Meet Marla Figueroa | Tumbler Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marla Figueroa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marla, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
I think for me, it’s how much time, effort, hard work go into each tumbler. The end result is absolutely beautiful, but the process to get to the end is 8/10 a bumpy one. Each tumbler can easily take 5-7 days. The design behind it, prepping the cup, glittering 2-3 times, epoxying the cup to get it smooth, and let’s not talk about the sanding to make it perfectly smooth, then coming the decals, epoxying one more time & cleaning it then packing it up to ship it off! It’s long but so worth it in the end.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before I even started I would always decorate my house, I would look up things on Pinterest and be like, “Oh I’m gonna come up with my own way to make it.” My boyfriend would always hear be and respond, “yeah babe that’s fine, let’s do it” So once the pandemic hit, that is when I really started doing a lot of “diy”, I bought a cutting machine and started making cute things for my house, then I saw my Yeti tumbler & said “you know what, what the hell can I do with it to Make it cute??” Looked up ideas online, and literally that night I did a bunch of research and later on I bought things to make my first tumbler And the rest of history.

I’ve been doing this for about a year & a half and truth is I’m still learning and growing. I am constantly learning from the tumbler community and my tumbler friends.

One thing I’m really proud of is the fact that I did it all on my own, I did my own research, I didn’t have a mentor holding my hand, yes I had a bunch of YouTube, but I didn’t know anyone when I first started. It isn’t until now that I’m a part of this beautiful community who I can rely on when I have problems or vent to because they may be going through similar things as me.

I will say, I am not the type of person who doesn’t want someone to succeed or am mad that someone is “doing better than me”. I want everyone to grow. I want us all to eat at the same table, no matter how many followers you have on social media, how long you’ve been making tumblers, who you know etc. EVERYONE is welcome in my inbox, I have tumbler makers who have been making tumblers for years asking me for advice and or questions and I love it. My biggest passion is knowing I made an impact on someone life, whether it be when they open their package or when I’m helping someone answer a question or helping how to fix something, it makes so so happy knowing I helped someone.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My boyfriend along with my family were my number one support system! I came to them with an idea and everyone was on board 1000%. They’re always helping me, whether it be picking out glitter colors, packing orders, helping me with design ideas etc. They’re the best team behind me.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LAVVcreations

Instagram: @LAVVCreations