory Fashion to the Stanley Marketplace September 2021 and it became its own company. Factory Fashion now offers tailoring/alterations, small batch manufacturing for local designers, fashion design and sewing classes for youth-adult, a Drag Tween/Teen program, and opportunities for students to design pieces that show at Denver Fashion Week and Latin Fashion Week Colorado.
Learn more: www.factoryfivefive.com 720 705-0556 Instagram: @factoryfivefive
IGTD: Where did the idea come from to have a sewing and fashion design space by day and cocktail spot by night? They aren’t an obvious connection!
SBM: In bigger cities, rental space is used more collaboratively and creatively. We share that desire at the Stanley Marketplace and it’s a survival path to diversify your revenue streams when you work in the arts. I opened the bar to help support and fund creative projects we are hoping to launch. We host fashion shows for designers and the specialty cocktail bar allows designers to host the shows and their pre- or after-parties in the same unique location.
IGTD: Tell us more about Factory Fashion Champagne Bar – what kinds of events do you have there?
SBM: We’ve hosted a variety of immersive events in the space including a James Bond-themed “Spy Bar” night, an elaborate disco party with light-up dance floor and regular jazz nights. The current focus of the bar is event rentals and/or activations on Fridays and Saturdays.
Learn more: www.factoryfashionstanley.com 720-327-2000 Instagram: @factoryfashionstanley
IGTD: As if all of that wasn’t enough, you’ve now opened Sky Bar, also in Stanley Marketplace. What is the newest concept?
SBM: Sky Bar is a partnership between myself, Patrick McMichael and Brandi Shigley. We’re a 21+ craft cocktail bar that celebrates the “Golden Age of Air Travel.” It’s a nod to simpler times when you could sip a quality drink with ample space and comfort high above the clouds. We have a vintage mod luxe feel and add a dose of experience to your time with us. You check in at a kiosk and are assigned a “boarding time,” at which point you are escorted up to the bar, typically by one of the owners. The views are outstanding – definitely come at sunset! Reservations on Friday and Saturday evenings are recommended, but not required. Reservations can be made on our website.
Learn more: www.skybarstanley.com 720 298-1260 Instagram: @skybarstanley
Hours of operation: Wednesday & Thursday 5pm-10pm & Friday through Sunday 2pm-10pm
IGTD: What led you to want to open Sky Bar?
SBM: We loved the views from the overlook space at Stanley Marketplace. It was meant to be a private party patio but wasn’t being utilized very often so we hit the drawing board. We knew we would do something aviation-themed and initially planned a very kitschy 60s theme. We later decided to move the bar to a more mod luxe feel. We wanted a destination that people would feel comfortable coming to every night versus something that they might attend once and feel as though they checked the box!
IGTD: Sky Bar is located in a swell, out of the way spot in Stanley Marketplace that offers uninterrupted views of Colorado sunsets. How did using that space come to be?
SBM: It was no small job to convert the space to a bar. We had to add HVAC and plumbing. It was originally an open format patio so we also closed the space in so we could operate year-round and installed a roll top window to preserve the views.
IGTD: Do you sleep?! How do you manage all of these various businesses?
SBM: I’m not a sleeper. I hardly ever watch TV or movies. I’m in a constant rotation between businesses and do try to stop by each one every day to touch base with teams and staff. Selling Neighborhood Music has allowed me to hyper focus on Factory Five Five, Factory Fashion and Sky Bar, which are all fairly recent startups so I feel the need to be omnipresent in these businesses.
I’m married to a physician and have three active children. I can make the businesses work by running in circles but I do miss a lot with my family these days. My kids and husband are giving me a pass because they know I’m getting my arms around my businesses.
IGTD: What else do you have up your sleeve?
SBM: I may host a few more immersive parties this year and have a full theater season at Factory Five Five which includes a 21+ immersive party and shadow cast performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. We are hoping to launch our photography program very soon. At Factory Fashion, we are focused on moving our small batch manufacturing contracts forward. We also have a partnership with Latin Fashion Week Colorado. We are offering a youth class series where students will design modern looks inspired by traditional Mexican clothing. The new collection and the fashions that inspired the collection will show at Latin Fashion Week Colorado in September.
Lastly (for now!), I’m working toward launching my own clothing line, SKYEAIRE. I am looking forward to playing with fashion in a new way. My personal style crosses a lot of genres – I always aim to be chic (and often this results in being politely overdressed but not out of place) even if I’m in a streetwear-inspired mechanic jumpsuit and trucker hat. I want everything I design (and in my closet) to be accessible and something you can wear on any day to look/feel beautiful and sexy versus something saved for a specific occasion or mindset. I’m set to launch SKYEAIRE at Denver Fashion Week in the Local Couture show on November 12, 2022.
IGTD: What do you think it is about you that makes you want to, and be able to, not only conceive of these varied business concepts, but also implement them successfully? I think there’s probably a lesson for a lot of us.
SBM: I’m a mom and member of the community in Central Park and Aurora and most of my ideas arise from trying to find the services that my family is seeking. I started Neighborhood Music for my son. I started Factory Fashion for my other son and daughter. I became the Executive Director of jk-co Dance because my daughter is on a path to pursue a career in dance and I want to help build the Metro area dance community.
As a producer, I’m still figuring out adult entertainment and bars and what drives people to attend. We are cranking out a high volume of theater, music, fashion design, art and dance. It’s a fun journey and exciting to be working with/employing professionals as actors, dancers, designers, artists, etc. and producing art through so many different avenues.
Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard. The youth components of my business are easier to implement because I am reflexively trying to organize to accommodate the needs of busy families. I’m a mom, so I know what I need for my kids to participate successfully in after-school enrichment. I try to emulate that for other families.
Bars are hard work, but a wonderful community industry that I’m thankful to be part of.
IGTD: How can people reach out to learn more about each of your businesses?
SBM: Follow me on Instagram for updates: @skyebarkermaa or keep an eye on my website: www.skyebarkermaa.com
Comments are closed.