Student entrepreneurs’ slime-slinging session is a hit with youngsters
Taking advantage of the latest — and decidedly squishiest — craze to overtake school campuses across the nation, two enterprising La Cañada preteens have entered the slime biz.
La Cañada High School seventh-graders Audrey Banks and Hanan Phillips, both 12, became fascinated by homemade slime, the creation of which has seeped into the social media stratosphere in recent months. So about a month or so ago, the friends created an Instagram account, slime_pals101, to show off their own ooey, gooey concoctions for online followers.
From commonplace items such as school glue, face lotion and foaming hand soap, Phillips and Hannan have made fluffy slime, jiggly slime, cream cheese slime and “floam” they sell to other students outside of class.
Join the conversation on Facebook »
“There are slime accounts with 600,000 followers on Instagram,” Banks said. “I think people get their inspiration from those big accounts.”
In two classes Monday and Wednesday, the duo shared some recipes with fellow slime lovers at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge. Nearly 20 elementary school students attended the Monday session, including La Cañada Elementary School fifth-grader Joey McCord.
“When we go into our classrooms in the morning, someone will be selling slime outside for $4,” said McCord said. “(But) I like the satisfaction of making it instead of buying it.”
LCE second-grader Tristan Larsen stated his preference for jiggly slime, which he turned into a pinkish-gray mass by mixing many colors, while Paradise Canyon fifth-grader Mac Reese opted for fluffy.
When class ended, participants took home two containers and a certificate of completion. Cleaning up with the help of their moms, Phillips and Banks shared how they broke into the biz.
“A lot of people were selling slime, but the slime was pretty pricey,” Phillips said, sharing that the pair has sold about 50 units so far. “Our profit is twice as much as we spend.”
Despite the extra pocket money, neither girl is looking to hit it big with the homegrown enterprise.
“I know there are people who make slime for their job,” Banks said. “We’re not going to make this a huge priority in our lives — it’s just fun to make slime.”
Twitter: @SaraCardine
