What do you feel makes your work unique and truly your own?
Our work is unique in that everything is pre-portioned and individually wrapped for single use. It takes a LOT of work! We work really hard to create products that are serve multiple purposes, especially for the busy women on-the-go. Struggling with dry skin myself, especially my hands being in healthcare, I've created something that can be therapeutic and pampering all at the same time. Plus, the healthcare worker in me don't like to reuse things to cause contamination, so that's why our products are single-use. And, who doesn't like to open new things?
What sort of things inspire you? Where do you look for inspiration?
Cute yet simple things catch my eyes first. Then I think about how I can improve it, whether in looks, packaging, or the product itself. There's really not much we can "invent" out there, but there is definitely room for innovation and making it my own. I find a lot of inspiration on Instagram and Pinterest. I also attend a lot of tradeshows to see what the trends are and how I can incorporate it to my brand.
When do you feel the most creative?
I am the most creative when my "space" is clean and organized, whether that's home or my 2,000 sq ft studio/warehouse space. When everything is in order, whether physically or mentally, I am filled with ideas and full of motivation, sometimes too much.
What is your creative process like?
It usually starts with saying something like, "We need to make x". Then my husband will usually say, "No, that's so old and everyone else is already doing it". Then I say, "But customers keep asking if we have them." This is when I usually start "googling" and see what's out there. I spend hours/days doing this until I have something to present to him that is different than everyone else's. It usually ends up that we take ideas from the both of us and come up with the end product.
What has been your greatest struggle as a business?
Starting and running a business takes a lot of work, energy, and money. There are many times things are slow moving and you question yourself and the future of your business. Don't be discouraged if you really believe you have something special. We started our business about 5-1/2 years ago and I think we were ahead of our time with our idea/concept, but, we've really seen a steady uphill trend in our business last year and I think 2017 is the year we will see some serious spikes!
Where can we learn more about you?
I was featured in a blog called "Meet the Maker" by Lucky Break Consulting. You can read it at http://www.luckybreakconsulting.com/blog/meet-the-maker-elissa-choi-of-bonblissity/