Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexandria Blomstrom. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alexandria, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Alex Blom Creates was born out of my passion for creating and spreading positivity during the first quarantine of 2020. As a sophomore at Penn State University, I was sent home and was looking for something to focus my energy on. That’s when I discovered the Cricut my brother and I had gifted to our mom the previous Christmas and decided to try my hand at making shirts. I loved the idea of taking a phrase or concept and turning it into something tangible that people could wear and carry with them, spreading a message throughout the day.

I started by creating designs centered around spreading kindness and made some for myself, as well as for friends and family. I also started an Instagram account to document the process and share my creations. As I continued to make and post my creations, I began to see the potential for building a brand and using my creations and social media to create a positive corner of the internet. I set up a website on SquareSpace and started offering custom and made-to-order Spread Kindness items.

Over the summer, I created hundreds of shirts for people across the country and was thrilled to see the response to my custom coordinate tees, which allowed people to wear their happy place with them wherever they went. At the end of the summer, I decided to stay home from college, take classes online (they were online anyway due to the pandemic) and focus on growing the business. I spent my days making and cutting designs, pressing shirts, and packaging orders, and even got into tie-dyeing shirts in my front yard.

As the business continued to grow, I transitioned from a made-to-order shop to a ready-to-ship shop with inventory in 2021. I also partnered with printing and embroidery shops to improve the quality of my items and started a new embroidered location collection to continue the concept of wearing a special place. In addition to tees and sweatshirts, I also began offering hats, tumblers, and other accessories. My goal has always been to spread positivity through my creations and connect with people through social media.

Today, Alex Blom Creates is a successful brand, with a strong presence on social media and a growing collection of products. It all started as a passion project during a difficult time, and I am grateful for the opportunity to turn that passion into a business and bring joy to others through my creations.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

As the founder of Alex Blom Creates (ABC for short), my mission has always been to spread positivity through my clothing brand. At 22 years old and a recent graduate of Penn State University, the passion project I started at the beginning of the pandemic has since become my full-time job.

ABC is known for its embroidered location collection and seasonal collections. The Fall and Winter Collections are my favorites to create because I can take them in any direction. This year’s Winter Collection is my best one yet, featuring ice-skating Christmas trees and embroidered snowmen sweatshirts that look like a vintage find, among other things. The embroidered location collection has grown significantly over the years, starting with just five locations and now featuring almost all of the states, as well as various cities and national parks. Seeing people come together to celebrate the places they love has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

I am most proud of the positivity and community that have grown alongside ABC. I often run giveaways on Instagram to give back to my followers and encourage human connection on my platform. I am always touched by the thoughtfulness of people’s responses to the prompts I provide, whether it’s sharing their favorite fall or winter activity. Building a brand and connecting with people in this way is what I love most about ABC.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

An obstacle I have faced alongside many business owners over the past couple of years has been inventory shortages and shipping delays due to the pandemic. There have been times when distributors across the country were out of stock with no restock date in sight on items I desperately wanted to bring to my store. This was really anxiety-provoking because it was hard to predict what might be unavailable. But I learned to be proactive and come up with 3 or 4 backup tee colors and design combinations to have the best chance of being able to restock or launch an item. Thankfully, the supply chain shortages have improved as of now, and I can look back at the times when it was at its worst and be grateful for the lessons it taught me about flexibility and being able to work on my toes.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

There’s a common misconception that if you have one post or video that performs extremely well or goes viral, you’re set! Ah yes, sit back and enjoy as the orders come rushing through and your community grows. But that is NOT the reality by any means, and this is something I had to unlearn when I first started my business. I feel like I see videos encouraging people to post because all it takes is one video, but that could not be farther from the truth. Admittedly, it can be challenging to constantly create content for social media, especially with how fast trends come and go. In the past, I used to get really down on myself if I spent a lot of time editing something and it didn’t reach many people, but I’ve learned that consistency is key and it’s important to keep trying no matter what the previous day looked like. That’s not to say that I don’t celebrate small victories or get excited when a video picks up, but it’s not the end-all. It’s about starting fresh again the next day and creating authentic, genuine content that you are proud to share at the end of the day.

Contact Info:

• Website: alexblomcreates.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexblom.creates/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexblom.creates?lang=en