Danielle Mooney, owner of Vent, in the smash room, above, and in the paint room, below. (Matthew J. Mowry)
Between the pandemic, the Ukraine invasion and inflation, we could all use an outlet for stress. And Danielle Mooney of Vent has created a venue where customers can exorcise the pressure.
Located in Portsmouth, Vent has a splatter room, where people throw paint around, and a smash room, where customers can break things. Need details? For a base price of $35 per room, customers can spend about 25 minutes smashing glass bottles, plates and ceramic objects provided by Vent using a hammer, crowbar, bat or just throw things on the floor.
Customers are provided with heavy-duty overalls, gloves, and a hard hat with face shield.
While the smash room is for adults only, the splatter room allows all ages to throw paint around a room, usually at a blank canvas on a wall to make art, but also certainly at each other as well. Customers again are outfitted with overalls, safety goggles and shoe covers. “I wanted this to be a safe place for people to express themselves,” Mooney says.
Mooney, who primarily worked in retail, initially launched a business taking dogs on hikes, off leash, called Canine Climbs in 2018. “It was awesome, but it was hard on my body. I had 18 [regular] clients, some with two pups,” she says. Then COVID hit and clients were home with their dogs full time, and the work dried up.
With a lack of finances, being cooped up at home and unable to visit family in person, Mooney started feeling frustrated. “I wanted to scream and throw things,” Mooney says. “Then, I thought it would be awesome to have a private area to play around with art and let out my frustrations.”
She opened Vent in 2021, investing $20,000 of her own money to lease and renovate a space at The Malt House Exchange Plaza in Portsmouth, just a couple of doors down from Portsmouth Escape Room.
It wasn’t an easy start, especially during a pandemic. She had to go out of NH to find an insurance company, and she faced doubters who didn’t understand the concept. “Some people thought it was an aggressive or silly idea,” she says. “People told me I would fail. I proved them wrong.”
While business ramped up slowly, it quickly picked up as people needed a place to, well, vent. “It’s very cathartic,” she says, adding one customer, going through a rough patch, came in five times a week.
Mooney now says she has 30 sessions booked a week, with two to five people participating per session. She says participants include couples on dates, bachelorette parties, kids’ parties and even businesses, including several banks, that use it as a team building opportunity. “People can pick a room or run both at the same time,” she says.
There is a lounge area for parties or meetings, and customers can bring their own beer or wine.
To help with costs, Mooney partners with local restaurants and thrift stores for empty wine bottles. And those who bring their own breakables receive a discount.
Vent is open Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 6 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. by appointment only. Mooney says she wants to add rooms and eventually multiple locations.
For more information, visit ventwithus.com.
Current Issue - April 2024