Hey everyone!! My name is Tally, I guess I'm well overdue for an introduction.
I started this business under the name SpaceFluffStickers in 2014. I was just 16 years old, drawing on my computer with a mouse. Eventually, about a year later, I graduated up to using a Wacom drawing tablet to draw my art. During this time, I really got creative. I thought to myself that I wanted to make stickers, but I didn't know how. So in 2014, I was taken to Michael's craft store and I bought sticker paper, which I started hand drawing and hand cutting them out. After a couple months of this, I thought to try to print on the sticker paper.... And it worked! I was having issues with my printer at home, so I decided to draw just the lines on the paper, and hand color in the sticker designs after printing them out... Kind of like coloring books, but I made them. Then I eventually learned to print them in color and transitioned into doing full color digitally printed stickers. After cutting by hand for about 3 months, I got my first die cutting machine - a Silhouette Cameo 2. It was finicky, but I made do. I taught myself to use everything from the beginning. Art has been something I've done my entire life, honestly. I never took many art classes, I'm entirely self taught. I take pride in being able to run an entire business by myself, and from the ground up on my own. I love what I do, truly. Anyway, back to the backstory.
I started asking friends if they wanted me to make them stickers, and I made designs to try and sell to friends and family, with little success actually. I made flyers around the neighborhood, hoping I could get somewhere. I put a QR code on the flyers leading to my old Redbubble shop, where I could put my art onto everything from notebooks to bedsheets. Redbubble was so expensive however, but I remember my first sale. Someone spent $60 on a hoodie and I made $7. But I was shocked to be 16 and to have sold my first piece of merchandise. I liked sales, I learned. I set up shop at the local farmers market and started drawing caricatures for people, with the help of my mom. It was really, really fun, though I was inexperienced, people still let me draw them because they saw I was young and practicing. I loved every second of it. I designed all of my signs digitally, too. I started my business under the name SpaceFluffStickers at this point.
For years I just kept drawing, I kept designing things and making stickers as a hobby. Every once and a while people would order from me just by word of mouth, but I mostly just did all of this for myself to see that I could, and to learn.
In 2020, the beginning of Covid-19's pandemic, I got back into experimenting with finding a way to make more durable stickers. I never stopped drawing, so my art was good enough at this point with years of experience. An ex boyfriend of mine actually suggested the idea of laminating my stickers, and I found different kinds until I stumbled upon a method that worked. I was into cars at this point, I had been since I was 17. I was 21/22 at this time. I drew my car and made it into a sticker, and posted it on my instagram asking my friends if they wanted one. I did get some dm's immediately, I was surprised. I saw the attention and I wanted to see what I could do. I had been following multiple car pages, so I drew my favorite car build on instagram, @tfad_terrence. Honestly, I loved his car, it inspired me to get my first Scion FR-S. I'm now on my second car of that platform.
He noticed my artwork and reposted it, and ever since, I have never been short of cars to draw. I started taking orders through DM's. I'd organize everything through a notepad. July 2020, I'd made $500 in sales and gained 1,000 Instagram followers. I realized I needed to open up a website to take orders. I'd already run SpaceFluffStickers through Shopify for a while, so I just changed everything over. I came up with the name Cartooned Car Club. And ever since, I've been drawing cars and trucks full time and making them into stickers.
2021 I found a manufacturer to make air fresheners for me, and continued with success with them!
I'd posted on my personal Tiktok page one day, maybe a couple videos one day that I didn't think anything of. I made a couple ads of my stickers, thinking it'd get ignored, but it didn't. The first tiktok that blew up is now at 70,000 views. I was shocked... I woke up to 90 orders overnight - my site was flooded.
I still cannot believe the traction this business has gained in this time. I am so proud to be able to say I've ran this business since 2014. I am so proud of what I do. It has been incredible to be 23 years old and to attend car meets and be recognized from the internet.
So.... That's kind of my story. I tried to condense it as much as possible, it's a bit scattered. But yeah. It's so nice to meet you, my name is Tally. I can't wait to see what this business becomes, and where it takes me. I can't wait to see my art improve, and to see pictures continue to come to life. Thank you for giving me this career, I love it so much. Uhh.... Yeah! That's all! :) Happy shopping!!!!
Below is a photo of the first sticker sheet I ever made digitally. Dated 2016, and my first homemade business cards, dated June 20th 2016.
