Tayla Winiecki is bringing Mooey Gooey Slimes to a Geelong store front

A Geelong teenager is embracing a social media trend and opening a shopfront in the city for her growing slime business.

Tayla Winiecki, 17, is opening a slime store in Geelong for her business, Mooey Gooey Slimes, which she started in 2019 with her mum Kaye. Picture: Alan Barber

Tayla Winiecki is yet to graduate high school but that has not stopped her from becoming a business owner and opening her first shopfront in Geelong.

The 17-year-old is a Year 11 student at Sacred Heart College and has been making and selling slime since she was in Year 6.

What first started as a hobby and online store has quickly transformed into a sellout business called Mooey Gooey Slimes.

Tayla, who lives in Lara, said the name for the store came from her nickname, Miss Mooey.

“Lots of kids enjoy slime, I was one of them and my mum took a friend and I to a slime school and I fell in love with it,” she said.

“In 2019, my mum set up an (online) Etsy store for me and at one of my primary school fairs we had a market stall and we sold out which I thought was really cool, it just went from there.”

Tayla said she ran the business with her mum, Kaye, and they planned to open a shop front in Gheringhap St in time for the September school holidays.

“Just before Covid we launched our own website and that’s where most of our sales are driven,” she said.

“We thought Covid would bring the end of our business but it actually skyrocketed because people in lockdown were bored and wanted to do something.

“We started running out of space because we were just running it from our home.

“We found a space that was the perfect size and it has helped us save space and run the business properly.”

@mooeygooeyslimes POV: it's 2016 and you make slime without a bowl and spoon. Now that has transformed into an Australian Slime business, Mooey Gooey Slimes! #slime #slimetrend #slimeontable #slimevideo #slimemixing #fyp ♬ original sound - mooeygooeyslimes

There are currently 40 slimes listed on the Mooey Gooey Slimes website, including an option for customers to get creative and customise their own slime.

The offerings include a blue raspberry scented cloud slime, a buttered caramel popcorn scented floam slime and even an icy pineapple and lime jelly slime.

Tayla said there were lots of trends in the slime industry and Mooey Gooey Slimes offered a range of different slimes that come in multiple textures, scents and colours.

Tayla said slime was not just a children’s toy.

“A lot of people who buy from us are also teenagers or adults who are dealing with stress and anxiety, as well as older people who need help with hand movement which is good to see,” she said.

“I think a misconception is slime is just for kids, but its for everyone to play with and use.”

Originally published as Tayla Winiecki is bringing Mooey Gooey Slimes to a Geelong store front