east valley
Volume 3 Issue 39 Mesa, AZ
April 11, 2021
Mesa glitter business sees a sparkling future BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor
K
IN THE BIZ
evin and Jessica Farrell are off to a shining start with their new Mesa business, Grateful Glitters. They started the business, which sells polyester glitter and other craft supplies, as an online venture in October 2019 and four months later opened their first storefront near University Drive and Greenfield Road. “I wanted to start making glitter tumblers and Kevin looked into it and said, ‘Well, we can have an endless supply of glitter for you,’” said Jessica. “So, it went from there.” Kevin said they had opened only a few months before the pandemic struck Arizona. “Once that hit, we were able to remain open,” he said. “We were providing glitter and other products to people who were using them as their own homebased businesses.” People started making items like keychains and cups and for some, what started as a hobby turned into a primary job. “We sell the blank tumblers, the molds, the epoxies, CrystaLac, the inks, the paints, pens and empty makeup brushes, all of the fun little things you can use glitter with,” Jessica said. The difference from regular glitter is that “polyester glitter is made from a large sheet of polyester that is run through a machine,” explained Kevin. “It kind of crushes it down into the Public Notices ............... page 2 © Copyright, 2021 East Valley Tribune
Kevin and Jessica Farrell's Grateful Glitters store has all supplies for crafts requiring a little sparkle. (Melody Birkett/Tribune Contributor) different shapes and sizes so it holds its color whereas craft glitter is made usually from some sort of paper product that is going to bleed under liquids. So, if you put it under epoxy or even CrystaLac… the polyester will hold true to its color. “Polyester also holds the heat temperature of up to 500 degrees so it’s not going to melt using epoxy.” Making glitter crafts can initially be pricey but once all the needed items are purchased to get started, the cost drops, (USPS 004-616) is published weekly
Mailing Address: 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 219, Tempe, AZ 85282
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he said. “A bottle of glitter ranges in price from $4.75-$6 a bottle,” said Kevin, adding their store consistently offers a “buy three, get one free” proposition. “Once you buy the glitter, you can choose to purchase the molds and epoxy in order to cure in the mold. If you want to do tumblers, you have the option of doing the epoxy or the epoxy-free version with CrystaLac. You’d have to buy a cup turner and go from there.” Subscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ 85026.
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