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At Digiwrap, we are all about personalizing—after all, custom-printed tissue paper and gift bags are our jam! So we love the idea behind Willo Bixby, an Etsy shop where people can order personalized products without having to DIY.

Tiffany Bryant, the brains and creative force behind Willo Bixby, left us one of our favorite reviews to date! We love knowing that the packaging of her product gave her confidence as she moves forward with her awesome business plan:

“I’m not one to get emotional very easily (OK, OK you caught me...😆) but I was nearly brought to tears when I opened my packages! I'd already been blown away by the excellent customer service and the finished product put me over the top. I've been wanting to start a small business for some time and finally got the courage to take the leap. Digiwrap made the marketing ideas in my head real, and I couldn't be more satisfied with the outcome. My motto this year has been "Do MORE...fear LESS" and trying this out was certainly scary. TY TY TY for making it so easy and for making my business look like a million bucks. I will definitely be ordering again soon.”

Thank you, Tiffany! Now without further ado, learn more about Willo Bixby, Tiffany, and support her in her work if you love custom and personalized products but aren’t sure you have it in you to DIY!

About Willo Bixby:

Creating customized and personalized products has never been easier and more affordable with the proliferation of in-home cutting and pressing machines; however, not everyone has the time or the eye for design. From T-shirts to backpacks and cups to keychains, Willo Bixby offers the unique, one-of-a-kind character you want from DIY-ing without the hassle of TRYing.    

Where did you get the idea, and how did you decide to get started?

I refer to myself as an "ideator”—someone who always seems to have a good idea partying with the lint and gum wrappers in their back pocket. I am also notorious for being a procrastinator—someone who never acts on said ideas and casts them aside with said lint out of fear because, like many other women, I too suffer from being P.I.S.S.E.D.: a Perfectionist and Imposter Syndrome Sufferer Every Day. I’m constantly asking myself, What if it's not good enough? What if no one likes it? What could I possibly have to offer that hasn't already been said or done? 

I knew I wanted to do something because I had hundreds of ideas in my journals, but I couldn't convince myself anything would be worthwhile. Sad but true.

After a milestone birthday last year (no, I will not tell you which one but thanks for asking 😄 ) and a seemingly unending parade of “I-could-have-done-that” encounters online, I was fed up with watching from the sidelines. Nevertheless, I was inspired to buy the cutting machine I'd been stalking for six months (and no lie, it took another three months to even open the box). Finally, I started making things in my spare time. Taking letters from my name and the "with love" concept I wanted to convey in my work, the company name, Willo Bixby, was born. It felt smart, unique, cool, and mature, just like me. Or like my great-great-great grandmother who survived the Antebellum south, according to my husband. Pretty sure she was super cool too so it works either way.

Why are you passionate about your product?

Everything I make is a personal reminder that I can do whatever I put my mind to because I'm the only person who matters standing in the way. I am not the  ______est (insert adjective here) person in the room, but I am still worthy of being there because there is enough space for us all—preferably in a corner with the rest of the socially awkward introverts. Thanks!

Everyone should have the opportunity to feel empowered, and Willo Bixby is the battery in my back giving me life in ways my professional career hasn't. My neck and head hurt from bumping into and staring up through the glass ceiling every day. (In case my boss is reading this, I love my job and the work is extremely fulfilling!)

What inspires you when you are designing something new?

There isn't a nice way to put this, so I'll come right out and say it—my inspiration is pure selfishness!  I want to hear the "oohs and aahs" and "OMG that's soooo cute, I love it" from my customers so I learn as much as I can about them and the project before I start designing. I want to know, What's your favorite color? Is this a gift for you or someone else? What's the sentiment behind it? How should it make me...I mean...you feel? All this information influences the design choices and helps deliver a more memorable product and experience for the client. Nothing feels better than hearing "you did a good job.” Like I said totally selfish, I know, but it feels super win-win for them and for me, so I don't stress myself too much about it.

Why is presentation in your packaging important?

I don't even know where to start. There aren't enough fingers and toes on the planet to count how many times we've found ourselves buying something we don't need (or really even want for that matter—I’m looking at you, Target) because the packaging or store presentation subconsciously said "give me your wallet,” and we were handing over all our cash and valuables without realizing we were being stuck up by pretty color combinations or fonts that reminded us of our first kiss or the last dance. Humans only need three basic things to survive: food, water, and shelter. But, to feel alive, these three things must make you feel better than basic, and any good marketing/sales person worth their salt knows presentation is the tool that bridges between surviving and living. Live, honey, liiiiiiiiiive!!!!

What do you do for fun?

The best compliment I can receive on any given day is, "Cute shoes; what...you're an accountant?!"  Making business and finance decisions all day may sound really fun, but even I need a break every now and again from being about that crazy CPA (certified public accountant) life. Willo Bixby is one place I'm currently channeling the creative, left-brained side of my life (because creative accounting in the workplace will typically land you in jail, and head-to-toe county orange is not the best color for my neutral undertones…). I am just a nerd in cool people's clothing, so of course I enjoy reading and watching documentaries on all things weird and informational (not mutually exclusive). I am a huge sports junkie (golf and hockey though...gross). I inexplicably love llamas and alpacas (fight me, bro).  I am just a regular haberdashery of fun and good tidings all around.

Learn more about and shop Willo Bixby—we'll add the link once the shop is open! Coming soon!

When you are planning your wedding, why not bring in an artist? Emily Rose Ink offers more than your typical wedding invites. This professional calligrapher has been “drawn to the intersection between words and art” since childhood. She now gathers information about a couple’s vision for their big day and tells the story through her thoughtful calligraphy and art.

Since she offers the ultimate in personalized invites, we are so pleased she has used custom printed tissue paper from Digiwrap to help carry the art and theme of the wedding through all the details, designing custom tissue paper for wedding welcome bags. We sat down with Emily to learn more about her incredible work, her inspiration, and what she does for fun.

Why are you passionate about calligraphy? I've always had good handwriting and loved cursive, but there's something very meditative about calligraphy—dipping the pen, forming the letters—it's like each envelope is a work of art, like a gift for each recipient. Especially these days, it's so rare that we get beautiful hand-written letters in the mail, so it's a really special moment when you find a beautifully calligraphed envelope in your mailbox.

How did you get into it? My sister got married in 2014 and asked me to design her wedding invitations since I had always been really passionate about art and knew my way around photoshop. I took a calligraphy class, and at her wedding, a few people asked me if I would do their invitations, and the rest is history!

What inspires you when you are designing something new? I get a lot of my inspiration from nature; one of the first things I do when I'm working on a custom sketch is to look at pictures of the wedding venue online. I talk to the client about their vision, their passions, why they chose their wedding venue and date, etc...and then I let the setting speak to me. Often, we pull in specific flowers that they are going to be using, and I pull those flowers into the design as well.

How have you used Digiwrap paper? The most common use of Digiwrap paper has been for welcome bags.   

We've loved the custom tissue paper we have created through Digiwrap and are excited to continue using it for our clients in the future! The colors were accurate and vibrant, and the paper was really high-quality.

What do you do for fun? I love to read (I was a high school English teacher in my past life). I love poetry and I have also been trying to read more contemporary novels by women with female protagonists. There was a great article in the NYT with a list and I bought like 10 books from there to read! I crave time with a big cup of coffee and a good book. I also love to walk our two rescue dogs in the park, and practice yoga.

Learn more about Emily Rose Ink

We love our custom tissue paper customers since they are so often creative people who love to make their interesting products special! A repeat customer of ours, Modern Mija, is turning one this month and has seen so much success that they are opening a brick-and-mortar store. We sat down with Emily Sharp, owner and buyer at this trendy and stylish clothing shop for kids. We wanted to understand her tips for success when you are starting a new, unique business that is born out of a passion—in this case, a passion for modern threads, decor, and lifestyle.

Why are you passionate about your shop? I am one of those rare people that has a pretty balanced left and right brain so I love being creative and artsy but also have a very practical, business side. I have struggled in various jobs to find a way to satisfy both sides, but Modern Mija has finally allowed me that balance. I am so passionate about it for many reasons.

1) I love working with kids and moms. We have a really good relationship with our customers, whether that's personally because they are local, or online through social media. We try our best to not only make money doing what we love but give back to children and moms as well. Being successful is important to us simply so we can give back even more in the years to come. We’ve been lucky to have customers that share the same motto so we added a “Donate” page to our website to allow our customers to add a donation onto their purchase to one of the many amazing charities we support. That has been the most fulfilling part of our business journey.

2) I love discovering new and exciting brands/items to introduce to my customers. Being a buyer is like hunting for treasure—when you find the gold, it is such an exciting feeling. Bringing new brands into the store and getting good feedback and lots of sales is the best feeling ever. It definitely validates that you have good taste and people like what you are putting out there.

3) The hustle of business brings out a whole new level of passion in a small business owner. It is so hard and so tiring, but I have found that in those moments passion is what kicks in and keeps me going. I think that you almost get a high from it. I was lucky to be raised around small business so got a taste of it early on in life. I could never be one of those people content with sitting at a desk all day watching the clock. Not that there is anything wrong with that—I just think the high you get from the hustle and unknown in business is what keeps me always coming back for more.

What inspires you when you are curating the clothing available in your store? Our store is known for being very different from the normal kids boutique. We definitely have a more modern twist and vibe to our clothes, decor, really everything. When the store was created it was our mission to stray away from the normal "cutesy” clothing that most baby and children boutiques were notorious for offering. We knew that millennial moms weren’t dressing their kids that way anymore. They are busy, on-the-go mamas who care about style and comfort and want the same for their kiddos. We search everywhere for children brands that cater to the millennial mom lifestyle. We carry brands from LA to Bali to Australia. Almost all of the brands we carry were made or designed by moms as well. We try to support women who created and/or run their own businesses. At the end of the day, we are inspired by the customers we strive to attract and the lifestyles they lead.

Why is presentation in your packaging important? I went to school for advertising and graphic design so packaging is everything to me. I truly believe in making the buying journey flawless. Nowadays consumers have so many options when it comes to making a purchase, so I think it is crucial to “wow” them and stand out from the crowd. We spent extra on our custom tissue paper, business cards, polymailers, postcards, etc., but because of that people always remember us and we have seen better growth. I also think if you are selling an item that is special, like a baby shower gift or birthday present, which is what many of our purchases are, your packaging needs to reflect the same feeling.

Tell us more about your new store, and how you grew Modern Mija to this level. We just recently signed a lease for our first permanent storefront spot that will open in 2018 and we are very excited. Modern Mija is about to turn one this upcoming December, and for the past 10-11 months we have only been selling online and at pop-up events. We chose to start this way to test our market before investing a lot of our limited cash into a physical brick-and-mortar spot. We do a lot of shopping trade shows in our home base city of Kansas City, MO, like a Just For Her Event, SheKc Experience, Holiday Mart, Holiday Boutique, etc. They are great ways to get exposure as a new business and let people see up close and personal what you are all about. We also have popped up in other stores temporarily and shared space for seasonal shopping pop-ups. We are so thankful for the new-age “Pop Up” shopping experience as it as truly helped up propel our business quickly to the next level in a cost-effective and fairly risk-free way.

How do you use the custom tissue paper? We use our custom tissue paper at these events as tissue for the gift bags we give people when they purchase from us. We put every purchase in a nice, shiny black gift bag and top it with Modern Mija tissue. We get so many compliments on the packaging, and people who are buying gifts for loved ones truly appreciate it because their gift is purchased ready to give.

Thank you, Modern Mija, for being a valued customer and for sharing your experiences with us. We love your shop, and we’re rooting for you!

Joel Cherrico of Cherrico Pottery has a passion for his product. This becomes immediately clear from his website and social feed. Just a glance through all the photos of mugs, jars, and vases and you can see—the gorgeous pottery tells its own story of beauty. But the story doesn’t end there.

Recently Joel posted a live video of a late-night packaging session in his office. In just the 15-minute process of walking his fans through getting two mugs out to ship, his passion for his work becomes clear. You can see he’s taken great care of how the customer will receive his work. The details he’s added to what goes into each box add up to what we’d call a big hug from him to his customers.

“Most people who buy this pottery want to connect with the artist somehow, so just a simple note on every one…I know it seems like it takes a long time, but if they’re going to take the time to support your work and buy it, this seems like an easy thing to do,” says Joel.

His packaging includes information about his Guinness Record for "Most pots thrown in one hour by an individual,” biodegradable peanuts and a clear explanation for why he uses them, a handwritten and individually addressed message if he has time to include it, a box with his logo hand-painted, and our favorite piece—a sheet of custom printed tissue paper to enhance the theme of his design.

The custom printed tissue paper is our favorite (of course, because it’s our product!). But also because, with all of the other elements, he could just wrap his product with a sheet of plain white paper and call it a day. Instead, though, he knows that the story is in the details. And we love that a piece of tissue paper will help to show his customers how much he cares about his art.

Learn more about Joel and Cherrico Pottery.

We love our custom printed gift bags and tissue paper, and we can gush about it all day. But it’s our product, so of course we love it, right? But now you don’t have to take it from us. It’s such a huge honor to hear Sabine Lenz, the Paper Queen of PaperSpecs gush about it. She has a penchant for paper, and has built a career off of celebrating it. And PaperSpecs is a magazine dedicated to the power and poignancy of print design. So her high compliments are such a treat!

She raves about the customization, the paper options, and our favorite is when she waxes poetic about the experience of having one of these bags: “While both custom-printed tissue paper and bags are eye-catching, it is the pairing of these that truly make for an unforgettable experience. From the look and feel of the complete package to the crinkling sound of the tissue paper between your fingers, nearly every sense is engaged.” What a great, vivid description!

We love especially that as she walked around the How Design conference with one of our bags, everyone wanted to know what she had. She says they approached her with one thought in mind: “this is the perfect giveaway for events without having to invest in huge print runs.”

Read the full article

Order your Custom Gift Bag today!

We love our custom tissue paper customers, since we know that they love to make things special! And what could be more special than a couple’s big day? Digiwrap Customer Live Love Party Designs recently put together an awesome wedding invitation using custom tissue paper for their clients who were having an incredible destination wedding. We sat down with Noreen and Melisa, the mother/daughter team behind Live Love Party Designs, to get a feel for who they are, why they are passionate about their work, and how they have elevated the wedding invitation to such an awesome level.

Who are your typical clients?

Our most typical clients are brides and grooms who are looking for custom invitations that are uniquely personal and reflective of their own tastes. We strive to work with clients who want to set the tone for their wedding with their invitations, and not only invite their guests but also excite them. We also work with mothers and fathers who are throwing birthday parties, communions, and bridal/baby showers for their children. Our clients usually cannot find what they want online so they come to us with a vision, and we make that come to life. And of course we serve those clients who are not sure what they want and ask us to create a vision for them. We even work with corporate clients like Dylans Candy Bar, in which we provide digital invitations for all of their parties in their NYC, Miami, and Chicago locations.

What are your favorite projects to do for clients?

Our favorite projects to do with clients are those that make us think outside the box. We love to creatively come up with ways to uniquely cater to each of our client’s interests and needs. We love projects with embelishments and lots of detail as those always seem to stand out the most.

Why are you passionate about your work?

We are passionate about our work because we are creating stationery that symbolizes a monumental moment in our clients lives. When we design and deliver invitations to our clients, we see their excitement. Invitations truly begin the process for an event, and we are so happy to be able to bring that joy to our clients.

What inspires you when you are designing something new?

When designing and creating, we love to really cater to our clients’ needs. Getting to know the mood of their event can really help. We look for inspiration by looking at pictures of their venue, their choice of decor, and the color scheme, of course. We keep on top of trends, but only incorporate those that are in line with our clients’ style. What's it like to work as a mother/daughter team?

Working as a mother/daughter team is much easier than some may think. We can take each of our strengths (and weaknesses) to work better together and for our clients. We can support one another in different ways than most can and can openly communicate without there being any barriers.

What do you do for fun?

Noreen, the mom of the duo, enjoys hiking and biking. She also enjoys all kinds of crafts, sewing, and refinishing furniture. Making Halloween costumes for her three-year-old grandson is especially rewarding. And she loves just spending time with him. She is hoping he will be old enough to want to go camping soon.

Melisa, the daughter of the duo, enjoys spending time with her husband and their three-year-old son, along with their family and friends. She also enjoys crafting at all hours of the day and night—simple things like creating tablescapes for her Thanksgiving dinner and planning her son’s birthday parties a year in advance. :) When time allows it, she also enjoys reading and doing projects around her house.

Learn more about Live Love Party Designs.

We are obsessed with one of our latest custom tissue paper customers: Badass Backpacks! Their company embodies the perfect combination of art, thoughtful design, and passion for their work. And one of our favorite things—they have a crystal clear vision for how their product should look when it gets into the hands of their customers. They have decided custom tissue paper is an important step in the completed product. We spoke with Adam Lemmon, owner, about his fascinating company, his inspiration, and his life outside of badass backpacks!

Why did you decide to start Badass Backpacks?

I had this one backpack (it was an Italian made Invicta backpack) that I used all over the world. That backpack was bright, loud, and beautiful, and people would come up to me all the time to ask me about my bag. I met some of the coolest people in my life via conversations started about my backpack. So that got me started on the whole thing. I decided that I wanted to create beautiful backpacks that are designed to start conversations.

Why are you passionate about art? And why backpacks?

I love this question. For Badass Backpacks, I think about both art and backpacks at the same time.  It’s actually where our logo comes from. Our logo tiles are the same size.

Sometimes it looks like one is bigger than the other. But that’s just an optical illusion. Switch them to the other side, and now the other one appears to be bigger. And so it goes with Badass Backpacks— we need both happening at the same time.

My passion for art was initially inspired by my first art teacher, Cheryl Hicks. In her classes we learned to level up our capacity to create, by learning how to observe, listen, and see. Intoxicated by the possibilities of art, I was hooked.

As for backpacks, the short answer is that I’ve always loved backpacks because they are beautiful and mysterious. They make me smile. And that’s probably enough. Longer answer: I am obsessed with backpacks because they are never complete on their own; what’s inside a backpack is always changing. An accessory that’s a companion, waiting for you to put yourself inside and to go an adventure. Maybe it’s a small journey. Maybe it’s an epic journey. But a backpack is the perfect vessel to you help you carry your things. When you want to know about the journey that a traveler is on, you can ask them what’s in their backpack, and you’ll learn more than you ever wanted to know.  Sometimes we share openly what we are carrying in our backpacks. Sometimes we don’t dare share what we are carrying with us. I love looking down a crowded sidewalk and seeing lots of people walking with their backpacks. It’s mysterious. What journey are they on? What have they chosen to put in their bags?

How do you decide which art and themes to feature?

Rusty Kocian, co-founder of Badass Backpacks, leads our creative process for exploring art, artists, and project themes. At the beginning, we overwhelmed ourselves with beautiful lists of possibilities— the number of themes to explore became endless. To help us focus and right size our signal-to-noise ratio, Rusty created a process that we use at our weekly creative sessions. That process facilitates conversations and discovery centered on 6 things: Art, Theme, Story, Gift, Tribe, and Movement. We want these 6 things to go into the design and creation of the bag, and we want the bag that we create to generate these 6 things.

Why is presentation in your packaging important?

Packaging gives our bags an extra touch, and we absolutely consider it to be important. Many people who buy our bags are buying them as a gift, and so when it arrives, we want the person opening it to feel special. We also want them to pause, even if just for a moment. We want our packaging to grab their attention. “Wait!”, the packaging screams—this might be important. We want the experience of owning and using a Badass Backpack to give the wearer some comfort in asking big questions—big questions about the world, and big questions about their own journey. Intentional and beautiful packaging is the start of that journey, and in such a fast-paced world that we live in, we want our packaging to slow down the person opening it.

Do you have a success tip for other new business startups or makers?

Yes. The following advice is derived from a Seth Godin open Q&A session that I attended years ago.  It’s advice that helped me greatly: Go buy a notebook, or grab some scratch paper, and go to a cafe (best if it’s a cafe you don’t normally go to), and sit down with a blank page, and write down what you’re scared of. Ask yourself sincerely, and explore closely: “What am I scared of?” Now then, if you are a human being, it is very likely that 10 minutes or less into this exercise, you have already gotten distracted and drifted off, the mind procrastinating. When you catch yourself drifting off, come right back to the notes you started, and now ask yourself this question again. What am I really scared of, right now? But…answer for real this time. Spend time coming to understand the challenges, the unknowns, and the hardest parts of what you are about to do. Fear. Explore it closely for as much time as you can, and be honest with yourself. When you are done, look at your page. You now have an important list in front of you. What are you going to do about it? (source: Seth Godin)

About Adam Lemmon:

At rest and at ease Adam is an impassioned modern impresario, weaving together resources and opportunities to put on a show. During his 15-year career in the world of SaaS platforms, he delivered training sessions and strategic consulting dotted with observations, insights, and metaphors that always left his clients wanting more. Improvisational theater, artistic self-expression, and a pension for making anything and everything more interesting all fuel Adam’s need to march to his own drum. As the owner and founder of Badass Backpacks, Adam is striving to connect the dots between creating beauty and creating life-changing experiences for our customers and the world of which we are all a part. You’ll find him at the many cafes that dot the map of Austin, TX, where he lives, loves, works, and plays with his family. Adam and his wife, Nancy Lemmon, are learning and growing with their 3 children, Hudson, Phoenix, and Alejandra.

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About Badass Backpacks, LLC:

Badass Backpacks is a collaborative art project dedicated to self expression and creating connection through conversations. We make art-inspired bags that are ready for adventure. Badass Backpacks believes that your backpack can be more than just a backpack.  We believe that it can be expressive and thought provoking. We believe that it can be a companion on your journey; that it can remind you to ask big questions, and it can remind you to put yourself inside each step of the way.

We seek to build bridges—connected experiences and products worthy of starting a conversation—helping our community find more ways to tell their stories. And giving them a bag for that journey. We are based in Austin, TX, and all of our bags are crafted with love, made right here in the USA.

Contact info for Adam Lemmon: adam@badassbackpacks.com badassbackpacks.com, Blog, LinkedIn.

We love our custom tissue paper customers, since we know that they agree with us about one essential truth: packaging and presentation are important! Often makers have a vision for how their product could look when it gets into the hands of their customers, and they need custom packaging to bring their vision to life. We love to help makers to retain their special, handmade feel by creating custom tissue paper for their packaging. Digiwrap Customer PocketJo wanted to wrap her beautiful aerial-themed jewelry with love, so she chose a repeat logo pattern for her tissue paper packaging. It turned out great!

After exploring her model-made jewelry site, we fell in love with her story and product. She is “PocketJo” because her model-making course at University had three Jos. To distinguish her from the other Jos, they called her “Pocket Jo” because she’s so small and cute you could put her in your pocket. She makes jewelry based on her other unique love—circus! Learn more about her shop below.

Why did you choose aerial acrobatics as your main subject matter?

It's a beautiful art form, and I couldn't find very many places offering accessories related to it so I thought I could try and create some pieces and see what happened.

How did you get into jewelry and model making?

I have a BA(Hons) in Model Making from UCA. I have enjoyed making things from an early age and had the bonus of having a very creative Grandmother who let me make a mess on her kitchen table.

Why are you passionate about your shop?

It's something I've built myself and I have already learned so much in the short time its been up and running. I hope to keep improving it and make something that can supply people with lovely gifts and special, unique things for themselves.

What inspires you when you are designing something new?

I love contrasting shapes, colors, and textures and try to use more than one material in each design that compliments the other. I also love to capture the energy of motion and movement.

Why is presentation in your packaging important?

I want every purchase to be exciting and to make every customer feel special. I want them to know and to feel that care and attention has gone into each and every order.

Do you have a success tip for other makers?

Make what you enjoy—it will come through in your work and it will never be wasted time.

What do you do for fun?

I have started classes in aerial silks over the last few months which gives me even greater respect for the professionals!

We love the new wave in subscription boxes—people appreciate the convenience and fun of having a regular delivery to their doorstep. Physical stores are declining, and gone with them are the inconveniences of packed parking lots, standing in line, and spending time wandering and wondering if the store will carry what you need. Instead, people turn online where everything they need is just a click away, delivered to your doorstep when you need it. Our marketplace is primed and ready for the fun of subscription boxes!

We especially love subscription boxes that make incredible gifts—when you just aren’t sure what to buy for someone, instead of a gift card, a subscription box is a surprise and it will keep on giving (literally!).

Today we wanted to feature Digiwrap customer Unboxing the Bizarre. Instead of shopping for a gift for the millennial in your life, order from Unboxing the Bizarre. Each box pairs fun gifts with ideas for how to celebrate wacky holidays with friends, family, and coworkers. Learn more about their story and their wacky, fun idea that translates into wacky, fun subscription boxes.

Why did you decide to start a subscription box business?

They always say some of the best ideas come out of tragedies. I had three members of my family pass away unexpectedly on three different holidays and another whose funeral took place on another holiday. I needed a reason to celebrate holidays again and not run or hide from them. I have always been an entrepreneur at heart and had tried a few subscription boxes. With the help of family members, I decided to create my own and landed on the idea of offbeat holidays that don’t typically get celebrated in the mainstream. In my travels around the world, I saw whole towns come together to just have a time of fellowship and fun—sometimes for a reason (such as a government holiday) but other times just simply to be silly and have fun for no reason at all. The idea of celebrating basically just being alive every day was not only a way to make me want to celebrate holidays again, but since I am an April Fool’s baby, it was a perfect fit. Who better to run a subscription box company celebrating the weird, wacky, wild and crazy, offbeat holidays than a weird, wacky, wild and crazy, offbeat holiday baby. So Unboxing the Bizarre was born!

Why are you passionate about celebrating wacky and bizarre holidays?

I love that you can just have fun with them. We hope to bring family, friends, and coworkers together with our boxes, which offer ways to open up unique conversations and dialogue. Many families don’t sit around a dinner table anymore and talk, but hopefully our fun trivia can be a conversation starter, or it can lead to a fun game night or themed party where they can unplug and enjoy each other’s company. We are also hoping to offer bosses a way to change up any monotony in the daily routine of their staff members. I taught corporate culture at one of the organizations I worked at, and we would send out trivia on certain days so that teams could celebrate together. It was always fun seeing pictures of what they celebrated. The best one was “Something on a Stick Day”. Supervisors brought in popsicles, rock candy, and even fried Twinkies.

What inspires you when you are compiling a box? How do you decide which holidays to feature?

There are some really strange holidays out there. So while we procure our boxes, we consider both “suggested ways to celebrate” and the uniqueness of the holiday. The more bizarre and unknown, the more fun it is for us and the subscribers. We have a lot of fun learning about things we would have never even thought about, let alone even celebrated, such as Root Canal Day. Who the heck celebrates a day of pain? We do!

Why is presentation in your packaging important?

This is one thing that I am a stickler about. People will always judge something within a few seconds. So packaging and presentation is a make-or-break in the subscription box industry. From the beginning, we decided that it was important to start with branded boxes and professionally printed inserts for the trivia, as well as fun colored paper filler. I did not want to cut corners on anything that would present our company in a messy, disorganized, or “haven’t got it together” light. As a company, we want to be professional in everything we do.

We use Digiwrap logo printed tissue paper to wrap items from vendors that are not boxed individually. It both gives a professional look and protects the items. I had used bubble wrap in the past and pretty but plain tissue paper, but I really wanted something to carry the branding through on the entire product. When we got the paper, I was very delighted and impressed with the quality and look of our logo on the paper when it arrived. We have used it in two rounds of boxes so far and will continue to use it going forward. I believe it gives us an added edge in first impressions.

Do you have a success tip for other subscription box businesses?

Always have a plan B. The hardest part of our business is having vendors pull out or not deliver last minute. That has had us scrambling to try to fulfill all of the orders on time. So early on, I learned to be on top of the vendor to make sure the item is truly in stock and will be shipped by an expected date, and if it does not arrive by that date, I have another vendor ready to fill the request on an emergency basis.

Tell us about yourselves. What do you do for fun?

We are a travel-loving family! We have traveled the world—I feel that experiencing different cultures, flora, and fauna is an important part of life. We love adventure—we have zorbed, kayaked, waterskied, spelunked. We also like to give back to our community, from monetary or other donations to volunteering. In our community, we’ve helped to build playgrounds and we’ve helped to plant gardens.

Learn more about Unboxing the Bizarre!

Would you like logo tissue paper for your subscription box company? Order yours today!

Our custom tissue paper is perfect for makers, artisans, and small business shops. Their products are special, and they want to hand them over in a special way. Custom tissue paper is a simple way to add a professional feel and remind customers where they made their purchase.

Since we love talented makers, we occasionally feature those who have put our custom tissue paper to good use. Today we’d like to feature is Chris and Faith, the creative minds behind Tramake, whose art prints and home accessories are swoon-worthy. They make art printed on wood and canvas, desk organizers and giant and regular sized coasters, all with modern design. And we aren’t the only ones who love what they do—their work is featured in some West Elm stores, art shops around Chicago, and more. We sat down with Chris and Faith to discover what inspires them, success tips for other makers, and more.

Why are you passionate about your shop?

We love the marriage of thoughtful and intentional decoration and the function of an object. When we can make form meet function in a way that feels completely our brand, it’s a great feeling. An even greater feeling is the way this endeavor connects us to people. We love meeting other creatives, business owners, and collectors. It’s always super energizing and inspiring.

What inspires you when you are designing something new?

Art History is always informing what we do. Chris and I both studied art history and have a passion for early and mid 20th century art and design. We’re always trying to find that sweet spot that both nods to the past and reinterprets the ideas to be truly modern and new.

Why is presentation in your packaging important?

When we have excellent professional presentation in our packaging it establishes credibility and defines an aesthetic for the experiences our customer will have with our brand.

Do you have a success tip for other makers?

Know your audience. It can seem like the key to success is to appeal to everybody. But that only makes for watered down design. We only make things we truly love. It keeps us happy even while we might be sanding the same thing for the hundredth time.

What do you do for fun?

Some of our favorite ways to spend free time include try new restaurants in Chicago, attend comedy and improv shows, and learning new creative skills. We nerd out about almost anything that’s creative. From food science to stained glass techniques, we’re game to try it.

Check out more from Tramake!

Are you a maker? Improve your packaging by ordering your custom tissue paper today!