As a parent, my hatred of the slime trend is vast. Like, really, really, vast. The sticky, icky goo that hardens and stains ALL THE THINGS. My littles know that it doesn't even come into my house. Imagine my reaction when my good friend told me about her new job at Slime Community; I was initially very apprehensive until she sent me the link to their TikTok and Instagram. H-O-L-Y L-I-C-K! It was NOTHING like I'd expected! How did I not know THIS was in Williston?!
Summer Ames came strolling into my office with a box of slime goodness and a sunny disposition, and I can't even begin to describe how excited I am! We chatted for a moment and then dove into my burning question: Why slime? Her response was Ruby, her now 17-year-old daughter. Summer and her husband Kyle (a Williston Native), along with her two daughters, Ruby and Isabelle, moved to Williston a few years ago, and coming from Hawaii, it was a bit of a shock!
In 2014, Ruby would make and sell her rainbow slime in a lemonade-style stand, and the multicolored goodness put the wheels in motion!
I spent a ridiculous amount of time on the Slime Community Tik Tok and website - I fell way down the rabbit hole. Summer has worked hard to grow her social media pages and it is paying off! With over 6 million likes, the videos showcasing the different slimes, themes, charms, sprinkles, clay figures, and patented Slime Baking Kit are a huge hit, and their weekly restocks sell out within minutes! You're asking what a Slime Baking Kit is? Honestly, it's the coolest slime anything I've ever seen. The individual "ingredients" are packaged to mimic butter, sugar, flour, and eggs (YES, EVEN THE EGGS ARE SLIME) to make a crust; the pie filling comes in its container, and the rolling pin and flour help to "roll" out your crust for the cute pie tin! When I asked how she came up with the Baking Kit, she said it started with wanting to film something Thanksgiving-themed, and a pumpkin pie is absolutely that. Once posted, it went crazy and racked up millions of views! Summer said that they are constantly refining their kits, from the product to the packaging, and they are always looking to improve!
Slime Community is a family business, with Summer making the website, managing the daily operations, and making a ton of the product. Ruby is learning all the ins and outs of packaging and shipping orders, currently makes the clay add-ons to the themed slimes, and is learning the ropes of customer service!
Now my last question: HOW?! There are so many different types of slime. I always assumed there were three types: the 1980s Slimer Slime, Nickelodeon Slime, and the horror of the DIY ziplock slime my children adore. The deep dive into the Slime Community's social media shows the Icee slime, Butter slime, Bingsu Bead, and Jelly Slime, to name just a few. Summer recommends the Butter Slime, "it has a good consistency, makes fun noises and is soothing to play with."Some of the ingredients used to make the different types of Slime are: PVA glue, vegetable glycerin, skin-safe fragrance oil, artificial snow, plastic snow, food dye, pigment powder, diluted Borax, contact solution, corn starch, air-dry clay, shaving cream, lotion, and foaming hand soap.
Slime can become sticky with heat or simply over time. This is an easily solved problem. Every order comes with an activator pen: a mixture of Borax, and warm water! Summer graciously brought my littles (and me) a Slime Baking Kit and a Slime Pizza Kit, and we will be going live on our Facebook page Thursday afternoon to show you how great these kits are! If you'd like to learn more about the Slime Community (and place an order), please check out their website: www.slimecommunity.com. They give all local customers 10% off with the code: WHS and offer the local pickup option to allow customers to pick up at their shop instead of paying for shipping!