Bradford student Sienna Romeiro-Adam has taken the latest fidget toy craze and turned it into a business of her own.
The colourful, bubble popping pieces of plastic and silicone have been around for a while but have increased in popularity over the past year, thanks to social media platforms Tik Tok and Instagram.
Similar to the fidget spinner craze in 2017, the novelty fidget pop-its have been trending among the younger demographic. The toys are designed to keep the hands busy by popping, pressing, and spinning them.
Romeiro-Adam first learned about the toys on Tik Tok earlier this year and was instantly hooked after buying one and trying it out for herself.
The Grade 7 student at St. Angela Merici School says the popping of the plastic helps her to relax and keep calm. There are various types of fidgets on the market, including pop-its, keychains, rings, cubes, spinners, stretch string, putty, and more.
"I do have a lot of stress so the pop-its and the stress balls help me out a lot," she said. "They get addicting very easily."
With her mother Sandra's help, she launched her own business selling the fidget toys from her home, this past spring. Sandra was able to source a wholesaler who supplies the products for her daughter to sell online to friends, family, and the community.
"Not many stores in Bradford sell fidgets so I thought, there are probably a lot of other people who want them," she said on her reason for starting her business.
Romeiro-Adam has kept her focus on the pop-it fidgets, including mini-pop-its, glow-in-the-dark pop-its, hardshell pop-its, and rainbow pop-its. Her ghost and pumpkin pop-its are her best sellers right now for Halloween. She thinks the bright colours of the silicone are what makes the toys so popular with young children.
She sells mostly online through Facebook and Instagram and offers pickup and delivery within the town.
Since starting her business, Romeiro-Adam says it's been busy.
"Since I am still in elementary school it can be hard to keep track of it all," she said about her orders.
Every day after school, she comes home and checks her orders online, then assembles them.
"Then when my mom gets home from work, she will go and help me drop them off," she said.
When Romeiro-Adam is not in school or working on her side business, she loves to dance.
She was recently featured as part of the Youth Entrepreneur Program founded by local business owner Mark Snaper of Eye Candy Ads. As part of the program, her business was featured on Snaper's digital billboard on Bridge Street, and she received free business coaching and advice from Snaper.
"It made me feel cool in a way," she said about seeing her face up on the billboard.
She says her friends at school have been very supportive of her new venture, and she is excited to keep growing her sales. She hopes to be able to expand her marketing to include a Tik Tok channel in the near future.
To learn more, about Fidget Box, follow the business on Instagram @fidget.box.bradford
