Have you ever been the recipient of a chain letter invitation, for books, stickers, the like? But then only get a few, if any, products back despite your best effort to participate and send items to your list of family and friends? I am willing to bet most of us fall in this camp. Maureen Vazquez was no different. Except Maureen saw the lackluster response to the chain letter, and her children’s excited response to the one sheet of stickers that came in, as the perfect opportunity to combine her love of stickers and design and start a company that could support and inspire not only sticker lovers but parents alike.
In September 2014, Pipsticks was born. Pipsticks is an international sticker subscription company that offers a curated sticker pack each month “based loosely on a theme, or inspiration from wherever, such as a new sticker sheet that comes in, a magazine, a book, a blog.” Pipsticks offers two different clubs, one for Kids and a Pro Club, for adults who just love stickers! Each pack generally contains a plentiful array of stickers that have a common theme and are from suppliers across the world, including Europe, Japan, Korea, China, and the USA, as well as paper goods (think postcards and inspirational quotes) to place the stickers on and design your own personal piece. In addition to the pieces they get from their suppliers, Pipsticks has also started designing their own stickers, adding a fun and personalized twist to the monthly packs.
There has been so much sticker love that Pipsticks has grown quickly. When Maureen started the company, she worked part time in the evenings after the kiddos went to bed, and within a year, she had started “working four days a week and hired her husband to help with operations.” In the last month, they have completely outgrown the current Pipsticks headquarters (aka a detached cottage on Maureen’s property) and they will be shopping for new space soon. Maureen also shared that headquarters is “super fun – bright colors and floor to ceiling stickers!” How is that for daily inspiration?
Just like headquarters, the future for Pipsticks is bright. Maureen shares that the company is “eager to expand [their] product offerings, design and produce a sticker book, and hopefully create some retail products.” In fact, Maureen says that “during the months of November and December, we’re partnering with a family shelter and donating a sticker pack to a child in need for every Kids Club subscription sold. It’s a great way to buy gifts during the holidays and support kids who won’t be getting any at the same time! We’ll also have lots of one time sticker gifts if you’re looking for something to put under the tree.” I mean, how amazing is that?
“Little things can make a BIG difference” is the Pipsticks motto. Based on the happy mail that I received, this company is 100% true to their motto. Read below for how happy this sticker pack made me!
The Product Review:
Maureen sent me a Classic Pro Club sticker pack to review, and guys? It is like my 7 year old self is doing cartwheels in the front yard from sheer excitement.
Stickers are happiness. Plain and simple. They remind me of my childhood – when I got a good grade, I got a gold star sticker on my test. Doctors and dental appointments? Sticker rewards at the end. I was a child in the Lisa Frank era. NEED I SAY MORE?
Now, as a mom to two littles, stickers continue to be a thing. Of course with my boy children it’s all about superheroes and sports related themes rather than pink hearts, glitter, rainbows and unicorns. But still a thing! And one that still evokes that same happiness and joy that I felt when I was young.
Pipsticks Package
Inside Package
The sticker pack came in the cutest packaging and was chock full of goodies, including a fun and colorful newsletter, a fabulous quote card, a blank postcard complete with a stamp to decorate and send some cheer to a loved one, a raffle ticket for a fun prize and approximately 15 sheets of amazing, high quality stickers! Vibrant colors, pink glitter hearts (!!), gold foil roses, popsicles, flamingos and more! They also included a color your own sticker sheet, which I loved and so did my boys! In fact, the boys colored this blank sticker sheet and used them to decorate a birthday card for one of their friends.
I found another fun use for adding Pipsticks cheer – decorating my planner! I am a girl that has To Do lists everywhere I go, appointments in my phone and my paper planner, and then some. What better way to highlight an important event, doctor’s appointment, or meeting than with stickers? I added fun and bright stickers to highlight some upcoming events, and it has transformed the look.
The addition of the paper products to the Pipsticks packages truly adds a sweet touch. It provides the recipient an opportunity to be creative, de-stress, and personalize something for a loved one or for their own purpose. Remember when I said I was a child of the Lisa Frank era? Well, I decided to use my own artistic spin with my Pipsticks gems! It was totally cliche, adding rainbows, glitter hearts and clouds to my masterpiece, but it literally sparked joy and brought back fond memories of the past. In this instance, I was also given the most fitting quote card for me – a motto that I try to live by daily!
As I mentioned, Pipsticks offers two different clubs to choose from – one geared towards kids, ages 3 years and above, as well as one for adults titled the Pro Club. Within each of these, there is an option to select either a Classic Pack for $14.95/month or a Petite Pack for $9.95/month.
The Classic Pack includes about 15+ sticker sheets, a postcard and either a quote card (for adults) or craft paper for the Kids Club package. The Petite version offers approximately 7+ sheets of stickers and either a mini quote card or a two pieces of craft paper. Subscriptions are monthly and there is no monthly commitment. Additionally, Pipsticks allows their subscribers and community to stay up to date with all sticker happenings, craft ideas, and more via a newsletter and through their blog .
Overall, I enjoyed my sticker pack from Pipsticks, and so did my kids! If you or your child(ren) need some happy in your life, or just enjoy fun arts and crafts, I encourage you to try out Pipsticks and check out all they have to offer! You can sign up for your own or send as a gift, and with the holidays approaching, this could be the perfect time to gift that sticker loving guy or gal in your life!
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