Finally, after months of work and renovations, the new Bunce and Bean store, at 110 E. Dewey, has opened for business after a soft opening on Saturday.
The new store is one of the most unique in Sapulpa—their most prized products are these collectible custom lapel pins, all designed by owner Brenna Pelletier.
“I’m an illustrator by trade and used to work in the fashion industry, so everything I did was based off hand-drawn illustrations,” she said during an interview with Sapulpa Times on Saturday morning.
She says her pins and other products are all based on literary characters like Harry Potter, Alice and Wonderland, and the like. “Whimsical, fairytale things,” she says.
Pelletier, who’s from California, says she began collecting pins at Disneyland. “That got to be an expensive hobby,” she said, chuckling. “So I got to thinking maybe I could design pins [and sell them] and that would pay for my other pins. It did, but it opened up an avalanche of ideas and now I can’t stop thinking about pins, and it’s been six years,” she said.
So she began creating and selling her pins online, but her mom wanted to snap off the post and put a magnet on them. Pelletier was appalled. “I thought, ‘you can’t do that to collectible pins!’” she said. But that challenge led to the creation that has set her apart from virtually everyone else—Corkies.
Corkies are patent-protected cork magnets that allow you to “transform any magnetic surface into a pinboard.” Each custom-designed pin is individually packaged and features sequins—“for that Instagram-able shot,” she says—and a playing card, also custom-designed by Pelletier. She says it adds another unique selling point to the pins. “I love watching people riffle through bags because they’re looking for a certain card, trying to make a set.”
In addition to the lapel pins, Bunce and Bean sells other products featuring Pelletier’s custom designs, such as tote bags, greeting cards, and t-shirts, with more on the way.
The front counter features another amazing asset: an authentic golden vintage cash register, complete with large buttons and a hand crank to finish the sale, with a satisfying “ka-ching!”
Pelletier says her goal is to be open when customers are available to shop, so she’s going to start by opening from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. “That way parents can bring their kids by after they get out of school, and when they get off from work,” she says. “But, if I’m at the front and the door is unlocked, feel free to come in, anytime!”
