Today we’d like to introduce you to Waylon Price.
Hi Waylon, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When Covid-19 started, I was stuck at home scrolling on TikTok bored out of my mind not knowing what to do. My mom loves crafting, and I wanted to start crafting with her. So I started by looking on Tiktok and started following people that make different kinds of crafts.
All of a sudden, this video popped up on my FYP ( For You Page ) and it was someone making tumblers. I thought to myself, that would be cool to make. I asked my mom if I could start making tumblers and she said that I could. By this time I found a couple in Louisiana known as Misti and Mr. P. and they made tumblers.
When the time came, I needed to find out what supplies I needed to start. This is when I started joining tumbler Facebook groups on Facebook. The next day I was scrolling through Tiktok and the same video popped up, so I clicked on her profile and I watched some of her videos making cups. I was like OMG how does she do that? Then I saw her go live on Tiktok, so I told myself now was the time to ask what I needed to get to start making tumblers.
Well, I started typing and she said my Tiktok username, and I was so confused as to why she said my name without me saying anything. When you join people’s lives it tells them who joins. I never knew that. My username on Tiktok is farmers_for_trump24 which she only said my username because she loved it. Anyways, I asked her what I needed to get started and she told me what I needed.
The next day my mom and I sat down and started pricing everything out and trying to see what stores had it and which was cheaper. After weeks of waiting for everything to be delivered, we finally got everything, which includes, tumblers, a tumbler turner, epoxy, glitter, gloves, and a lot more. So when making a tumbler there are so many choices that you can design. It’s really up to you though what your mind comes up with.
Here are the steps to making a glitter tumbler. First, you need to get all the supplies you need which include a tumbler, tumbler turner, epoxy or mod podge, glitter, brush, and gloves. Second, you will need to paint your cup whatever your glitter color is or try to at least match the colors. Next, you can either pick to apply mod podge or epoxy. I love to do mod podge only because if you mess up you can wash it off.
After that, you will apply the glitter on the cup making sure you cover the bottom of the cup also. Once you make sure everything is covered, let it dry and you can add another layer to the cup if needed. Then, you will need to apply 2X clear spray paint to the cup all around. This will help with the glitter not moving when you apply epoxy.
Next, it’s now time to apply the epoxy. If it’s fine glitter you don’t need as many coats, but if you use chunky glitter it may take a few more coats of epoxy. When you get all the epoxy smooth and not bumpy you want to put it on the turner to get it dry and not sticky. Once the tumbler is dry, you can start cleaning the rim of the cup to make sure the cup lid fits. If the inside needs to be cleaned you can also do that step now while cleaning the rim.
Then I go outside and take photos of the tumbler and I will post it on my Facebook page or my Instagram page so that people can see what I can make and see what I can create. Not only do I create epoxy tumblers, but now I make sublimation tumblers. Sublimation tumblers are where you print a design of what you want and you heat it onto the tumbler. First, you will need to find an image that you want on your cup.
Second, you will need to print the design off of a sublimation printer and you will have to flip your image before you print it so it is the right way when you heat it in the cup. After you are done printing, you will need to cut off the white around the image and then wrap it around the tumbler. You will want the paper of the image kissing so that you prevent the image from ghosting.
When you have the right size, and the image is around the cup, you will need to table the image onto the cup with heating tape. Then, when you have it all taped up you put it in the press. The press is where you heat it onto the cup. You slide the cup into the machine for 60 seconds on each side. I make sure I press my cups on all sides by putting them in an up, down, away, and towards me.
Once the tumbler is heated on each side, I peel off the heat transfer tape and the paper that had the image on it. Now you have your sublimation tumbler complete. At this time, I will take a picture of it to show another cup that I completed. I started by making some epoxy tumblers for some teachers at school and they would post them on Facebook.
I also was able to display some of my cups in my friend’s T-Shirt business to advertise them. I had business cards made to pass out and put in all the cups that I completed. At this time, I started to get several orders. I have created teacher cups and cups for friends and family. The cups have consisted of school mascots, business designs for small businesses, Christmas designs, birthday designs, fair designs, and anything someone can think of.
One of my first big orders was to do 6 cups for a wedding party. Since then, I have done other cups for wedding parties. My biggest order has been 8 cups for someone, but I have someone inquiring about doing 10 epoxy cups and 10 sublimation cups for them. My advertisement has. been school, word of mouth, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and displaying them at a small. business.
My next adventure is to do a craft show. I created a new design for the craft show. I am in the process of getting everything I need to do the craft show. I hope to be able to build my business even bigger by attending this craft show. Some other things I have done for people make ornaments, coasters, and coffee cups.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been both a smooth road and there have been some struggles. It has been a smooth road with everyone helping me, especially my mom and dad. I don’t think I would be where I’m at today without their help. It has also been a struggle at times with coming up with the money upfront and getting everything in on time with some of the supply shortages.
I’m the type of person that hates to spend a lot of money at one time and to spend money in general. I would rather save my money and not spend any of it but, you know you have to make sure that you have the supplies in stock and have enough of the product needed. With everything going on in the world, not knowing how long it will take to get here, it is always best if you order 2 of whatever you buying. I think that there is only a shortage.
There are a lot of people starting to make tumblers because people quit their jobs when Covid hit and they wanted to stay at home instead of going to work. I also had to realize that the money I made in the beginning, I had to put back into the business so I could buy more equipment and supplies.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is making epoxy and sublimation tumblers. I also make ornaments, coasters, & coffee cups when asked. The fact that I do both epoxy and sublimation tumblers sets me apart from others. The epoxy cups typically are designs that the customer or I create so they are unusual or one-of-a-kind cups. The other thing that sets me apart is my age. I am 16 and in the 10th grade.
Most businesses are adults that run them. I can attract other students, teachers, adults, teams, and others of all ages. If you don’t know me, you will learn that I am very particular when making my cups. If I don’t like the way it looks, I will redo it. I also research the companies that I get my products from to ensure I am getting the best quality for the best price. I want my customers to be satisfied. I will ship for an extra cost. I have sent cups to Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, and other states.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I would like to grow my business so I can do it between 20-40 hours while I attend college. I will stay on top of the tumbler industry to ensure that I keep up with the different products and procedures you can use. I will keep up with what is popular at the time and create tumblers that attract customers.
Pricing:
- Sublimation 20 oz Tumblers $32
- Epoxy 20 oz Tumblers $45
- Epoxy 30 oz Tumblers $ 50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://prices-designer-cups-109178.square.site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pricesdesignercups/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pricesdesigercups
- Other: https://linktr.ee/pricesdesignercups?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=05292ec3-8da6-4989-ab0b-5eb3f0ec0bc9
