Bubble Bean Boutique Tweetup + interview

It’s a very exciting time for fashion here in Vancity. Even if you don’t think we have a fashion scene here, we’re still in hard economic times so basic shopping means doing your math and mapping out your trips to save on gas. Gone are the days of buying at Holt or on Alberni Street for designer names – eBay, etsy, and Value Village are more like it. I recently found out about a new online retailer, Bubble Bean, which actually came before the launch of A.D.F.M. As much as we want to cross the border for those Black Friday deals, we need only shop from the comfort of our computers. Bubble Bean hosted a Tweetup at 1181 last Tuesday where I was able to meet and chat with the head Bubble Bean herself, Maggie Ma.

Me with Maggie Ma wearing Winter Kate

Maggie Ma: So, the whole concept for Bubble Bean is that we match US pricing. So, whatever we have – well, except for J Brand – I’m restricted to have the Canadian pricing – but everything else: Winter Kate that’s by Nicole Richie, and then we have For Love and Lemons that’s worn by lots of celebrities… So everything we have is matching the US pricing so that [customers] don’t have to shop at Shopbop or whatever. They can get the same price and they can get even probably cheaper shipping.

Middle Child Reviews: Yeah, I noticed right now you’re doing free shipping. Anywhere?

MM: Yeah, anywhere.

MCR: And how are you able to do that?

MM: Well there’s a minimum purchase. So for Canada, I believe it’s $100 for free shipping. For US, it’s $150, and then worldwide it’s $250. So it’s not that much. And then, everything we ship has a tracking number. So we’ll be able to track it.

MCR: What’s your background?

MM: I worked in retail for…8 years. So for a long time. I managed a shop in Yaletown before, so it’s a lot of fashion industry stuff, but I didn’t go to school for fashion. I just went to school because, you know, most parents want you to go to school and have that University education to qualify. But I started this boutique because I had a baby, and I just wanted to stay at home with her. I don’t want to go outside and work, but I still want to make money at the same time doing what I love. So that’s why I started Bubble Bean.

MCR: Did you find that your experience working in retail helped you with knowing what brands were out there, and then forming those relationships?

MM: It helped a lot, yeah. At least, I know how to get the wholesaler and how to approach them. Because especially for J Brand and big brands like that, they just don’t give their brands out to anybody to sell. You will have to go meet them, they will have to do an interview with you to say “ok, we will allow you to sell our brand.” So that helped me a lot in terms of getting the brands in.

J Brand 811 red skinnies I have on my wish list…

MCR: How long did it take you to get the website fully up? Cause I imagine you would have to get that up first before you are able to show them..?

MM: No, actually I got the brands first. Because once the website’s up, I want to be able to be up and running. Cause I don’t want people to all of a sudden stumble on my website and it’s like, “oh, there’s nothing.” They won’t come back again.

MCR: It’s interesting…because I didn’t know the process – which was first.

MM: …J Brand was the first one to get because knew that once I got [it], then when I’d approach other brands, they would ask “so what brands do you have right now?”…

MCR: So were they [J Brand] the first one that you wanted to go for?

MM: Yes. Cause personally, I like J Brand. I always, always wore J Brand. It was so comfortable for me and fits really nice, and I think I knew them before they were so popular. The first pair of J Brand [jeans] I had was about six years ago. So that’s kind of before they got to all the celebrity press. So I stumbled upon it and was like “these jeans are really really comfortable.” And I started looking for them and buying them regularly.

MCR: Obviously, having a website saves you from worrying about all the brick & mortar retail stuff, but what are some of the other challenges that you’re facing? Storage?

MM: Storage – actually, right now is not that much of a problem because we do have quite big of a house…that I can actually use. But definitely I would say one of the challenges would be to get people to visit your website. Cause right now I just rely on Google AdWords to advertise. So I’m not actually getting a ton of local people. But my website’s kind of meant for local people that always shop across the border for that pricing and for the style, so that’s why we’re having this party. To get more attention.

MCR: Yeah, I thought it was a good idea. Canadians will shop at US and online retailers. Unless we do cross the border we can’t get that stuff. Or you’ll have to search for it here to find it. Whereas that’s great to know that there’s somebody local. Even though you can ship anywhere…I actually only will shop locally. So it’s good to know that you’re from here, and so even though I’m getting a J Brand jean, I’m still supporting a local business owner. What brands would you like to carry in the future that you’re not carrying now?

MM: Right now, we carry about 5-6 brands, but I have already been talking to a lot of Australian brands that I want to get in. Like One Teaspoon…One Teaspoon is one of the biggest brands in Australia. They do really good pricing. So, most of their items are under $150. You can get a dress for $150. Jeans… they are really famous for those really short shorts that every celebrity has been wearing for the last couple of summers. They do a lot of the caped style. It’s very chill…And I’m getting them in Spring. So in February you’ll be seeing them on my website. And also I’m doing MINKPINK. That’s another Australian brand. And they’re even cheaper in pricing. Most of their stuff is under $100. From tops to dresses to pants to shorts. They’re usually from the $50 to $100 region. Cause I think these days, especially with the economy, nobody wants to pay way too much for something that you might wear for only a couple of times or, especially online, you can’t try stuff on. I feel like if you have stuff that’s too overpriced, people can’t really buy it unless they go to Holt Renfrew and they try it on, and then they buy it from [me] because it might be cheaper. But that rarely happens.

MCR: Anybody that you’re trying to get right now that’s super hard?

MM: Right now I’m actually pretty happy with my brands that I carry and they’ve been selling really well too. I’ve been sold out of a lot of stuff, especially dresses from For Love and Lemons. That’s a brand from LA….[Twilight] just had the new – Breaking Dawn…one of the actresses actually wore one of the For Love and Lemons dresses to the premiere. And she wore the dresses about a year ago – another dress that’s from For Love and Lemons. So it’s getting A LOT of press these days. I’m wearing Winter Kate that’s from Nicole Richie.

Ashley Tisdale in For Love and Lemons at the Twilight: Breaking Dawn premiere
Photo courtesy thefashionpatrol.com 

MCR: I love her House of Harlow stuff.

MM: The Winter Kate stuff is actually manufactured in Montreal. They are made in India – the fabrics are made in India, but they’re actually all manufactured in Montreal. So it’s actually local. So I don’t actually have to pay imports for them, but I just have to pay a higher pricing because it’s Canadian. But I’m still selling it at the US prices. So it’s lower pricing. But for House of Harlow, I have to get it in from the States, and because it’s jewellery, it would have a heavier weight, so I’m still debating whether it’s worth it to pay all that import and all that tax to get it in, and not even sell it for maybe a 30% markup. For me to ship it for free most of the time, then I’m actually maybe getting 10% out of it.

MCR: So you’re a new mom now. Are you enjoying juggling business and motherhood?

MM: Definitely. It’s a lot easier when you’re working from home. I just love spending time with [my daughter]. I think every mom [doesn't] really want to leave their baby. And now, I really feel for those moms that actually have to go back to work. I know a lot of them actually enjoy it too, but for me, I really just want to stay home with her and watch her do everything. Kids grow so fast, every day she does something different. So I don’t want to be the one who misses that moment and to come home and the babysitter tells me, “oh, you know what? She did this today.” And, I would be so sad. So that’s why I want to work from home. It’s good because whenever she takes a nap, then I just open up my computer and do my thing. She takes about a two-hour nap and I’ll probably be done by then. And then, whenever my husband comes home, then I go ship all my stuff, or just do other stuff that I need to do.

MCR: That’s great. You’ve got a schedule going.

MM: Yes. Tonight she’s at the grandparents, so we have kind of a date night thing.

MCR: Awesome! Any other local events that you’re planning in the future? Or how often do you plan on having things like this?

MM: I think 2-3 times a year that we can have something to get to know people and to socialize, have fun. But right now, I have nothing planned yet. I’m not a very good planner…I have four people that planned the event for me. They’ve been great.

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BubbleBean sells Cheap Monday which I’m pretty thrilled about. Check out this gorgeous Winter Kate Passenger Maxi Dress they have available right now too. I love that Nicole Richie wears her own stuff!

Photo courtesy onsugar.com

Be sure to bookmark BubbleBeanBoutique.com asap!