The Beginning
Bello Boopie Inc. was established in 1967 as Things Very Special. Under the Things Very Special brand, we were a home based, appointment only business that specialized in personalized stationery and social invitations.
Around 1980, Things Very Special was purchased by the second owner and shortly transitioned from a home based business to a brick and mortar retail shop. The store opened off St. Augustine Road in the Lakewood (Corner of St. Augustine and University Boulevard) area of Jacksonville, Florida.
After a few more transitions, Things Very Special gradually expanded the selection of items from fine stationery to fine gifts.
In 2016, Things Very Special changed ownership and maintained its leader as Jacksonville's oldest stationer.
Things Very Special has been honored in the Jacksonville Magazine as Best Gift Shop and Best Gift Wrapping
The Transition
In 2018, Things Very Special hosted their first Arts and Crafts Market at the brick and mortar location. We originally invited 24 vendors, ultimately expanding to over 44 vendors.
This was a pivotal moment in our expansion. Upon managing the market, we noticed that the artist truly enjoyed themselves, and the First Coast Community came out to support local businesses.
In 2019, Things Very Special took the leap of faith and hopped on over to the other side of the table and became a vendor at local arts markets.
We were accepted as a vendor for the Avondale Arts and Farmers Market (now defunct) and shortly after became regulars at UNF Market Days.
Our original setup consisted of blank stationery and assorted stationery gifts.
The Future
2019 marked major changes to the Bello Boopie brand.
Upon our acceptance into Riverside Arts Market in Jacksonville, Florida we saw a revival in the love for letter writing. We quite quickly transitioned from being a formal stationery to becoming a funny greeting card company.
By the end of 2019, with our acceptance into Orange Park Farmers and Arts Market, another juried market on the First Coast, we discontinued our personal stationery and formal invitation lines allowing us to close our brick and mortar business to go event based.
We rebranded from Things Very Special to Bello Boopie Inc.
Bello means "Hello" in Minions.
Boopie is dedicated to our biggest fan, my husband, who we call "Boopie" (or Uncle Boopie)