We were lucky to catch up with Tami Copeland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tami, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

I offer 100% customization of items.
Growing up, I never found anything with my name spelled the way I did. When I began this journey of Four Little Bubbles, I didn’t want to be a cookie cutter sign maker with standard sizes or generic phrases or sayings.

I began the journey by seeing an item in a magazine and a co worker asked if I could make it. I did and then word spread. I decided to take the plunge with this full time and I have been doing this now for 17 or more years.

Tami, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Four Little Bubbles is a custom company for home decor and gifts. The company name came from my four children and it being a unique name, I feel it is easy to remember. Like in a previous question, I mentioned making a sign I saw in a magazine. That sign took off and we now refer to that as the square family sign. More and more asked for me to make that sign and others.

I have always been crafty, first with cross stitch and painting pots for teachers as gifts or for them to gift their room moms.

I offer mock images for the customers to see what they are wanting. Not everyone is visual and need to see the colors and fonts come alive on the screen.

Most sign makers only offer a certain amount of sizes, colors and fonts. I want the customer to have their choice. Not everyone has the same colors or a small space to place the art. Maybe they want it a focal point, maybe it is going on the wall with other groupings. Even though a color is in a trend, not everyone has beige walls or grey furniture. My pieces need to fit in their homes. They are the ones who will be looking at it daily!

We cut, sand, design and paint the items ourselves. My husband is my carpenter and right hand.

I never thought I would be doing this for so long. I took a chance by jumping in with both feet. I have grown a lot with ideas, technique and tools to help me say with the current trends which is ever changing.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I was working part time at a church as a preschool teacher and would come home and paint. Some days were very long and my side hustle was going on into midnight, especially after a craft show or holiday. I had to make a decision to either continue with my part time job which I loved or run with this hobby.

I would do small craft shows and one big one each year (Suwanee Fest). I did quite a few at one particular elementary school and built up a following. Lots of return customers each year, even to this day.

I can remember having only a few hundred likes on my facebook page and got asked from a local radio station (Star 94) to be as a company they highlighted. I did a few pieces for the hosts and they aired a segment featuring me. My page grew quite a bit during that time and orders came in.

I love what I do every day. Creating new pieces can be challenging but rewarding when it all comes together.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Realtors, Insurance and Mortgage Lenders! While I have often done real estate agents, I have one main customer that sends me bi-monthly orders. With his connection, he has referred me to his loan officers and it is constantly growing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: four.little.bubbles
• Facebook: Four Little Bubbles