I’m not going to lie, 2022 kicked my a**. It was a year full of personal changes, and our second year in business was one in which - pardon my french - sh** got real. We started growing from a small brand started in my Uncle’s basement to a worldwide brand - and that has been exciting but terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. It was a year where I constantly felt like I was navigating uncharted territory, and where the weight of my life and my business seemingly got the best of me time and time again.
But as many entrepreneurs will tell you, that’s not at all uncommon, and despite the hardships, it’s worth it. I know bubuleh is worth it.
2023 is going to be a pivotal year for us, filled with more exciting adventures and unforeseen (and foreseen) challenges, but before we kick it off together I wanted to revisit some of our top moments from the year. 22 to be exact. These are in no way exhaustive, but they’re moments that stand out to me, and make me proud and excited for what’s to come.
1. Bubuleh Takes the BBYO International Convention (February)
We had the incredible privilege of speaking with high school students around the country, and leading them in design-thinking workshops to help them express themselves through fashion, while also talking about what it means to be a Jewish-inspired clothing brand.
2. We Launch Our Upcycle Blanket Statements Collection (March)
Our first made-to-order collection using upcycled quilts! To date, this is still one of our favorite collections. Although it hasn’t been our most popular collection, we love these pieces so much and plan to continue to expand these sorts of product lines.
3. Bubuleh Raises Money to Help Support Our Friend, Darina (April)
Everyone we work with we consider to be part part of the bubuleh mishpacha (family), so when the war in Russia broke out earlier this year, we raised over $1,300 to help support one of our freelance designers and her family as she sought refuge across the border.
4. We Bring On A Social Media Manager and Jump On TikTok (May)
Admittedly, I’m a bad Millennial and social media is just not my strong suit. So, we brought on a wonderful social media manager part-time to expand our social presence! We’re still not totally on board with the dancing TikToks, but we’re getting there!
@shopbubuleh ✅ A love interest who makes pickles ✅ Use of the word pusseleh ✅ Fashion, honeyyy Have officially crossed #CrossingDelancey off my list. So cute - have you seen it?? What “totally bubuleh” movie should we watch next? #bubuleh ♬ original sound - shopbubuleh
5. We Start Business Mentoring through StartOUT (June)
Running a business is not easy (especially alone), so through an organization called StartOUT, bubuleh founder Jordan Star (aka me) started bi-monthly mentorship meetings with seasoned Entrepreneur, Wayne Lin! Thanks, Wayne, for all of your help and support!
6. Bubuleh Is _______ (June)
Not necessarily a milestone, but we love this video we launched in June showing what the word bubuleh means to different folks in our community!
7. Transphobia Can Kiss My Tuchus With Lex Horwitz (July)
To celebrate Pride, we coordinated a photoshoot with trans model and educator Lex Horwitz to run a small campaign called Transphobia Can Kiss My Tuchus! We love the photos, and more importantly, Lex!
8. Can You Say, Anxie-Tees? (July)
Now a staple of our brand, we launched our handmade, fair-trade certified anxie-tees in three beautiful colors! In the coming months, we plan to expand the color offerings and create different variations of this high-end tee.
9. La Jolla Art Walk With YiddishLand (July)
We were beyond fortunate to be invited by YiddishLand - an amazing organization based in La Jolla, CA - to host a small popup outside their flagship store for the monthly La Jolla Artwalk! Just for the scenery alone it was worth it.
10. Bubuleh Takes Switzerland, Marking our 10th Country (August)
We’re here, we’re there, we’re everywhere!
11. Bubuleh Featured in Hey Alma and the Washington Post (September, October)
These features were huge for us, and we’re sure many of you reading this may have even found out about us through one of these articles!
12. Viral Sensation Tiny Habits Perform in Bubuleh (September)
We’re huge music fans, so seeing the incredible Tiny Habits perform in their bubuleh sets was surreal.
@tinyhabitsofficial so into you by @Tamia Hill 🤭 in our matching sweat sets from Bubuleh! #fyp #harmony #90s #rnb #trio #acoustics #crunch #dissonance ♬ original sound - tiny habits
13. Bubuleh Temporarily Relocates to Boston (October)
To reduce our expenses and move closer to family after a challenging year, we packed our bags in Los Angeles and moved our business and warehouse to Boston where I’m originally from. Still TBD on where we’ll be settling next!
14. Bubuleh Collaborates With Legendary Choreographer Brian Friedman (October)
We coordinated our first paid partnership with legendary (and we do mean legendary) choreographer Brian Friedman! Brian can be seen on his Instagram and TikTok sporting bubuleh all around the world!
@brianfriedmanofficial Made with Love and Just a little Anxiety! @shopbubuleh Queer & JEWISH owned! Use the code BRIAN15 for 15% off and remember Ant Semitism is NEVER ok! DC: @Kaitlyn Hardy & @MayceeSteele #Bubuleh #cuffitchallenge #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #dance #viral #challenge ♬ CUFF IT - Beyoncé
In the same month, bubuleh was also seen on huge influencers across the country, like Bryce Hall.
15. Bubuleh Takes Another Step Towards Size Inclusivity (November)
To be as exclusive as possible, we expanded the sizing of our bestselling hoodies and crewnecks to 3XL and 4XL!
16. We Finally Launch Our First Baby Collection (November)
After hundreds of requests, we launched our first limited run baby collection, created in Portugal using incredibly soft fabric and adorable designs. We pretty much sold out in the first month which we were happy about (to say the least). Restocks coming soon!
17. Bubuleh Hits 2,000 Packages Shipped! (November)
And we do them all ourselves, so that’s a lot of packing!
18. Bubuleh Partners with Chosen Comedy Festival in Miami (December)
We’re still smiling from how good of a time this was, and how many amazing people we got to meet. We were very grateful to be invited to the VIP dinner and pre-party, where we gifted gift bags to all of the performers.
19. Bubuleh Trademarks Bubuleh (December)
After a long wait, our US trademark application for the word “bubuleh” finally goes through, and at the time of writing this, our bubuleh trademark in Israel is in the final approval stages!
20. Madison Square Garden Invites Us For a Holiday Pop-Up (December)
Madison Square Garden...I mean come on! Such a great time, and we were happy to be one of the LGBTQ–owned brands MSG brought in as part of their initiative to feature underrepresented business owners this year.
21. Sarah Silverman Spotted in Bubuleh Hoodie (December)
One of our icons and heroes, Sarah Silverman, is seen wearing a bubuleh hoodie on her new podcast! Crazy stuff.
In the same month, our products are also spotted on folks like the amazing Talia Suskauer, who plays Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway. #Elphabubuleh
22. Bubuleh Raises Money for the ADL (December)
As part of our Share the #bubulove campaign, bubuleh supporter Donna Star pledges to match 18% of all year-end sales to support the ADL! The final count is still TBD, so stay tuned!
Thank you all so much for an amazing second year, and we can' wait to show you what we have in store for the year to come!
