With just a paintbrush and an Instagram account, a TCU sophomore has transformed her passion into a growing business.

Leni Nguyen, a Fort Worth native, sells handmade paintings, banners, posters and buttons through her business By Leni Nguyen. She started painting homecoming banners for her friends in high school and decided to start a business that would allow her to continue painting after college.

“I think I was just a little bored coming into college,” Nguyen said. “I wanted to do something new and fun, so I started painting banners, which is something I really love since I have been painting for a long time.”

Nguyen is a member of TCU’s Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and a large portion of her clients participate in Greek life, including her roommate and member of Sigma Kappa sorority, Annie Fatima.

“I chose Leni to paint my banners because she made it to a point where I could give her an idea that was so vague, and she would make my idea 10 times better,” Fatima said.

Fatima has been by Nguyen’s side from the genesis of the business. They used to sit together in Colby Hall’s lobby while Fatima did homework and Nguyen painted banners.

“It started with one DM from Theta asking her to do a paper banner and she decided to make an Instagram about it,” Fatima said. “At first, just me and our roommates followed the account.”

The business’s Instagram has grown tremendously in just a year. The account is just shy of 600 followers as of Sept. 29.

Nguyen not only has TCU customers, but also customers throughout the DFW area. Since she grew up in Fort Worth, she has connections throughout the city.

“When I first made an Instagram account, it helped me really expand to other people,” Nguyen said. “I was able to reach people not just from my high school or TCU, but outside of that.”

She can paint something for almost any event, ranging from big-little sorority reveals to birthday banners. The business has recently expanded to include game day buttons, as well.

Nguyen focuses about five hours of her week on her business to help her balance school and painting.

“The hours I spend working definitely range throughout the weeks, especially within the different seasons,” Nguyen said. “On top of painting banners or posters, communicating with clients takes up a lot of my time.”

Regardless of the occasion, Nguyen dedicates herself to creating handmade, personalized designs that her customers can love.