Zhuzh it Up!
Actresses trade curtain calls for messy closets with new venture
Shakespeare famously penned that “all the world’s a stage.” Veteran actresses Lisa Bansavage and Eliza Huffman say that also includes a messy closet or room in need of TLC.
They’re the owners of Zhuzh it Up!, a consulting business that uses tricks of the trade from stage design and wardrobing to make the most use of the space in a home. They launched the business last month over
Labor Day weekend.
“Especially during this time of COVID, when more people are working from home or have to school their children from home, we’re there as a resource for them to help them make their space more efficient, more comfortable, more inviting, more beautiful and ultimately more productive,” Ms. Bansavage says.
The pair also specializes in staging homes to get them ready for sale.
Ms. Bansavage recently moved back home after living and working in New York City. She’s a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University who worked with several local theater organizations, including Pittsburgh CLO, Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival and City Theatre, before continuing her career in the Big Apple. Since 2004, she’s also performed more than 600 weddings and 200 funerals and baby blessings as an ordained interfaith minister.
“We’re there as a resource for them to help them make their space more efficient, more comfortable, more inviting, more beautiful and ultimately more productive.”
Lisa Bansavage
Ms. Huffman, who was born in Monongahela, has been the artistic director for five classical theater companies and has worked in New York, Los Angeles, London and Portland, Ore. She’s designed more than 150 shows, in addition to acting and costume design. She returned to the area earlier this year.
So what exactly does theater design have in common with organizing a room? They say dressing a set is good practice for making a small room look bigger on a shoestring budget.
“And you have to make it look like you spent a fortune,” Ms. Huffman says. “I used to be called the telephone book because if you needed resources, I was the go- to person and knew how to shop and where to find the most beautiful lighting elements, where to get fabrics.”
Their work with classical plays also has provided an education on different periods of architecture and design.
“When I go into someone’s home, I know what period a piece of furniture is,” Ms. Huffman says. “We try to work with what they have and know what their aesthetic is.”
They also credit the theater for their time management skills and ability to work collaboratively.
“We know how to honor a deadline and be part of a team,” Ms. Bansavage says. “We see our clients as part of that team. Even though we’re the ones doing the labor, we want to honor their vision.”
All new jobs begin with a complementary introduction so the Zhuzh it Up! ladies can get acquainted with the client and the space. The cost varies depending upon the request, the timeline and the size of the space.
To supplement their incomes, Ms. Bansavage and Ms. Huffman organized and staged homes on their own before partnering to create Zhuzh it Up! Although they’ve been friends for decades, they only realized fairly recently that they each shared this interest and that they were both from Western Pennsylvania.
“When we both discovered we were planning to move to Pittsburgh at the same time and we were both doing this work, we thought, well, this is a no- brainer that the two of us join forces,” Ms. Huffman says.
The name for their business was inspired by Ms. Bansavage binge- watching episodes of “Queer Eye” during the COVID- 19 shutdown.
“I was delighted to hear them reference the word ‘ zhuzh’ for outfitting a room with colorful drapery or art pieces,” she says. “That word is so adorable, and it really jumps out at you.”
While their business is young, things have gone well so far. They’re getting to know local real estate agents and recently got down and dirty with a closet cleanout.
“I hired them to do a nasty closet I have,” says Michelle S., who requested her last name be withheld for privacy.
“They’ve pulled things out from my kids, who are now 37 and 39, from their elementary school years. This is going to be a true blessing when they get all of this done, like a weight that’s been lifted off me.”
She’s impressed with how they group what they find into genres, so similar items are stored together.
“They have a wonderful eye for things, yet they keep it simple.”
Zhuzh it Up! also helps with organizing and moving, both potentially stressful situations. Susan Friedlander of Manhattan, who hired Ms. Bansavage to help her stage her Park Avenue apartment for sale, recalls her “wonderful personality and enormous talent.”
“She’s very good with color and shape and blending ideas,” Ms. Friedlander says. “You wouldn’t have thought it was the same apartment. It looked completely different.”
Ms. Bansavage says offering clients design therapy is the best kind of curtain call.
“We want people to come away feeling terrific, like they’re back in control of their life.”