Jessica Fain is a lifelong Disney fan who is “all about sparkle and glitz,” as she told Insider.
So before a Disney World trip in 2021, it only made sense for the 36-year-old Georgia native to cover a popcorn bucket she bought with sparkling rhinestones. She then wore the collectible as a purse for brunch at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa before heading to Magic Kingdom.
“I thought it would be a one-off project — just something I did for myself and my outfit for the 50th anniversary,” she said. “Before I could even get to the monorail that morning, I’d had about twenty people stop me and ask, ‘Where did you get this?’ and, ‘How can I get one?'”
That number later rose to 10 orders placed and about 150 requests, Fain said. And since then, she’s turned her Disney-inspired art project into a full-fledged business, earning thousands of dollars and social media fans.
It takes Fain between 4 and 5 hours to decorate each popcorn bucket by hand
She uses a permanent adhesive glue to attach more than 4,000 “high-quality glass” rhinestones to each bucket, she says, and sells them on her website for $300 each. She also offers custom sunglasses, ear bands, and other accessories.
“I probably sold about 60 buckets, and if you add the sunglasses and everything else, I’ve made almost $40,000 in total,” she told Insider.
“I’ve been a hairstylist and makeup artist for 15 years and until a month ago I was still doing both,” Fain continued. “But I’ve now moved away from that and am 100% focused on the influencer thing and this rhinestone business. It completely changed my life.”
Her latest venture has also helped fund more Disney World vacations. She said she now spends at least a week a month at the theme park with her husband and friends.
A recent surge in popcorn bucket popularity is impacting her business
In January 2022, Disney World park visitors made headlines as they queued for hours to purchase limited-edition Figment-shaped popcorn buckets at Epcot. Fain was one of them, when she flew to Florida that day to buy one (which she later blinded).
Disney fans have also gone viral on TikTok after showing off their popcorn bucket collections.
As Fain noted, the sheer popularity has made the buckets “harder to come by.” Still, she finds ways to get around the fad.
For example, when Disneyland releases its upcoming bucket on April 22, she said she’ll have three or four friends at the California theme park trying to buy her one.
Fain says her fancy popcorn buckets are about so much more than making money
The creator acknowledges that much of her social media presence is used to promote her business. Still, Fain said her main goal is to spread kindness and connect with others.
She shared that she gave a popcorn bucket to a child who was being bullied, and recently hosted a livestream to gift one of her followers with another creation.
“If we want to raise a generation of children who are growing up to be kinder than our generation, we need to lead by example,” she said. “When you’re at Disney, you feel like anything is possible.”
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