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"WHAT DOES BUBBLEGUM GRAFFITI MEAN?"
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When you think of the word "Bubblegum", what comes to mind? Maybe sweet, cute, fun, perky, bubbly, young, carefree and/or feminine, right? (or something like that, lol)

And "Graffiti" is basically adding your "art" to something to express an idea or express yourself.

So Bubblegum Graffiti is adding a sweet, cute and fun touch to your life to express yourself, who you are, and what you love! 😊

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"BUBBLEGUM GRAFFITI'S FULL STORY"
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Right before starting my Bubblegum Graffiti shop, I was living in Florida (where I was born and raised), making a living refurbishing furniture and selling the furniture on Craigslist, as well as selling light up items at special events.

I had been working for myself for around 8 years at this time, doing this and similar things, but in October of 2014, I ended up moving to Maine for a couple of years and quickly realized that the events and furniture were not going to work out as well as they did in sunny Florida, so I had to make some changes quick.

I had recently heard about Etsy and was interested in opening a shop to sell my furniture, but after doing some research I decided smaller items were the way to go.

Creativity and crafts had always come natural to me since I'd been crafty and artistic my entire life (went to a few years of graphic arts school as well) so I got to work creating and testing the waters to see what sold.

I opened a different shop first trying out wreaths, which did "okay" but didn't feel like it was where I wanted to be, so I opened Bubblegum Graffiti in Feb/March of 2015 to sell embellished sunglasses, crystal necklaces, crystal keychains and fun grunge jewelry, I just needed a name and a brand 😊

Trying to come up with a name, everything I wanted was taken (of course pfft) so I decided to start putting fun words that I liked together. On that list was "Bubblegum and Graffiti", and because of the connotations behind it, I put them together, liked it and kept it.

My boyfriend, who was a graphic art designer (which is how we met actually) got right to work creating an awesome logo and "mascot" for my shop and I got right to work on social media, creating items and fun packaging, and stocking my shop.

I wanted the shop and items to have a fun and bubbly, girly, but also grungy, skater, urban and alternative feel.

I had a lot of very quick success and continued to grow. I got interest from instagrammers and drop shippers, got a ton of shout outs on popular social media pages (and not at my request), and was even apart of Redbubble's pinterest boards (which have since taken down ... bummer 😕 )

Because of all the quick success, I ended up opening 3 additional shops and my boyfriend was getting involved in them with me. It was a fun and exciting time and we felt we could create a brand and something that could really grow into something big!!

But in 2017, when my shop was 2 years in, life had different plans, and my boyfriend tragically and suddenly ended up passing away and everything came to a halt. 😢

Devastated, it was so hard to get back on track and I lost the drop shippers, the instagrammers, the redbubble board, the shout outs, and the motivation ☹️

And between 2017 and 2020, I also lost a few good friends, parents of friends and on Christmas of 2019, my only sister, who I was extremely close with, passed away as well. (all of these people too young, too sudden and unexpected) So of course, getting back on track was looking further and further away. I closed the other shops completely (for the time being) and left Bubblegum Graffiti as the only one, but couldn't seem to find the same type of drive and focus I had in the beginning years.

Over the last few years, I ended up changing all of the items I offered into keychain bottles with different colored caps and sizes to hold your favorite sunscreen, makeup, foundation, hand sanitizer, lotions, shampoo, conditioner, hot sauce, spices, condiments and so on, that you find yourself needing on the go.

At the time I did this, no one else was really selling them (I could only find 2 shops online while I was searching and none of them were on etsy, amazon, ebay, etc) and I was gaining customers for weddings, birthdays and parties, as well as people who sold their own hot sauces, lotions and so on, so I saw so much potential and felt there was a real need for this and it was something I should focus on full time.

I searched out the best possible bottles and accessories for those bottles. I included as many color and size options as possible and put them at the lowest cost I was able to provide.

It was important the bottles be BPA free, recyclable, reusable and food grade. (which they are in case you were wondering 😉 )

I linked up with Sriracha2Go and signed a contract to be able to sell their bottles as well, but with permission to add my own items to them so they could fall under handmade, and was getting excited about my shop again.

I wanted to focus in on people on the go and solve problems for them. I was thinking of the skaters and surfers, bicyclists and joggers, beach goers, gym goers, jet skiers and boaters, or people who are out an about a lot and need things handy. I'm out a lot myself and I use all of my items too, so I wanted to focus and expand on that.

I had my daughter (also an artist 😉 ) update my logo and put the name on the inside of the bubble the mascot is blowing, so my mascot could become my logo. (Fun fact, the "mascot" is actually a roller skater girl who also does bmx, skateboarding and graffiti 😊 Full body art of her and stickers will be coming in the future 😉)

And since she does graffiti, her bubble is shaped a bit like a face mask to give that implication. (this was before covid lol)

I also wanted to think about businesses and how they could use them for their customers, putting their lotions and sauces on a keychain they could offer their customers.

Since the beginning I've always thought about using these as gifts as well, so I wanted to think about improving the packaging to be even more gift like. And a lot of the businesses I spoke with, their customers wanted less plastic, so I wanted to focus on more paper products, and try to find a manufacturer who makes plastic out of plants to get the bottles made from hemp and plants instead. (still looking ugh)

I wanted to think about schools since they have always been a big part of my customer base since the beginning as well, and I wanted to think about parties, weddings, dances, and business functions since these can serve as favors for any of those occasions too.

And with those categories, of course personalizations are always requested so I planned on getting a sticker machine and printer that would print directly on the bottles so I could customize logos, names and so on. I wanted to add as many types of different convenient clips and carabiners I could, to offer variety.

This started to get my motivation back .... and then COVID hit.

After covid hit (I can't believe as I'm writing this, it's already approaching a year since covid hit, where does the time go!) at first I was SWARMED with orders from everywhere around the world, since you couldn't find the bottles much anywhere else, which led to me constantly running out and waiting for new shipments.

But with covid came problems with manufacturing so the sizes and colors were not up to my choosing, and problems with shipping, which meant high cost and wait times. And then of course came the swarm of shops all over the internet now selling the bottles (as everyone was trying to jump on the bandwagon and sell sanitizer, gloves and masks) so naturally when you can get the items anywhere, they are not going to continue to hold their value and popularity. Bummer again 🤷‍♀️ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So now here we are 😊 And Bubblegum Graffiti is going to go back to it's roots a little, but taking with it the new items added and all that has been learned in the last 5 years.

I'm looking forward and towards expansion and growth for the future, but also taking a step back and starting from the beginning.

So now you will start seeing old keychains, crystal necklaces, crystal keychains, and the like pop back up.

I still want to focus on the roller skaters, skateboarders, bicyclists, and all those mentioned above, as well as the schools, the businesses, the parties, weddings, events and gifting.

I am still in search of a manufacturer who can make the bottles and more items from hemp and raw plant materials, and I am still switching over to more gift packaging and paper packaging as well, and as far away from the plastic I can go.

BubblegumGraffiti is 5 years in but is really just getting started. Where it will go from here, only time will tell 😊 But I do know that my energy is going to be more focused on my brand, on natural living, healthy organic living, environmentally friendly materials, expansion, life on the go, mindfulness, and those that are interested in all of that as well.

I'll also be linking up with more like minded companies that focus on healthy and environmentally friendly living too.

Right now, I am proud to say Bubblegum Graffiti is affiliated with Sol Ti (if you haven't heard of them, check them out)

so if you shop with them already or are interested in shopping with them, you can use code BUBBLEGUMGRAFFITI15 for 15% off of your purchase at www.SolTi.com (it also lets them know I sent you)

If you are interested in the Sriracha bottles you can purchase them from www.BubblegumGraffiti.com but if you want to purchase straight from the manufacturer, make sure to use code Bubblegum10 for 10% off your purchase at www.Sriracha2Go.com (it also lets them know I sent you)

So that is my story up until now, and as I move along I'll be adding to it, so I'm excited to see what the future holds for BubblegumGraffiti, and hope you are too! 🙃🙂

If you'd like to follow along for the journey, follow me on social media ...

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/bubblegumgraffiti/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/bubblegumgraffiti
Pinterest : https://www.pinterest.com/bubblegumgraff/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/bubblegumgraff
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC7qZfvypzFjtw3t7vHPEiA
TikTok: https://TikTok.com/@BubblegumGraffiti

My other shops are now open again and I will slowly be adding more and more to all of them over time. If you'd like to give any a visit, they are ...

www.HangLooseHippie.com
www.QuoteToLiveBy.com
www.CharmedByMermaids.com

and you can find this shop again by visiting www.BubblegumGraffiti.com

I hope you love what you find on BubblegumGraffiti and hope to see you back again and again!

Thanks so much for shopping! Bookmark http://www.BubblegumGraffiti.com and check back often for new merch!

Feel free to message me with any questions, suggestions or collaboration requests!!

Thanks so much!! 😊