Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Dowler.
Hi Brooke, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In 2018, I was introduced to the wonderful world of tabletop role-playing games with a game most people have at least heard of – Dungeons & Dragons. I showed up to a local game store after being informed of their weekly D&D games held every Sunday, and completely fell in love with the game instantly. It was such an exciting thing to be able to learn about and participate in, as I had already developed a strong love towards fantasy worlds through my experiences at local Renaissance festivals and online gaming. Within weeks, I developed a substantial collection of dice sets. There was something so appealing about these little sets of dice that I just absolutely fell in love with, and within the year, I had collected over 100 sets of my own.
In late 2019, I discovered a world of art that was barely in its infancy – handmade resin dice. Since I was so drawn to these sets, even in their factory-produced form, I felt absolutely ecstatic at the idea of creating my own. I thankfully grew up in the world of arts and crafts, and with my prior experience with resin, this was a hobby I knew I wanted to dive into for myself.
By September of 2019, I acquired everything I needed to create my first set of dice. This included resin, silicone for making my own molds, various dyes and glitters, a pressure pot, and proper PPE such as gloves and a respirator. I dove headfirst into creating my first die, which was a simple d20 made with green resin and blue glitter. This first die definitely came out with flaws, but I was extremely proud of how it turned out, considering it was my first attempt at the craft. Within days, I was creating my first full set of molds and producing full sets that some wonderful friends and family commissioned me to make for them to support my newly found craft.
Soon after beginning, I was ready to commit to the idea of owning my own business. My cat, Sparta, is my biggest inspiration, as she has been with me most of my life and provides so much joy and happiness. I affectionately nicknamed her Sugar Bee, thus the name of our business – Sugar Bee RPG.
I was extremely fortunate to have been one of the first full-time handmade dice makers to exist in this world. By 2020, I was on track to graduate with my bachelor’s degree and received my diploma in June of that year. However, due to the unforeseen circumstances of the world in 2020, I decided to put a hold on finding a career pertaining to my degree and instead made the decision to push my focus into growing my already-succeeding online business. Because of this decision, I was able to pursue my craft full-time and build my online presence – a chance I may not have taken were it not for the declining availability of jobs within my degree of Integrative Studies with a focus in mental health.
Since then, I have gained a fairly significant online following, sold over 200 sets and single dice, and added many more products to my armory of creations, including jewelry, candles, and other RPG-themed accessories for every tabletop gamer to enjoy. My business is, of course, geared towards tabletop gaming gear, but I implement my college education as much as I can by promoting mental health awareness and helping my supporters feel loved and understood.
My products have shifted many times over these last few years, but as of today, I feel extremely happy with how it has turned out. I now not only make dice but many other things that are created for the purpose of self-love and love of all things fantasy. As of this month, I have released a self-care product line and have had a lot of success in offering custom candles created from my customer’s descriptions that they provide in their orders. I am very excited to say that I think this year will be very promising for Sugar Bee RPG, as we have a lot of exciting opportunities coming up, including selling at some of the largest local markets and conventions in the area.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning a business has, and may always be, one of the most challenging things in my life, especially considering the aspect of my products being more luxury than necessity for most.
2020 was one of the best years for my online sales due to stimulus funding and unemployment income that a lot of my customers were receiving. This was a difficult road to travel, as that flow of income steadily declined for a lot of people as the pandemic continued on. Some months were incredibly disheartening, with little to no sales, while other months kept up just enough to scrape by on the business expense side of things.
My biggest challenge by far has been the multiple experiences of burnout I’ve gone through. While dicemaking is incredibly fun, it can also be extremely exhausting. A single set of dice can take hours to complete from start to finish. Resin is a very fickle medium, especially in the state of Texas, where the weather is unpredictable. Sometimes resin will decide it doesn’t want to cure properly, rendering a full day’s work completely unsellable due to many factors, like humidity or freezing temperatures.
I’ve learned a lot of lessons through my creations. Of course, many of these lessons were involving the creative process, but even more so, lessons in how to properly take care of myself and managing my time. It’s very easy for me to dedicate hours on end to a single project without any consideration of the concept of burning out. One of the hardest lessons to learn as a creator is that, even if you are excited and have the energy in a given moment, your body and mind still needs rest.
I experienced countless bouts of burnout in my first years, with some periods of burnout lasting over 6 months. Unfortunately, I was unaware of how severely this was affecting my mental and physical health, and continued this pattern for many months before health issues started popping up. However, with time and care, I was able to reign in my health issues and seek mental health services that would eventually lead to an ADHD diagnosis.
I’ve been through many hardships over these last years, but I do my best to learn better ways to take care of myself so I can continue creating and helping others along the way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize primarily in handmade dice made from resin, as well as hand-poured soy wax candles and other RPG-themed accessories. If I had to pinpoint one thing I’m known for, it would honestly probably be my cat, Sparta. Sparta became the face of my business since the day it began, especially since she is THE Sugar Bee in Sugar Bee RPG! Sparta is an absolute angel (I know I’m biased, but seriously, she’s absolutely perfect), and my following has developed such a love for her through my posts and videos of her little life. I think my favorite part of this fact is the fun tradition we have on my Instagram of Sparta’s near-daily bringing of “gifts.” My page has a highlight reel titled “the provider,” which is packed full of videos showcasing Sparta’s affectionate routine of finding her favorite toy, picking it up, and running it to me while meowing/singing at max volume. She’s an absolute delight, and I’m so happy I can share her sweetness with my followers!
Product-wise, I am heavily known for my most popular-to-date dice design, Sugar Bee’s Honey Paradice. This design features a custom blend of dyes to achieve a “honey”-colored resin, poured with white plumes and copper flakes, with meticulously placed golden bees and honeycomb charms. Topped with a golden ink, this design was almost insantly my most sought-after creation.
I, unfortunately, do not produce as many as I would like to, as this set takes nearly 3x longer to create than most of my standard designs. It is a design I’m planning on keeping around, though, so it will continue to come back in the future.
I think I’m most proud of my recent release – custom character candles. These candles were released in late November of 2022, and I have since sold over 50 custom orders. This idea was unique to me because instead of a standard commission of “choose from option x, y, z,” it is more of a collaboration between customer and artist. My custom character candles listing prompts the purchaser to fill out a form prior to submitting their order, where they will answer a series of questions about their character. I will then take this information (backstory, appearance, candle color or scent requests, title requests, and other details like restrictions) and personally design a one-of-a-kind candle for the customer. The customer then receives a fully customized candle, complete with a reference card that states vital details of their scent, as well as a reference number to use should they ever want to order a duplicate.
I’ve read dozens of backstories of so many wide arrays of characters, and getting to read these is like getting to meet someone’s favorite person. These characters mean so much to these people, and I’m just so unbelievably honored to be trusted with creating a product for someone that can hold such a personal significance to them.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I think a lot of my past responses cover the majority of this question, but to put it simply: Covid-19 taught me more about myself in these last 3 years than I ever could have imagined. It’s taught me patience, understanding, how to process hardship, and what it means to consider the needs of others around me. These are just a few things out of dozens that I could list. Most importantly of all, I feel I’ve really grown as a person and found an understanding of myself that I can love through the ample opportunity of self-reflection during isolation.
Pricing:
- My handmade dice sets range from $140-$250, depending on size and design complexity.
- I do not currently offer commissions for handmade sets.
- Customized candles are $30 and $25 on reorder.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sugarbeerpg.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sugarbee.rpg
