Meet Brittany Smith & Jessica Garrido Davila | Speech Language Pathologists & Founders of The Play Society

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Smith & Jessica Garrido Davila and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany Smith & Jessica Garrido Davila, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Hi! Our names are Brittany and Jessica, both Speech Language Pathologists. We are the co-founders of The Play Society, a Fort Lauderdale-based company that offers high-quality play-based group classes for all families with children ages 6 months to 4 years old. Our classes are communication-based sensory classes with changing weekly themes, language strategies, books, and activities. As we envisioned our company, we were motivated to use our skills, knowledge, and background to make a real impact in our community. We emphasize the importance of play- getting on the floor, having fun, being silly, and getting messy. In play, learning and connection happens naturally.

At The Play Society, we are building a community, one that accepts and empowers others. A leading motivator came from personal experience, from our co-founder and mother, Jessica. At The Play Society, we wanted to offer a “real” space for caregivers, where play and development was fun and attainable. We strived to create this environment that not only supported early development, but encouraged adults to enjoy their time in class as much as the children did. We wanted to create a positive impact on each experience, connecting caregivers to other caregivers, but also strengthening bonds between caregivers and their children. We wanted to empower confidence in the caregivers, and encourage children to embrace their individuality through all forms of expression in play.

What should our readers know about your business?
We created The Play Society as speech language pathologists. We have honed in on our skills, love and knowledge of the importance of parental involvement and wanted to provide this level of support for development as a whole, to a broader community. We use this background and knowledge in child development and play-based learning to create a high-quality curriculum that incorporates changing monthly and weekly themes, language strategies, and class activities. We also have a book club called The Little Poet’s Society. Each month, we introduce two new theme-related books to choose from. Each book club set includes the book itself, 8-10 felt pieces to accompany the book, and a tip card that includes a monthly shared reading strategies and activity ideas related to the book to try at home!

As a true start-up, we are most proud of the community we’ve built so far. We had our first class in June and we’ve been making amazing connections ever since. We can’t say this process has been easy, but the support we’ve received from family, friends, other business owners, and the community has continued to motivate us. We are now hosting 3 consistent classes each week, starting to host pop-ups in surrounding South Florida communities, and collaborating with other businesses and business owners to put on community-wide events.

We have learned that the fastest way to success is slow. We’ve learned to be patient with the process, and with ourselves and ambitions. We’ve learned new trades that go hand-in-hand with starting a new business, like creating a website, working with a branding team, and running a social media account. We’ve learned to be vulnerable, take risks, and know that even when things don’t work out how we’d want them too, to stay consistent and positive. Most importantly, we’ve learned to be proud of ourselves!

We want the world to experience the joy, and our passion and love in creating this company. We want kids to feel confident to learn through play, and we want adults to have just as much fun as their children, because we sure do!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If friends (and their children) were visiting for the weekend, we’d always recommend starting at Wells Coffee. Then we’d suggest a walk along the Las Olas riverfront, a trip on the Water Taxi, or a visit to Hortt Park for the kids (a hidden gem). On Saturday, they’d have to join The Play Society’s Little Explorer class as LauderAle, then hang out afterward to enjoy a drink and food from the local food truck. Our personal favorite cocktail is the Silician from North Italia (for a happy hour). Dinner at Heritage is a must, and if you’re looking for dinner with a view, we’d say Coconuts.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We have multiple shoutouts to acknowledge and thank. We would like to dedicate our success to our past and present community of families, children and caregivers we’ve been lucky enough to work with, our personal families and friends who have either supported or helped us start this company, and the local businesses and business owners who have motivated and encouraged us to pursue this dream.

Website: https://playsocietyco.com

Instagram: @playsocietyco

Facebook: @playsocietyco

Image Credits
Sasha Garrido Rojas