We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Sarkissian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Hi Tiffany, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I was about 18 years old when I was fascinated by hand made creations that SPARKLED! I said I have to make my own things and see if anyone else shares the same passions as me! I started to think of some names sitting at the table with my friends and I asked them what do you guys think a good name would be? They started throwing out ideas Dazzle this Blingy that.. and finally my good friends sister goes… why not Bling Up? I said i like how that sounds but lets add a apostrophe ‘d so it became Bling’d Up few short years later right there at a gathering after having the best ice cream and conversation.

Tiffany, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

This industry was not so popular at the time that I started only because there was only a few people who added crystals to every day items and I wanted to always customize and make my own, so I started creating phone cases and other household items covered in crystals and a lot of people started noticing Different platforms like Facebook and Instagram, there was really nobody to look up to besides a couple people who are doing clothing and apparel. I wanted to fascinate my audience, and I wanted to show everybody that crystals can be placed on literally anything! I started off by making every day items like Tumblers and phone cases, then took it to the next level by adding crystals on Life-size statues and household appliances. As a minority woman owned business it was very important to me to not only show my family, but my followers that anything you put your mind to is very much possible. Having the passion and the drive for the specific industry brought me to the top Now being able to crystallize, celebrities and huge companies. For our customers we go above and beyond only because we want our community to know that we are real people and although we have grown over the years, we are still humans and we still want to cater to our customers not some robotic AI system. I take pride in becoming friends with my followers and social media community. We feel a sense of similarities since we share the same passion for Bling. I always talk to my social media platforms and show people that every day life of a Bling artist now turned entrepreneur with her own business. My business has been running for about 10 years now, but it is the last few years that actually really caught on after all the hard work and dedication. It has now become my full-time job. As a business owner, I have faced many obstacles and many people trying to copy my idea and resell it however we stay true to our work and I made sure that our quality never changed. I am very proud of never losing hope and always keeping true to my passion as a Bling artist I always wanted to show others that they can start their own business as well as create items covered in sparkles. Classes as well as the dazzle kit which beginners to intermediate can use to enhance their Blinging skills. I have more plans for my company. I am ready to take over the Sparkle industry with new and innovative items and projects that everyone can use. I want to continue to share my journey with my following and help guide those who want to become self sufficient using their talents!

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

One of the most interesting sales that I’ve ever had was with the huge company, Vaseline. You have always bedazzled their products, but the email that I received from them was totally unexpected. They asked me to 5000 bedazzled Vaseline for essence fest of 2024. At first, I was taken back with the email and was so intrigued at the same time! I love challenges however, this was some thing I never knew would come my way. I didn’t have enough employees at the time and I wasn’t ready, but I told the company I would be more than happy to do it and I figured it all out. I have friends and family help me complete the project as well as my employees that were already on board. We had one month to finish the entire project and we made it on the last day! It was terrifying but also exciting that we got to finish all 5000 pieces. These items are made by hand so you can only imagine the time it takes the willpower it took everybody on board to get this task completed on time. Everybody was happy with the outcome. Everybody who attended essence fest received a bedazzled Vaseline as a goodie And I couldn’t be any happier.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I always do my best to stay close with all my social media platforms. I always want my followers to know that there is a real human behind the screen and that we were extremely hard to get all these handmade orders out to everybody that purchases. I often talk to a lot of my followers and some have followed me for so many years they have turned into friends. I use Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to share all the upcoming projects as well as the actual process and placing each crystal one by one. Many of my customers are returning because they are so happy with the quality and item that they receive. At times, I also give back to my following by posting the Starbucks gift card or a visa gift card that they can use just a token of my appreciation for their loyalty with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blingdup.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/blingdup
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blingdupxo?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@blingdup?si=jR4AWaNJAYE2Gv7W