Ship Snow Yo Creators Take On New Season

NORTH SHORE, MA – It started as a joke: Kyle and Jess Waring were shoveling out their North Shore home during the unrelenting 2015 winter when they decided it would be fun to ship snow to their friends in California.

From there, the concept of shipping "historic Boston snow" through ShipSnowYo.com took off. Now the couple is branching out into a new seasonal product.

"Once I kind of realized that folks were really interested in the snow, I started to look out to other seasons that were unique to New England," said Kyle Waring, who grew up in Hamilton.

The Warings branched out into shipping autumn leaves through ShipFoliage.com, using glycerin to preserve the leaves. This season, they started using resin to preserve leaves longer, and added ornaments, posters, and jewelry to their inventory.

In 2015, shipping websites hit a viral peak, said Kyle. Stories about websites that let you mail friends (or enemies) a potato or a package full of glitter circulated rapidly around the web.

ShipSnowYo.com was featured in every major media outlet, and the Warings shipped about 800 lbs worth of snow last Christmas. People sent it to their friends in warmer climates as a joke, and offices bought it to hold snowball fights.

The Warings' idea took off during a harsh winter when many in Boston relished the idea of getting rid of some of the snow that piled up in blizzard after blizzard. This year, Kyle says they're managing their production capacity more like a normal business.

The leaves for ShipFoliage.com are collected in Massachusetts, mostly from the North Shore at leaf peeping treasure troves in Beverly, Hamilton, Lynnfield, and Wakefield. The Warings also collect leaves from near where they now live in Somerville, since a lot of leaves in the city turned early this year.

Then the leaves are coated in resin, which preserves their color and shape for years. Some are turned into earrings, necklaces, and ornaments, and others are left as is. Kyle said a lot of people use the leaves for do-it-yourself projects like wreathes.

"We are continuing to innovate a pretty basic company idea," he said.

ShipFoliage.com also sells gift boxes with New England sourced maple syrup products, which families have been using to ship a piece of home to former New Englanders. Kyle said about 3/4 of the orders have been gifts.

The Warings are still shipping snow: Ship Snow Yo will reopen on Dec. 1 for orders. They're also looking to add a new product to represent spring in the form of a flower preservation company for flora native to New England.

Images via ShipFoliage.com