Confections, community, and cotton candy | An infectious brand loyalty strategy.
Confections, community, and a little bit of fairy dust make up the incredible sugary profiles made sensational by Wonderpuff. Jackie Marin and her husband discovered their interested in creating custom confections for events, weddings, and more in South Florida and brought their talents to the Durham area 6 years ago.
Since it's inception, they've perfected the science of creating their flavors modeled after their experiences and the foods they eat. From crafting an incredible in-person buying experience at events like Afropunk, to hanging out at local markets around the Triangle, their infectious namesake translated well to help them boast thriving online sales during the pandemic. In this period of growth and community support, they were able to successfully raise money through Kickstarter for a space at Boxyard RTP.
What's next for this sweet duo? Learn more about the husband and wife team that brought the Haitian Cake flavor to cotton candy at https://www.ohwonderpuff.com/
Links:
Website: https://www.honeyandhustle.co
1:1 Consultation: https://angelahollowell.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/a0d1b976-39d0-4d1f-b2ee-5f5e3e6d7691?logo=0
9 Lessons We've Learned from our Podcast Guests: https://angelahollowell.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/7474a4cf-9bfa-4431-89a4-9660920f8ed1?logo=0
Digital Tools for Video Creators: https://angelahollowell.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/ce13789d-4a20-4f0f-b8a6-8ea7d9647c2b?logo=0
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Transcript
Community is unity.
Speaker:And one thing that makes Durham
Speaker:so sacred is the amount of.
Speaker:Human beings that, want
Speaker:better for our world.
Speaker:You know, there's so many
Speaker:freedom fighters here.
Speaker:There's so many people here that
Speaker:are creating those spaces for,
Speaker:black and brown small businesses,
Speaker:and there are so many people
Speaker:who are, fighting for, small
Speaker:businesses and curators to get
Speaker:those resources so we can be
Speaker:successful in this late stage
Speaker:capitalist white supremacist world.
Speaker:You're listening to Honey
Speaker:and Hustle, a video podcast
Speaker:that inspires the dreamers,
Speaker:creators, and hustlers to make
Speaker:a business from their passions.
Speaker:I'm Angela Hollowell, and I'm a
Speaker:visual storyteller Based in Durham,
Speaker:North Carolina, I sit down with
Speaker:creative entrepreneurs, nonprofit
Speaker:founders, and small business
Speaker:owners as they share their stories,
Speaker:the lessons they've learned
Speaker:throughout their careers and how
Speaker:they've worked to make a positive.
Speaker:Hey everyone.
Speaker:My name is Angela Hollow.
Speaker:I am your host here at Honey and
Speaker:Hustle, and today I am joined
Speaker:by the magical furries princess
Speaker:herself, Jackie of Wonder Puff.
Speaker:Jackie, thank you so much
Speaker:for being here with me today.
Speaker:Hey
Speaker:girl.
Speaker:I'm good.
Speaker:I am good.
Speaker:So me and Jackie ran each other a
Speaker:very, very long time ago at one of
Speaker:my favorite places in Durham, which
Speaker:is um, Queenies and King Fisher.
Speaker:\ Um, and she has been
Speaker:spreading her magical fairy
Speaker:tale dust all over Durham.
Speaker:But for people who don't know and
Speaker:who are curious about the Durham
Speaker:versus everybody's shirt, can you
Speaker:tell us a little bit about There it
Speaker:Oh
Speaker:I feel Of course.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Um, yes.
Speaker:Can you tell people a little bit
Speaker:about like, how Wonder Puff got
Speaker:started and why that feels so akin
Speaker:to like who you are as a person?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Well, I'd love to start
Speaker:off by saying thank you
Speaker:for sharing space with me.
Speaker:Honey and Hustle have been.
Speaker:You know, you have been connected
Speaker:with really profound, wonderful,
Speaker:loving entrepreneurs in Durham
Speaker:and beyond, and, um, very proud
Speaker:of you and wishing you so much
Speaker:success in your podcast, and
Speaker:I'm really very, very grateful.
Speaker:To share space with you today
Speaker:because I feel like we've been
Speaker:trying to do this for like the past
Speaker:80 years and now we're here today.
Speaker:Um, like Angela said,
Speaker:my name is Jackie Morin.
Speaker:I go by she, her, and I am,
Speaker:um, half of Wonder Puff.
Speaker:I, um, established this
Speaker:small business of sugary
Speaker:confection with my business
Speaker:partner and husband, uh, Reem.
Speaker:And yeah, we love Durham.
Speaker:We love the bull city.
Speaker:And Wonder Puff could
Speaker:not exist in a place.
Speaker:Other than this wonderful
Speaker:city, um, I was introduced to
Speaker:cotton candy over a decade ago.
Speaker:Uh, me and re we were, we
Speaker:grew up in South Florida.
Speaker:Uh, he's from Miami and I'm
Speaker:from Broward, uh, which is
Speaker:next door to each other.
Speaker:So I just tell people I'm from
Speaker:Miami because they wouldn't know
Speaker:where Miramar or Pembroke Pines is.
Speaker:You are familiar
Speaker:with South Florida.
Speaker:Uh, and so I was introduced to
Speaker:a cotton candy company when I
Speaker:was volunteering at a nonprofit
Speaker:organization with my baby
Speaker:sister, who's now a wonderful
Speaker:chef living in Asheville.
Speaker:Shout out to Jasmine.
Speaker:Shout out to dream vote for just
Speaker:being radically her and wonderful.
Speaker:And I remember no one
Speaker:touching this cotton candy.
Speaker:I'm just like, it's
Speaker:after 12 o'clock.
Speaker:I haven't had my sugar
Speaker:fixed for the day.
Speaker:No one's touching this cotton
Speaker:candy machine, so I'm gonna go
Speaker:ahead and play with it myself.
Speaker:And so I poured this pink,
Speaker:extravagant, electric pink
Speaker:sugar into the machine.
Speaker:Press the button, press the
Speaker:heater, and sugar just flew out.
Speaker:And I'm just like,
Speaker:this is a whole vibe.
Speaker:And I just started spinning
Speaker:and twirling and the moment I
Speaker:started spinning and twirling
Speaker:the cotton candy, the families
Speaker:of the nonprofit that was there
Speaker:started to like form a line.
Speaker:All the kids were just
Speaker:like, oh, it's cotton candy.
Speaker:And I did some research
Speaker:extensively and, saw.
Speaker:that Cotton candy was becoming
Speaker:a super hot commodity for
Speaker:private events such as weddings
Speaker:and birthdays, and people
Speaker:from all over the world were
Speaker:creating their own small, sugar
Speaker:confection in their community.
Speaker:And I'm just like, this will
Speaker:be Very wonderful to do.
Speaker:Just not in Miami.
Speaker:And so when we moved to Durham
Speaker:seven years ago, me and Reem, we
Speaker:knew that it was time to bring my
Speaker:sugary dreams to the bull city.
Speaker:And so we've been spinning
Speaker:cotton candy for the past
Speaker:six years, ever since.
Speaker:And it's been pretty wonderful.
Speaker:Yes,
Speaker:we definitely wanna give Reem
Speaker:his flowers because first of
Speaker:all, he was not excited to meet
Speaker:me, but you know, that's okay.
Speaker:No, that is just, that's
Speaker:just a water sign,
Speaker:Pisces, uh, man for you.
Speaker:They are just calm and
Speaker:cool, wavy in the water.
Speaker:So I hope you did not
Speaker:take offense to that.
Speaker:Not at all because he created
Speaker:is my favorite flavor, which
Speaker:is the Jasmine Tea, which
Speaker:I love and highly encourage
Speaker:anyone to try if they're in
Speaker:that area or to buy online.
Speaker:And it just kind of speaks to
Speaker:like your palette and like a
Speaker:little bit of like how you bring
Speaker:your personality into the flavors
Speaker:that you guys have created.
Speaker:Can you talk to me a little bit
Speaker:about like how you come up with the
Speaker:flavors and like how you've kind
Speaker:of molded wonder puff into your
Speaker:own custom confectionary business?
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:so one thing that we really pride
Speaker:ourselves in when it comes to
Speaker:our sugar is that it is vegan,
Speaker:artificial free, artificial
Speaker:ingredients, like coloring.
Speaker:We, it's just, yeah,
Speaker:it's just pure.
Speaker:Cane bone, char vegan bone,
Speaker:char free vegan sugar, and As,
Speaker:and as also our ingredients.
Speaker:And so when we are making our
Speaker:flavors, uh, Reem likes to
Speaker:move extremely intentional.
Speaker:He is an audio designer,
Speaker:sound engineer, a producer,
Speaker:musician, and so that, that,
Speaker:that need for perfection.
Speaker:Um, Has really oozed into
Speaker:our business when it comes
Speaker:to our actual product.
Speaker:And if it wasn't for him, um,
Speaker:y'all would just be getting
Speaker:regular st bar cotton candy,
Speaker:uh, sugar if it was for me.
Speaker:So I'm very grateful that,
Speaker:uh, ream, um, you know, is
Speaker:the scientists when it comes
Speaker:to creating sugar, and it's
Speaker:all about, you know, what is.
Speaker:Different and unique.
Speaker:So when we first started our first
Speaker:couple years of operating Wonder
Speaker:Puff, um, we started off with like,
Speaker:Some simple, basic flavors that are
Speaker:still a staple to our menu today.
Speaker:So salted caramel is
Speaker:a banger, uh, mango.
Speaker:Uh, everyone loves raspberry
Speaker:mojito, even though that's not
Speaker:really, uh, a regular, uh, flavor.
Speaker:Um, but we kind of
Speaker:really go in and.
Speaker:We just move with
Speaker:a lot of intention.
Speaker:Um, and so we're not really
Speaker:just grabbing things and
Speaker:mixing them together.
Speaker:we're thinking about things that
Speaker:we've experienced in real life,
Speaker:like what, we eat that we like,
Speaker:and try to, find inspiration.
Speaker:Through that.
Speaker:for example, we used to sell a very
Speaker:popular flavor alongside with the
Speaker:Jasmine flower, is orange cardamom.
Speaker:And that was curated by
Speaker:my sister, Jasmine, who.
Speaker:Like we wanted to pay homage
Speaker:to our culture, because we're
Speaker:West Indian and we, you know,
Speaker:cardimum is a very important
Speaker:spice in our household.
Speaker:And then we, have also
Speaker:Haitian cake, which represents
Speaker:our Haitian culture.
Speaker:Uh, and that is butter, vanilla
Speaker:rum, and another rest, another
Speaker:ingredient that Rem would know.
Speaker:So, um, you know, my bad, I
Speaker:don't know what's all in the
Speaker:Haitian cake, but everyone
Speaker:loves it and it's one of my.
Speaker:And so yeah, that's, that's how,
Speaker:uh, that's how we get inspiration
Speaker:through our sugar making.
Speaker:Lovely.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:And a lot of your, you know, taste
Speaker:testers, your first, you know, um,
Speaker:people who experience your cotton
Speaker:candy, you see them in person.
Speaker:I believe you started with popups
Speaker:and doing like, you know, popups
Speaker:at events before going to, you
Speaker:know, Focusing on the e-commerce
Speaker:store during the pandemic.
Speaker:So can you talk to me about kind
Speaker:of like those first kind of like
Speaker:customer interactions and like
Speaker:how that helps you curate kind
Speaker:of the events that you went to
Speaker:and then how you shifted to,
Speaker:you know, kind of how you can
Speaker:create that experience that you
Speaker:know, people love and enjoy to
Speaker:that online shopping experience?
Speaker:I know that was like a big
Speaker:question, but it kind of
Speaker:No, no.
Speaker:Yeah, I hold space for it.
Speaker:Um, yeah, so when we started
Speaker:Wonder Puff, we did lots of
Speaker:free events, mostly, um, with
Speaker:black and brown curators.
Speaker:Uh, we gave a lot of our services
Speaker:to, um, either black or brown
Speaker:curators or black and brown spaces.
Speaker:And that's how we really,
Speaker:uh, we were able to get
Speaker:our business out there.
Speaker:Um, kind of leaning on the.
Speaker:Uh, you know, word of
Speaker:mouth kind of experience.
Speaker:And so we would truck along
Speaker:with our cotton candy cart
Speaker:and ask people like, Hey,
Speaker:can, can, can we vent here?
Speaker:Um, and this was like, right,
Speaker:this was like on the rise of like,
Speaker:you know, marketings and markets
Speaker:before you had to spend hundreds
Speaker:of dollars to, to be a vendor.
Speaker:Um, since we've been doing this
Speaker:for such a long time, we, I
Speaker:would, you know, ask businesses,
Speaker:can I share space with.
Speaker:And they would say yes, and I
Speaker:would give of our services for
Speaker:free or um, charge little, very
Speaker:little, uh, to the patrons who
Speaker:would partake in our cotton candy.
Speaker:And that really helped open
Speaker:the door, um, in connecting
Speaker:with other black and brown
Speaker:businesses and curators.
Speaker:And, you know, if I'm
Speaker:gonna give anything.
Speaker:For free, it might as
Speaker:well be cotton candy to
Speaker:my black and brown people.
Speaker:So that was very important,
Speaker:uh, for us to do.
Speaker:And then slowly but surely, We
Speaker:started getting asked to do vegan
Speaker:markets and regular local markets,
Speaker:and that's how we were able to
Speaker:connect with our community members.
Speaker:Uh, that's when many people, uh,
Speaker:discovered that they can have
Speaker:cotton candy in their offices,
Speaker:in their weddings, and so that's
Speaker:how we were able to have you.
Speaker:Clients we're, we're through
Speaker:those markets and like a lot
Speaker:of, many small businesses,
Speaker:um, who, who are vendors.
Speaker:Uh, and so I think
Speaker:that's pretty cool.
Speaker:Uh, we also started to do,
Speaker:um, We also started to vend
Speaker:in much more larger scale.
Speaker:So, you know, we would
Speaker:go to Atlanta and do
Speaker:Afropunk a couple times.
Speaker:Uh, we would go to New York
Speaker:cuz I just love New York.
Speaker:She's like, you know, next to
Speaker:Durham, you know, actually New
Speaker:York was my first love, but,
Speaker:uh, Durham is my true love.
Speaker:And uh, I would ask Reem
Speaker:like, Hey, can we drive?
Speaker:Cuz you know, from North
Speaker:Carolina to New York.
Speaker:Is literally a half day's trip.
Speaker:And so we would pack up our
Speaker:car full of sugar in the cotton
Speaker:candy machine and we'd just go
Speaker:to the city and, you know, bring
Speaker:our sugary magic to, to the big
Speaker:apple, which is really cool.
Speaker:Um, and that's where we started
Speaker:to realize, wow, we have a really
Speaker:awesome product and there's a
Speaker:potential opportunity to like,
Speaker:maybe we can make this bigger than.
Speaker:Marketing outside of
Speaker:birthdays and weddings and
Speaker:vendors, markets and stuff.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:that is crazy.
Speaker:Did not know you went to Afropunk.
Speaker:So shout out to Afropunk
Speaker:for having your girl.
Speaker:Um, yes, we're not
Speaker:gonna get into that,
Speaker:but I am excited to hear about
Speaker:like, how you took it from
Speaker:like these sizable cities.
Speaker:I mean, if we're talking Miami,
Speaker:Durham, Atlanta, New York,
Speaker:these aren't like small places.
Speaker:So you're getting.
Speaker:Market of people at one
Speaker:time with each event.
Speaker:And so I love how you realize
Speaker:some people still do this and
Speaker:consider that to this day.
Speaker:Like, oh, we went the old
Speaker:way of, of word of mouth.
Speaker:But like word of
Speaker:mouth is evergreen.
Speaker:That's everlasting.
Speaker:That is the past, the
Speaker:present in the future.
Speaker:That's really the best way.
Speaker:You know what I mean?
Speaker:Because it's like not only people
Speaker:who follow you on Instagram
Speaker:and maybe bought from you
Speaker:on Instagram one time, it's
Speaker:like, no, I met this person.
Speaker:I got to actually get
Speaker:a feel for who she is.
Speaker:Like, you know, it's a different
Speaker:experience when you actually
Speaker:meet someone in person and
Speaker:can vouch for their brand from
Speaker:like, you know, versus like
Speaker:Instagram, like, oh, I tried it.
Speaker:You know, it, it was fine.
Speaker:But you know, you don't have
Speaker:a personal connection to
Speaker:the people who created it
Speaker:cuz you're just not there.
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:So again, going back to that
Speaker:like, you know, obviously over
Speaker:the pandemic weren't a whole
Speaker:lot of events to be vending and
Speaker:you guys kind of switched to,
Speaker:um, I wouldn't say switch, but
Speaker:like obviously had to focus on
Speaker:maybe more e-commerce sales.
Speaker:And I know you made some
Speaker:kind of new products for,
Speaker:um, people buying online.
Speaker:Can you tell me a little bit
Speaker:about how you guys kind of like,
Speaker:again, are continuing to like
Speaker:grow and progress and like meet
Speaker:the needs of your customers?
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we all know that 2020 was, yeah.
Speaker:And um, you know, Aside from
Speaker:the world, viscously violently
Speaker:changing cuz of covid, uh, small
Speaker:businesses took, took such a huge,
Speaker:major hit while, you know, our
Speaker:politicians and big banks were
Speaker:getting p p P loans and it's
Speaker:just like, okay, well what
Speaker:about the small businesses
Speaker:who have been doing this
Speaker:for, for decades and who.
Speaker:Are trying to keep their employees.
Speaker:Like what, what
Speaker:happens to, to, to us?
Speaker:And, and, and while so many
Speaker:businesses were being closed
Speaker:in 2020, other businesses like
Speaker:myself, were going all the way up.
Speaker:Because everyone was at home.
Speaker:So because everyone was at
Speaker:home, uh, they had a lot of
Speaker:time to buy cotton candy.
Speaker:So we were making cotton
Speaker:candy by the hundreds, if not
Speaker:thousands, um, every month.
Speaker:And it was incredible.
Speaker:Uh, it did stop once everyone
Speaker:went outside, but, um, To
Speaker:receive so much support,
Speaker:uh, during the lockdown, uh,
Speaker:of 2020, it really helped.
Speaker:Um, one not only drives drive
Speaker:our sales, but created, uh,
Speaker:sus sustainability in a way
Speaker:that we've never seen before.
Speaker:Uh, and we were able to afford
Speaker:housing and, you know, that
Speaker:was very, very important to us.
Speaker:And, um, still one of.
Speaker:Most fondest memories when it
Speaker:comes to entrepreneurship and,
Speaker:and seeing how people were so
Speaker:intentional with, with, with
Speaker:consumerism at home and, and
Speaker:intentional with, with supporting
Speaker:black and brown businesses.
Speaker:And not only that, people
Speaker:really loved our products.
Speaker:I really, I do wish that
Speaker:energy still exists because.
Speaker:It's day and night now from
Speaker:2020 during, lockdown to now,
Speaker:the way people are consuming
Speaker:is very, very different.
Speaker:I would say unfortunately
Speaker:that many people, they forgot
Speaker:about small businesses and,
Speaker:you know, that is unfortunate.
Speaker:And, we, also took a hit,
Speaker:After all that, after all those
Speaker:wonderful sales, you know, it's
Speaker:kind of like the whole Black
Speaker:Lives Matter movement and,
Speaker:corporations kind of capitalizing
Speaker:off of that and, you know,
Speaker:trying to rise, you know, raise
Speaker:black and brown people's voices.
Speaker:But I guess it was
Speaker:no longer trending.
Speaker:And so people just kind of went
Speaker:back to their everyday program,
Speaker:which is something that we're
Speaker:seeing now at our present day.
Speaker:Thank you so much for watching
Speaker:and listening to the show.
Speaker:Whether you're a day one fan or day
Speaker:100 fan, I'm so glad that you found
Speaker:Honey and Hustle and have decided
Speaker:to stick along for the ride.
Speaker:As a thank you, I wanted to
Speaker:give you a little gift that this
Speaker:show has so graciously given
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Speaker:connect with thought leaders,
Speaker:industry leaders, business
Speaker:owners, and other entrepreneurs.
Speaker:No matter where I.
Speaker:Link offers a digital business
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Speaker:of my website and social media
Speaker:platforms that allows me to
Speaker:easily send people to strategic
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Speaker:a little bit more about me, the
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Speaker:under description, you'll
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Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, a thousand percent.
Speaker:I mean, like, it's very unfortunate
Speaker:because like at the end of the day,
Speaker:sometimes the best thing you can
Speaker:do for your small business is to
Speaker:get a job, but like when you don't
Speaker:feel like welcome and supported
Speaker:in that job, then it just makes
Speaker:it like twice as hard because then
Speaker:it's like, okay, I'm not being
Speaker:supported as a small business
Speaker:owner, and now I don't feel sup,
Speaker:feel supported in the workplace.
Speaker:So, Something's gotta give,
Speaker:like, you know what I mean?
Speaker:In order to have like a sustainable
Speaker:income either way, you know?
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Exactly.
Speaker:And so, uh, again, so it's 2023
Speaker:now we're filming this in April.
Speaker:Um, you got a space at Fox
Speaker:Chart R T P, which was finished
Speaker:over the pandemic, I believe.
Speaker:Um, talk to me a
Speaker:little bit about that.
Speaker:Cuz Boxed RTP is kind
Speaker:of a different retail.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:So, uh, box yard, R t p
Speaker:is a shipping container,
Speaker:food court space.
Speaker:So it's an outdoor food court.
Speaker:And, um, yeah, we said yes to a box
Speaker:yard at the end of 2019 and didn't
Speaker:really move into our space until
Speaker:2021 because of the pandemic and.
Speaker:are neighbors to awesome Black
Speaker:and brown other retailers.
Speaker:So there's Meet and Grace
Speaker:Aya, who's my sweet sister.
Speaker:I love her so much.
Speaker:And then there's Karina
Speaker:from Honey Press, uh, and
Speaker:she is South Asian owned.
Speaker:And, um, it's, the community
Speaker:in Vard is, is phenomenal
Speaker:because we're all small business
Speaker:owners and majority of the,
Speaker:the majority of the owners.
Speaker:Are in the space every day.
Speaker:You know, we're really, we're
Speaker:really there in the trenches
Speaker:with our employees and, um,
Speaker:it has been extremely unique
Speaker:to open up a storefront during
Speaker:the pandemic because 2021,
Speaker:we're still in a pandemic.
Speaker:2022, we're still in a
Speaker:pandemic and 2023 right now,
Speaker:COVID is, is still here.
Speaker:And so, I don't know how, I don't
Speaker:know how we did it and I don't
Speaker:know how we're doing it, but by
Speaker:the mercy and love of the universe,
Speaker:we um, you know, we have a small
Speaker:team of cotton candy connoisseurs
Speaker:and we still keep the lights on
Speaker:and I think, um, this is probably.
Speaker:Our best work yet is creating
Speaker:this, you know, sacred
Speaker:disco space full of sugar.
Speaker:And we are really thrilled to have
Speaker:our own physical space because
Speaker:not many small businesses are
Speaker:granted that opportunity because
Speaker:everything is so expensive and
Speaker:it's just not there for us.
Speaker:Um, and so, yeah, uh,
Speaker:we've been there this
Speaker:July with Mark two years.
Speaker:And it will also mark the last
Speaker:month that we will be at Boxy Yard.
Speaker:Um, as much, as much magic as
Speaker:we we created in the space, we
Speaker:are ready to expand and, and
Speaker:do big, big, bigger things.
Speaker:And, um, yeah, we'll be closing
Speaker:the store in July 31st in.
Speaker:Oh man.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's a beautiful run though.
Speaker:A two year run, which
Speaker:is technically four
Speaker:years in the making.
Speaker:If we're starting back 2019.
Speaker:So, Been a long time coming.
Speaker:That's a long time to think,
Speaker:you know, it's a long time to
Speaker:like try it out, see how, see
Speaker:how the clothes fit on in a
Speaker:commercial space and then kind of
Speaker:see like, okay, what do I like?
Speaker:What do I not like?
Speaker:What do I want next to look like?
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Um, So talk to me a little
Speaker:bit about what you and Ream
Speaker:have cooking up, because just
Speaker:even since I've known you and
Speaker:known about Wonder Puff, like
Speaker:you guys have been really
Speaker:successful in the online space.
Speaker:You guys have the little glitter
Speaker:bonds for your champagne.
Speaker:You guys have, you know,
Speaker:containers that people can get,
Speaker:and then of course I see you
Speaker:around town at pop-up events.
Speaker:So like what, what new experiences
Speaker:are you hoping to curate for.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:So, uh, July would mark, so
Speaker:not only does our shop close
Speaker:in July, but it marks six
Speaker:years that we've been making
Speaker:cotton candy in the triangle,
Speaker:uh, especially, particularly
Speaker:the wonderful will city.
Speaker:Um, I'm, I'm gonna
Speaker:keep it real with you.
Speaker:I have no idea what's next.
Speaker:I don't know what the
Speaker:hell we're gonna do.
Speaker:And I'm, and, and, and
Speaker:I'm surrendering to it.
Speaker:Um, and, and, and being gentle
Speaker:and kind with myself and
Speaker:realizing like, it's okay if we
Speaker:don't have all the answers, even
Speaker:though we live in a capitalist
Speaker:world where we need to be
Speaker:productive every day to survive.
Speaker:Um, I know that when we close the
Speaker:shop, wonder Puff will continue
Speaker:to operate in a smaller scale and.
Speaker:You know, I don't know exactly
Speaker:what, where we'll be going next,
Speaker:but I do know that the goal is
Speaker:to go back to e-commerce one,
Speaker:to, you know, wholesale and,
Speaker:and, and bring our cotton candy
Speaker:into, into retail spaces, because
Speaker:that's something that I've wanted
Speaker:to do for such a long time.
Speaker:But everything is
Speaker:so bloody expensive.
Speaker:So it's all about asking for.
Speaker:And utilizing and exhausting
Speaker:all of our resources.
Speaker:And I plan to do just that.
Speaker:Um, when, when we close the shop,
Speaker:um, leaning on my community, asking
Speaker:people for resources and, and, and
Speaker:getting the ball rolling and, you
Speaker:know, taking wonder, puff in, in
Speaker:a different, different direction.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's beautiful.
Speaker:I think this last, I guess question
Speaker:slash comment I have is just
Speaker:based on, um, something I heard
Speaker:a business owner say
Speaker:on a documentary that
Speaker:I was working on and.
Speaker:He said, I don't think we get
Speaker:anywhere without community.
Speaker:And he was speaking to, you know,
Speaker:the small business community,
Speaker:the local community of creators,
Speaker:but then also the people who
Speaker:are coming in and just kind
Speaker:of learning and moving here
Speaker:and really like recognizing
Speaker:the community that's here and
Speaker:wanting to contribute to that.
Speaker:You know, as you know, an
Speaker:amplifier, as a consumer, as
Speaker:a creator, all those types of
Speaker:things, like, and again, ending
Speaker:on your Durham versus everybody's
Speaker:shirt, like you definitely
Speaker:have an affinity to Jerem and
Speaker:the community that Sierra, can
Speaker:you talk a little bit about
Speaker:why the Durham small business
Speaker:ecosystem is so special and so
Speaker:unique and has really provided
Speaker:the playground for you to like
Speaker:try all these different things?
Speaker:Right,
Speaker:right.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Community is unity.
Speaker:And one thing that makes Durham
Speaker:so sacred is the amount of.
Speaker:Human beings that, want
Speaker:better for our world.
Speaker:You know, there's so many
Speaker:freedom fighters here.
Speaker:There's so many people here that
Speaker:are creating those spaces for,
Speaker:black and brown small businesses,
Speaker:and there are so many people
Speaker:who are, fighting for, small
Speaker:businesses and curators to get
Speaker:those resources so we can be
Speaker:successful in this late stage
Speaker:capitalist white supremacist world.
Speaker:Um, Durham is the reason why
Speaker:Wonder Puff exists, and I
Speaker:really don't see Wonder Puff
Speaker:ever being anywhere else.
Speaker:And if she was to go somewhere,
Speaker:You know, the, the headquarters
Speaker:will forever be in the Bull City
Speaker:and you know, it, it wa it was
Speaker:Durham and, and everyone else
Speaker:outside of this wonderful city
Speaker:that helped funded our Kickstarter
Speaker:for when we opened our store.
Speaker:And I'm forever grateful for
Speaker:people, you know, not only,
Speaker:um, people in Durham, but
Speaker:people everywhere who have
Speaker:shared the Wonderf wonder
Speaker:Puff experience with us.
Speaker:You know, just
Speaker:giving us a space to.
Speaker:Covered in sugar and giving
Speaker:us their hard dollars so
Speaker:we can stay sustainable.
Speaker:I think there's so much beauty
Speaker:in that because people don't need
Speaker:to spend money on cotton candy.
Speaker:You know, they don't need
Speaker:to share space with us.
Speaker:But, but they do, and they have
Speaker:for the past almost six years,
Speaker:and we don't take that lightly.
Speaker:Um, we hold every supporter,
Speaker:every client, every customer.
Speaker:We hold them very near and dear
Speaker:to our heart because this world
Speaker:needs so much radical love.
Speaker:And so we, we gotta do
Speaker:it together as a people.
Speaker:And that's something that
Speaker:Wonder Puff really focuses on
Speaker:is not only being a sustainable
Speaker:business through sugar, but
Speaker:you know, how can we make this
Speaker:world a safe space, um, when
Speaker:there's so much pain, you know?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's so beautiful and I think
Speaker:that is just like a beautiful
Speaker:note to end on because we all
Speaker:need our happy place and whether
Speaker:that is your physical business,
Speaker:whether sure.
Speaker:Home, whether that's your
Speaker:circle of friends and family and
Speaker:loved ones, like it's so valid.
Speaker:It's so needed, and it's so
Speaker:important for you to be able
Speaker:to thrive in any environment.
Speaker:So thank you so much
Speaker:for sharing that.
Speaker:Thank you so much for being
Speaker:here with me today, and
Speaker:I really appreciate it.
Speaker:Thank you, girl.
