Local company Boxy Girl makeup organizer expanding

Swanky clear boxes that hold jewelry and makeup are showing up on vanities across the Valley and the country.

Those boxes and the company that sells them are the brainchild of a Fresno woman. Now Boxy Girl founder Hannah Serimian is launching the next step of her business – taking the box to more retailers across the West and adding more products.

For now, the boxes are sold online at www.boxygirl.com and at two other locations: Body Del Sol medical spa at 1648 E. Herndon Ave. and by Dr. Kay Riolo at Riolo Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at 7050 N. Recreation Ave., both in Fresno.

The idea for Boxy Girl was born when Serimian, a mom of three kids – now 8, 10 and 19 – started thinking about going back to work after raising her children.

About four years and 20 prototypes later, Serimian created the sturdy Lucite boxes. Four stackable boxes with dividers make up one Boxy Girl, which is sold with or without a lid on top.

The product is pricy: It’s normally priced at $199, though recently has sold for $119. It will sell for $69 during a flash sale over the Fourth of July weekend through Tuesday, July 5.

The price stems from using the highest-grade Lucite, the same material used in watch faces and diving equipment. There is no glue involved and the entire piece weighs 13 pounds. The machine that makes them must run 24/7 for 22 days to produce 1,000 boxes.

“It’s like a piece of furniture. It’s not disposable,” she says. “It’s very important to me to create something of high quality ... and that I would use.”

Customers can follow Boxy Girl’s strong social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat.

Soon customers will be able to buy Boxy Girl at more locations. The company is in discussions with more stores, high-end jewelry shops, and salons in Fresno and the Central Valley. The company will start seeking out stores in the California-Arizona region in late summer or early fall. Serimian hopes to eventually take the product nationwide.

About a half dozen new products that fit in or with the stackable boxes are in the prototype stage, made from the same clear Lucite. They include bracelet and ring holders, cylinders that hold makeup brushes, and trays that hold lipsticks upright so women can see the color at a glance.

Those pieces, which will be made in the U.S., unlike the original box made in China, will be revealed in about six weeks for pre-orders and for sale in eight to 10 weeks.

In the meantime, the business continues to grow. Boxy Girl sales are up 710% in the last 30 days, she says.

Serimian moved her office into her home, transforming her daughter’s old bedroom and a library into an office that could double as a celebrity dressing room with its paintings and statues. Six employees – two are full time – work at the office.

As part of its marketing strategy, the company is collaborating with beauty bloggers and others. For example, writer and producer Allison McNamara, with websites Refinery 29 and POPSUGAR, hosted a giveaway of a Boxy Girl on her YouTube channel. People who entered the contest were asked to follow McNamara and Boxy Girl on Instagram.

That kind of partnering has gotten the word about Boxy Girl out and inspired many sales.

“Eighty percent of my sales come from social media,” Serimian says.

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Local company Boxy Girl makeup organizer expanding."