Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise Lee.
Denise, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a serial entrepreneur. I’ve always worked or had multiple jobs since the age of 14. I have the need to stay busy. My creative juices all began when my sister gave birth to my niece Ivana. Ivana was born in January 2010. I was so excited to have a new baby in the family especially since I mostly have nephews. I wanted to spoil her so I decided to make her some bows and headbands. Originally, I was just making them for her, however, when I posted them on social media, that’s when the requests started to roll in. Back to school time was around the corner and the request kept pouring in. I watched countless YouTube videos to teach myself new techniques weekly. It was so fun creating different styles and designs. I was enjoying my little side hustle.
In 2011, I was working for a plumbing company that recently merged with a service company. Prior to the merge, I was content working at the plumbing company. However, when the merger took place, I acquired a new boss that made the job unbearable. I started to look for another outlet to let out my frustration. I started to attend the Hollywood Institute of Beauty Careers to obtain a Full Specialist License. This license includes nail artistry, esthetics, and makeup. I enjoyed nail artistry most at that time, so I began to take on new clients throughout Dade and Broward County. With work and my side hustle, the nail business was put on the back burner quickly.
My niece birthday was slowly approaching. At that time, my sister was not going to do a big party since she was taking my niece to Disney World. However, we were still going to cut a cake for her at home with my parents. I decided to make her an Elmo outfit. I was stepping out of the box and made a tutu as well as a custom shirt. At that time, I would buy fabric, Heat n Bond and heat press onto the shirts with an iron. I drew a fancy two on a white paper and then used it as a stencil to cut the fabric. I had no fancy machines, no fancy tools, just my imagination. The outcome was a success. Again, social media was my best form of advertisement. I posted a picture of my niece with her custom bottle cap korker bows, customized shirt, and her fluffy colorful tutu. That picture was the official start of Bubblegum’s Creations. Tutu outfits is what I began to be known for. Fast forward to today, I have the “fancy machines and tools” to make the items easier to create.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has always been a bumpy road full of obstacles. But I don’t take them negatively. Instead, I use it as a learning opportunity. When I first started to offer custom shirts with the tutus, I outsourced the shirts so that I could get them embroidered. I wasn’t fully confident selling my fabric tees. I would tell people to give me sufficient time since I didn’t have a specific contact for these shirts. I normally would order them from Etsy. A lot of times, these shirts took forever to ship. I had to think of a better way to make the shirts in-house so I could offer a shorter turnaround time. That is when I went to YouTube to do some research and I quickly discovered the Cricut cutting machine. I knew that I had to have it. I saved enough money and bought the Cricut along with some starter supplies, took it home and began to test it all out. I posted to my social media that shirts would be added to the list of items available for purchase. Shortly after, I received my first big order for a monster party in October. I was so excited because Cricut already had designs to choose from within Design Space. I took the order confident that I would be able to produce these shirts.
I bought the blank shirts, started cutting and weeding the vinyl. Then, it came to pressing them onto the shirts. That is where my first major obstacle arose. The vinyl was taking forever to adhere to the shirts with my regular house iron. It was taking forever to complete each shirt. Nonetheless, I was able to complete the shirts and turn them in on time. All was good or so I thought. The customer called me and said that the vinyl was peeling off of one of the shirts. I was so upset that this had happened. I made sure to help her out as best as possible to get the vinyl to stick. I asked her to bring them back so I could press it longer. Or if she liked, she could do it herself. I was so embarrassed. I told my husband what happened and he mentioned to me that we needed to buy a commercial heat press. I was a little skeptical taking on more shirt orders after that. Fast forward to Christmas that year, I woke up to a living room full of gifts. It was so unexpected. I began to unwrap my gifts and low and behold, one of my many gifts was a 5 in 1 heat press. It included a press for garments, hats, cups, and plates. I was so grateful for my Christmas gifts. He knew that I really needed this in order for my shirt business to flourish. In turn, I made him some custom shirts which are still in perfect condition to this day after several washes and machine dry. This was truly a gift that kept on giving.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Bubblegum’s Creations story. Tell us more about the business.
Bubblegum’s Creations not only offers custom shirts and garments, but we also create an array of party decor as well as digital designs. We make digital and printed invitations, flyers, wedding/event stationary, banners, welcome poster boards, Snapchat filter for personal or business use. We also create logos, sticker designs, business cards, and other business stationary.
One of the things that mostly brings joy to my heart is helping other small startup business with their branding. I know what it is to have little to no money and try to make sure to look as professional as possible so others know I’m about business. I told myself early that I need to treat my business like a business and not a hobby so that it would flourish like a business.
I like to help and guide others in whatever business questions they may have. I have done tons of research and continue to do so on a daily basis. I have taught myself how to use a sewing machine, embroidery machine, how to use the Cricut, how to screenprint, how to use photoshop and other programs needed to create my custom items. What sets me apart from the rest would be my attention to detail and my eagerness to learn new things. I yearn to create custom items without breaking my customer’s bank.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’ve had several proud moments. Each time I teach myself something new, I am proud. One of the proudest moments of my career has been creating custom shirts for a toy company, Jazwares. Just recently, they placed an order for their staff to wear at Comic-Con in San Diego, California. Just the thought that my shirts will be seen by thousands of people at Comic Com makes me feel euphoric. I’m not big-time by any means but to know that I’m just a girl living in Opa Locka, trying to make ends meet, that has had the opportunity to make shirts and shipped all over the United States, Caribbean, Central America, South America, Europe, and Australia makes me feel like I’m doing something right. And to that, I give myself a pat on the back for each sale no matter how small or how large it may be.
Pricing:
- Shirts start at $15
- Logos start at $20
- Banners start at $15
- Digital Invites start at $15
- Branding Packages start at $50
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bubblegumscreations.com
- Phone: 305-490-3658
- Email: bubblegumscreations@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/bubblegumscreationsllc
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/BuBBleGuMsCreations
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/B_GumsCreations
- Other: www.etsy.com/shop/BubblegumsCreations
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
