Isabel Higgins was born with creativity in her system. With a mother who owns Willow & Pine and a sister who owns Molly’s Mixins, it was only natural that Higgins would throw her hat into the artistic and entrepreneurial world.
When her college went virtual in 2020, Higgins returned home and began working at Willow & Pine, where she assisted her mother Anne with the website and managed the online wedding registries.
Anne bought Isabel an iPad and digital pen, and Isabel took off. Her mom said that at night, Isabel would stay up and create all kinds of designs and ultimately came up with the idea to create stickers and create Bubble Bee Designs.
“I really enjoyed it so I taught myself how to do more complicated designs,” Isabel said. “My first project began as digital designs of my sister’s cookies, Molly’s Mixins.”
The encouragement from her sister and the rest of the family led to Isabel creating more sticker designs, as they are something that she and Molly have collected when traveling together.
“Those stickers bring me so much joy when I look at them and I want to share that with other people,” Isabel said. “Stickers are a fun way to express yourself, and mine are durable so they can be placed almost anywhere.”
Isabel said it depends on the complexity of the design, but she can usually finish a design within a day.
“I’m also very perfectionistic, so it’s often my own fault that takes so long,” she said. “Even when the process gets frustrating, I still enjoy every minute of it.”
Her family is still involved in her creative designs, as Isabel often sends her rough drafts of designs to her sisters and they help her “tweak” the designs.
“It’s always helpful for me to get fresh eyes on my designs, especially the ones that take longer to complete,” she said.
Isabel credits her mom with her creativity and said that this career gives her a chance to relax and make her days happier.
“What I enjoy the most is seeing other people get excited about my stickers … especially when I create custom designs for other local businesses,” she said. “I like putting a little bit of ‘happy’ out into the world. The joy my stickers give to other people brings me all the happiness I could ask for.”
Isabel has begun making greeting cards as well and said the ideas just keep flowing for what she will create, adding that she would love to sell more stationery products such as planners, note pads and journals.
Her mom is very proud of something that started so simply.
“She now has over a dozen designs that I sell in the store,” Anne said. “It’s so much fun to see her blossom and to be able to tell customers about how her cute little stickers came to be. I’m so proud of her.”
Bubble Bee Designs stickers are sold at Willow & Pine Market, Barr Bones, Hill View Farm Meats, Molly’s Mixins cookie pick ups, and on her website. To see her work, follow her on Bubble Bee Designs’ social media sites. She also does custom work.
