PiBurner Spotlight: Tabitha Richardson

Stan Altshuller

Mar 6, 2023

news

Let's celebrate our latest PiBurner Spotlight

Tabitha Richardson

Owner at

Laser Llama

Today, we have the great honor of writing about someone who has given the greatest gift of all -- to not one but two families. The gift of Life.

About Tabitha

This PiBurner Spotlight features Tabitha Richardson, owner of Laser Llama. How did she come up with that catchy name? She wanted an animal in the name, llamas were all the rage, and -- come on -- Laser Llama just rolls off the tongue. We love it.

Tabitha lives in Rocklin, California, married to her high school sweetheart, with three wonderful kids. She was also a surrogate for two families -- giving them the precious gift of life.

The Laser Journey

After her first surrogacy journey, Tabitha wisely set a little money aside and bought a Glowforge -- taking the plunge just 4.5 years ago. Now she has a thriving business.

If you've read the PiBurner series before, you'll know what a common path this is. The Glowforge really is the "gateway" laser! And like so many successful PiBurners, Tabitha was not afraid to save and invest. Rewards only come after taking measured risks.

When COVID hit, she was pregnant with a second surrogate baby and helping her three kids with online school -- and that's when her business really boomed.

"I started hosting online painting classes using barn quilt files from Welcome Home Custom. I found that time was precious, and I bought an 80W OMTech to help handle the demand."

OMTech lasers are solid machines -- and did you know that LensDigital and OMTech are partners? OMTech even sells PiBurns on their website.

"Later, hats became the bread and butter for my shop so I added another laser so I could cut down my time on hat patches."

Why the PiBurn Rotary?

When Emily Caroline posted her review of the PiBurn, Tabitha knew she needed one to step up her game. While it was a big learning curve, she figured it out quickly with support from the PiBurn community!

Her Business Today

Today, Tabitha's shop focuses on wholesale to other businesses and fundraisers for schools and sports teams.

"We added the PiBurn a year ago and have been able to raise so much money for schools and teams in our community. Our customers love seeing their logos on tumblers!"

Businesses of every type love their logos on tumblers, and people love their names on water bottles and mugs. This is part of a massive personalization trend powering this business to new heights.

32 million US businesses need to connect with their customers.

125 million US families want tumblers with their names on them.

That is your market.

Favorite Projects

Some of Tabitha's favorite laser projects include hats for the FBI (whoa!) and water bottles for a local soccer league where they raised over $700 in funds for their club!

Advice for People Starting Out

"Don't be afraid, and don't give up! Also, check out YouTube for tips and tricks on using the PiBurn -- you'll find so much great information plus get great ideas for projects!"

We couldn't agree more. There is so much great content out there and so many people who want to see you succeed. You have to do your part -- but always remember, you are not alone.