Fall Fest was an homage to the talent of many small businesses–one of them being “The Sugar Chicken,” founded by one of MV’s own, Kylee Halbin, ‘25, and her family.
“The Sugar Chicken” is run by Kylee Halbin, her mother, Chelsea Bailey, and her sister, Cayce Halbin. They primarily sell polymer clay earrings, but store other merchandise such as bags and shirts.
“My daughters Kylee, Cayce and I are all pretty creative and crafty. When Kylee started trying her hand at clay jewelry, Cayce and I jumped in to try too. They persuaded me to start the Sugar Chicken to test the waters as a business, and it has been so fun having something that we can do together,” says Chelsea Bailey.
75% of people rely on small businesses to find unique items they have a hard time finding elsewhere.
Chloe Adams, ‘25, says she would gladly purchase again, considering, “their earrings are high quality, homemade, and creative.”
61% of small businesses report that more than half of their revenue comes from “repeat customers” rather than new ones.
“My favorite part of running a small business,” says Cayce, “is getting our products into the hands of people with similar interests to us, and seeing how excited they are to see the things we’ve worked so hard to create. The enjoyment people get from wearing our earrings is such a fun way to connect to the beautiful people in and outside of our community.”
“The Sugar Chicken,” along with their presence at craft fairs, have a website that’s been up and running for a year.
“People come to the fairs with a mindset to buy things, whereas online they don’t feel the need. When you go somewhere, you’ve traveled already, so you don’t want to go home with nothing. When you’re scrolling online, there’s no obligation to buy something,” Kylee states, on the subject of success at craft fairs versus selling online.
This small business has many designs, both for everyday wear and seasonal occasions.
“Their products are adorable. They’re good quality and they’re cute. They have different ones so I can wear them through different seasons,” says Kaylee Down, ‘25.
Fast fashion is quickly growing popular in the U.S., with 88% of consumers preferring fast fashion retailers as opposed to sustainably-sourced ones.
At “The Sugar Chicken,” Chloe Adams states, “If you bought three pairs, you got one free.”
The booth in question was “…original and very creative, and I like how they brought together the ‘clean aesthetic.’ Plus, everything was easy to access,” adds Down, ‘25.