Featured Customer: Booktickets by Ashley Marie

This month we are featuring our customer Ashley Seibel who creates these gorgeous handmade booktickets! Read further to learn more about her business and how she uses ClearBags products with her creations.

Tell Us About Company:

As a bookworm myself, I love to adorn my books with beautiful bookmarks. It’s all part of the experience. You can travel anywhere in a book and your bookmark is just the ticket. We are all looking for a getaway from reality in our minds even if only for an hour or two. And that’s why I came up with Booktickets by Ashley Marie.

I’ve been crafting for years. I love the feeling of giving someone a handmade gift and knowing it brought a smile to their face. I decided to jump feet first into my new bookmark business venture after attending a reader retreat. After meeting some amazing new reader friends, I came home inspired to make some bookmarks to remember the occasion.

While talking books, it seemed to be the same for everyone; we all read to escape. Some like a good romance to take their breath away, some like mysteries to add excitement to their lives while others need light and easy to escape their own troubles.

What Makes Your Product Unique?

My bookmarks are handmade individually making each one unique. Using a distressed watercolor technique to color the bookmarks, I also like to add a personal touch. Some are inspirational. I offer custom bookmarks as well. The original wrapping I provide has become a fan favorite that people look forward to.

How do you package your product and what Clear Bags product do you use?

Each one is individually packaged in the HBM3 protective clear sleeve which gives the security of lamination without the commitment. Customers can choose whether to keep the sleeve on for safer keeping or take it off if they like the paper feel better. With my bookmarks coming in different sizes, I’m able to cut the sleeves to fit my product which makes them so versatile. The durability allows me to then wrap the bookmarks in adorable wrapping using real book pages.

Where do you sell your products?

I’m currently selling on Etsy. I’ve been very active in local craft fairs and farmers markets as well.

How long have you been working with Clear Bags and how have they helped you succeed?

I’ve been working with ClearBags since April. My customers have been loving the sleeves as much as I do. The sleeves do an amazing job protecting the bookmarks while in transit as well. I’ve been able to rely on the sleeves to do their job without any concerns. ClearBags has been such a great company to work with too. Their top notch customer service provided immediate resolution when the carrier damaged some of the products from one of my orders.

One piece of advice for new business owners about packaging?

The advice I have for other business owners regarding packaging is to sample! That was one thing that really drew me to ClearBags. They were so easy to talk to and work with. I had so many questions in the beginning and was uncertain what would work best for my product. ClearBags suggested I sample multiple products and it was a game changer. I was able to try out the products at no cost to really see what I was going for.