Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Barnes
Hi Brittany, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Looking back on most of my life, there has been very little times that I was not working on some form of art or craft. In 2011, I acquired a Cricut Explore Air and began selling custom decals. My husband and I had just gotten married and bought our first home so any additional income was great to help us save for vacations and what the future held.
In 2016, my crafting space became a nursery for our daughter. With little space in our first home…my side hustle was stored away until we purchased a bigger home in 2017.
My dad taught me how to sew when I was little and having all the new space to spread out and work on large projects, I made my daughter a blanket and lovey set. Of course I had to share photos with friends and just like that, “BB’s Blankets and Crafts” was in business.
Over the next couple of years, I made so many blankets, lovey’s, bins, paci clips, and shipped them all over the US.
In 2019, I ordered a custom tumbler from Etsy as a Christmas gift. Unfortunately, when I received it…the quality was horrible. There was very little time before Christmas to order another elsewhere. Mid-Panic, my husband said “you’re crafty…can’t you just make one”.
I watched tutorials, joined communities on Facebook, found suppliers, pulled the Cricut out of storage…and made my first tumbler. I posted in those communities, proud of my little accomplishment and got so much positive feedback. I continued to make blankets and used some of the scrap fabric for tumblers in addition to new supplies. Sooner than later, vendors were reaching out for affiliations and ambassadorships to represent their companies. One vendor in particular, A Little Extra Inc. Epoxy, (Debbie) pushed and pushed me to start a channel. I was hesitant but, Debbie continued to push and build my confidence until I uploaded our first YouTube tutorial March 2021 as “Brittany Barnes Boutique”.
Fast forward to 2025, weeks have 35k+ subscribers and so many amazing relationships with followers and companies. I’m so thankful I got the push I needed to make that first tumbler and start our channel. What an awesome journey it has been. I have gained a few of the best friends I could ask for and reached SO many amazing people. It’s a great feeling to know I have helped or contributed to their businesses success!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have certainly been times that it felt like a roller coaster ride. A big part of my business is my affiliations. Most of which I have a great relationship with and consider close friends. Unfortunately, there have been a few bad eggs that weren’t in the business for the same reasons as myself. I pride myself on promoting products that work. I have always refused to promote things that are faulty or would not be of good value for my following even if that meant I would loose out on commissions. No dollar amount that I can gain is worth “scamming” my following. So, as you can imagine, that hasn’t went over so well with companies that are just in it to make a dollar off consumers rather than providing a genuine and quality product.
The economy has also had a huge play in the success and income of the business. During COVID, many were at home or lost their jobs and were looking for ways to bring in income. The business was BOOMING then. Now that many have started full time jobs again and the daily cost of living has increased…many have left the tumbler community. Causing sales, commissions and views to decrease. We won’t let that stop us though! I will continue to try to bring new content to my channel and get creative with ideas to reach a broader audience.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At Brittany Barnes Boutique, we specialize in epoxy and mixed media crafts. Including tumblers, trays, pens and more.
I strive to do my best but also show the flaws. My biggest (little) fan is my eight year old daughter, Ava. I keep my content PG and I create as if I was teaching Ava.
I do not want my following to feel as if they are less than myself in any aspect. I also only promote things that I feel would be beneficial to another’s business. I don’t feel that I would be a great teacher if I wasn’t honest or show that everyone makes mistakes, sometimes our craft space is messy and no one is perfect.
I am most proud of the wonderful community that I have built based off the facts above. Although I have tooled with the idea of a patron or subscription group…I can just never bring myself to charge for my content or advice whereas many creators do. All of my content is fully accessible to the public at no cost.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Staying true to myself is the biggest quality I feel is important to my success. I have gotten where I am without paid promotions and without conforming to what is “trendy” or trying to fit in with the community.
I have said at times in my tutorials “sorry y’all, don’t look at my hands…I just finished working in the garden” and so many have given feedback of “Are you kidding?! It makes me feel so much better about mine! Thank you for being real”
It’s simple things like that, that keep us genuine and sets us apart from others. I’m building a raw, wonderful following by being real. Those are the ones that will stick around for the long run.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brittanybarnesboutique.myshopify.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanybarnesboutique?igsh=Mzgza2phbDRyZmQ1&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/165Z2ma8Cs/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@brittanybarnesboutique?si=osm0qVgVjWtv5kKk
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Dhu198Wh4/?mibextid=wwXIfr
