We were lucky to catch up with Ty | Bradley Thomas | Randle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ty | Bradley, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

The biggest struggle we’ve faced, and sometimes still do, is product defects. When dealing with epoxy resin, you have to be very diligent with mixing, stirring, and pouring. Patience is the key when working with resin. For that reason, we don’t let Ty handle any resin duties (laughing).

Other challenges, early on, were having the proper equipment. A lot of times we had to find alternate approaches to what we were trying to accomplish because we didn’t have some of the necessary tools.

Space has also become an issue again. Early on, we grew a little faster than expected and needed a bigger space quickly. We solved that problem, but of course we’re still growing and need more space again.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

TrapWare, founded in 2020, was originally a candle company that was named “TrapScents”. With TrapScents, we wanted to entrap you by the smell of the product. The idea came about after attending several indoor pop-up shops that had a wide range of home goods, except candles. We created and tested several candles and waxes, but none of them passed our quality tests. After several attempts, and weeks of testing, we finally decided to move into a different direction. We had lots of other products in mind, so this wasn’t a difficult decision to make.

With so many different products in mind, the name “TrapScents” no longer fit. We were looking for something universal that could house several different products, thus “TrapWare” was born. “TrapWare” originated from the word “Tupperware” because there are many different types, styles, and uses for Tupperware, and we kept the “Trap” from “TrapScents”. With TrapWare, we want the art to be so appealing, that you’re entrapped by its beauty.

We called our first product line “TrapCrafts”. This line is personalizable and catered specifically to tobacco users and included resin based products such as ashtrays, jars, large trays, and a variety of boxes. The boxes are wooden, hand-painted and resin based. TrapCrafts, which we later rebranded as “Crafts” started out great, and continues to exceed, but we wanted to reach a different audience with our art.

After almost half a year of business, we released our second product line, apparel. This line featured a number of designs that could be personalized, in regards to colors, and placed on short sleeve t-shirts. Customers could choose from nine t-shirt colors and over fifteen designs. After the success of our apparel launch, we expanded in the fall/winter to include long sleeves and hoodies.

The most recent products that we introduced is our Home Goods line called Feng Shui. These products target people who have a love for art and interior design. This line includes personalized coffee and end tables, canvases, serving trays, and coasters.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We built our social media presence by consistently posting content, following other creators in our niche, and networking with other entrepreneurs. We also do collaborations with other small business owners.

The advice we would give would be to never get discouraged from posting content. Even with 0 likes, people still see your work. Consistency is the key!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Starting our journey was not an easy one. There have been many failed attempts, and many days of wanting to give it all up. Sometimes, we still have those days. Through it all, we continue to believe in ourselves. When we have our doubts, it urges us to push harder. It’s as if when everything is going bad, something spontaneous happens for our business and motivates us to excel even higher.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.trap-ware.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/trap_ware
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/trapwarellc
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/trap_ware
• Other: TikTok: www.tiktok.com/trap_ware0