A Cargo Van, a Dream, and a Whole Lotta Park Candy! 🚐❤️

A little update about where we've been, where we are, and what's ahead for Park Candy.

Aloha, ahoy, kungaloosh and welcome back, friends.

I've been trying to find the right words to write this update for a while now. There's been so much happening behind the scenes, and I know many of you have been wondering what's going on with Park Candy, your orders, and when you'll finally get your hands on some of the goodies you've been waiting for.

All of our Park Candy merchandise is finally back home in Orlando!

On October 26th, I woke up at an ungodly hour, climbed into a cargo van, and made a 4-hour drive south to a warehouse with one very important mission: bring our merchandise home.

After months of unexpected challenges, years of setbacks, paperwork, legal things, countless conversations, crippling anxiety and stress, more sleepless nights than I'd care to admit... I was finally able to load everything into that van and bring it back where it belongs.

I wish I could properly describe how that moment felt as a small business owner.

Seeing all those boxes, filled with the products we spent years dreaming up, designing, and bringing to life, and knowing they were the very same products so many of you have been waiting for, was a moment I'll never forget. And it felt like 84 years in the making.

And there they were, finally loaded into that cargo van and on their way home.

And most importantly, it represented the opportunity to absolutely KEEP MOVING FORWARD. 

First, I Want to Say Thank You.

Before I talk about what's happening next, I want to take a moment to acknowledge something that's incredibly important to me.

To everyone who has been waiting on an order, I'm genuinely so incredibly sorry.

I know the delays have been frustrating. Some of you have been waiting far longer than you ever should have, and I totally understand how disappointing that is, especially when you've spent your hard-earned money supporting a business, let alone taking a chance on a small business. It's been embarrassing to say the least. 

I also know that a simple apology doesn't make up for that time. A very, very very LONG time.

Over the past several months, and honestly, years overall, there have been challenges behind the scenes that made it difficult to move things forward the way we wanted to.

While I'm not going to get into every detail, and believe me, there's no tea to spill, gossip to share, or drama to unload, I do want you to know that getting our merchandise back and getting your orders fulfilled has been an enormous priority for me.

And through all of this, so many of you have shown an incredible amount of patience, kindness, and understanding.

You've sent messages of encouragement. You've checked in to see how things were going. Some of you have shared stories about how much you love your Park Candy pieces, and others have simply reminded me that you were still here, rooting for this little brand.

Those messages have meant more to me than I can put into words.

Because behind every order number is a real person who chose to support something we created and believed in us. That's something I've never ever taken lightly, and I never want to lose sight of it.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

The Boxes Are Home. Now Comes the Next Chapter!

Since bringing everything back to Orlando, I've been spending my days surrounded by boxes, organizing inventory, checking merchandise, and preparing orders to finally make their way to your doorsteps.

And I'm happy to say that orders are actually shipping! We mean it this time.

Right now, I'm personally working through everything in batches, carefully checking products and packing orders as I go.

It's a pretty big undertaking for one person, especially while managing everything else that goes into Park Candy, but seeing those packages head out the door again has been such an encouraging feeling. And I'm sure seeing those shipping notifications in your inbox has given some of you a double take of disbelief.

If you've been waiting on an order, please continue keeping an eye on your email for shipping notifications and tracking information as your order is fulfilled. I know there's still a backlog to work through, and I don't want to make promises about exact delivery dates that I may not be able to keep. What I can tell you is that the merchandise is here, the work is happening, and I'm committed to making things right.

One order, one box, and one day at a time.

A Little Business With a Whole Lot of Heart

When Park Candy began in 2017, it was built around a pretty simple idea: create fun, colorful, imaginative things that make people smile. 

Over the years, that little idea grew into something I never could have imagined.

Our very first customer was Hannah Ruby, she placed an order on June 12th, 2017 and that was the start. Since then, we've had the opportunity to meet sooo many incredible people, work with global brands and see our apparel worn in some pretty magical places. Even collaborating with an actual Disney Legend, Bob Gurr, who helped with the creation and design of Disneyland right alongside Walt Disney. But most rewarding of all, we've been able to connect with all of you, from all over the world.

Some of you have been here since the very beginning. Others found us through what we've mastered, those "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!?" moments. Maybe it a favorite shirt, a themed purse, a bottle opener or face mask, or a design that reminded you of a special memory of your favorite theme park attraction. 

And that's always been one of my favorite parts of creating Park Candy.

It's never been just about selling merchandise. It's about sharing aloha, happiness, nostalgia, creativity, and the memories that come with it. And ultimately, for the fans of nerdy things, and allowing people to express their fandom in their own way. 

I won't pretend this past year has been easy. In fact, it's been by far one of the most challenging chapters I've experienced, both personally and professionally. Uncertainty, frustration, embarrassment and exhaustion, and plenty of times when the road ahead seemed pretty depressing and overwhelming.

But through it all, I've kept coming back to a quote from Walt Disney that has always sat with me:

“Around here, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Bringing our merchandise home was a MAJOR milestone, but I also recognize and realize that it's just one step. There's still plenty of work ahead to rebuild the kind of experience you deserve, and the trust you originally found with us.

I'm taking that responsibility seriously.

And while I can't promise that everything will be perfect overnight, I can promise that I'm here, I'm putting in the work, and I'm doing my best to move Park Candy forward with the same imagination, heart, and love that started it all. Still a tiny company, but mighty.

From the Bottom of My Heart, Thank You. ❤️

To everyone who sent a kind message, offered words of encouragement, patiently waited for an order, or continued believing in what we've created, I want you to know how beyond grateful I am.

I also want to acknowledge something that I haven't really talked about publicly, but it's been an obvious issue..

Communication has really sucked, and that's on me.

There were times when I simply shut down and couldn't bring myself to respond because honestly, I didn't have any answers to give. I'd open my inbox, see messages from customers understandably frustrated, pissed and angry, or disappointed, and felt completely overwhelmed.

Some days, that was enough to send me into a pretty dark depressive spiral that was incredibly difficult to climb out of. The guilt of knowing people were waiting, trusting me and not being able to deliver, combined with the frustration of not being able to give them the answers they deserved, became a vicious cycle. The longer I went without responding, the harder it became to face those messages.

And I know that silence only made things worse. 

I'm not sharing this to make excuses or ask for sympathy. I want to be honest about what was happening behind the scenes, even the parts that are difficult and downright shameful to admit. You had every right to reach out, ask questions, get upset and expect better communication from a business you trusted with your hard-earned money. My responses were pretty crappy, the situation was out of my hands and control, but what I could control.. I didn't do a good job at it.

I'm a small business owner, but I'm also a human being who sometimes struggles, gets overwhelmed and scared, makes stupid decisions and doesn't always get things right. 

Mistakes were made. And for that, I'm genuinely sorry.

Your patience, kindness, and support have helped me keep going through some really sad and difficult moments, even when I wasn't particularly good at showing it.

There are still plenty of boxes to unpack, orders to fulfill, messages to answer, and things to figure out along the way. But for the first time in a while, I feel like we're finally starting to turn a corner.

And that gives me a lot of hope for what's ahead.

Thank you for believing that Park Candy was worth taking a chance on.

It was.

And it still is. ❤️

Steve
Co-Founder & Owner of Park Candy

Boomshakalaka!