Although the new company, Boozelite, just made its public debut this weekend, it is already getting a buzz among Eastern students.

Boozelite, a business started at the beginning of the semester by Sean Wiggan, a junior management major, and Anton Jefferson, a senior communications major, sells lamps made from recycled alcohol bottles. With brands like Grey Goose, Jagermeister and Jose Cuervo, Boozelite offers an extensive inventory of bottles.

“We have pretty much any bottle anybody could want,” Wiggan said.

The types of lampshades also vary from bottle to bottle. Boozelite offers shades in basic colors like brown, black or red, as well as patterns like cheetah, zebra and flowers.

The two students make the lamps themselves. To create their product, they obtain bottles from local bar owners, who happily give them Jefferson said.

“We approach them and tell them we’re doing a project, and they give (us) their bottles before throwing them out,” Jefferson said.

The prices of the bottles start at $20 per lamp.

“We are trying to make it affordable for college students,” Wiggan said.

He said they are even looking into furthering their product inventory and selections.

“We’re looking to go into other custom college student products, like beer pong tables,” Wiggan said.

Although Boozelite is running smoothly now, Wiggan and Jefferson said starting their company didn’t come without challenges. Wiggan said obtaining the initial investment money was difficult. He also said it took commitment from both owners.

“It took a lot on both parts. (Anton and I) are both on track and field, so we had to find a balance of time for athletics, and also for school and social time.”

This dedication toward their company finally paid off at their sale this weekend.

Wiggan and Jefferson began selling products Friday outside of Pemberton Hall and moved their selling location to the tailgate area outside of the O’Brien Field Saturday.

Boozelite had high expectations for their debut at Family Weekend, but these hopes were diminished when they were forced to shut down their sale.

Wiggan said within the first two hours of their sale, Eastern officials asked the Boozelite owners to shut down their venue.

“(Even though) we had proper authorization, they basically took back the contract,” he said. Wiggan said he was upset with their decision.

“I feel like they shouldn’t do something like that after they gave us authorization,” Wiggan said.

The Boozelite owners then decided to move their sale to another spot, but they were forced to shut down again.

“We moved to a new location, which we got through our landlord because she had private property,” Wiggan said. “The mayor drove past and had a problem (with it), so the police were called and we were shut down for a second time.”

Wiggan said even though they had promising sales in their first two hours of business, he was ultimately disappointed with the outcome of their debut.

“It was a bad weekend,” he said. “The opportunity for entrepreneur endeavors is held back by the school and town itself. They gave us a hard time. We’re just students trying to start a company on campus.”

While the duo currently plans to focus on Eastern’s campus, they plan to bring their product to other universities as well.

Although Boozelite is still gaining ground, Wiggan and Jefferson are already looking toward their next step. The partners plan to open an 18 plus night club in the future and said the money from Boozelite will give them collateral for this project.

“We are looking for a way to make money to invest in our dream company. (Boozelite) helps generate funds for it,” Wiggan said.

“We are trying to raise money for a bigger picture,” Jefferson said. “We even have a 60 page business plan for the night club. It’s still just an idea, but we’re pursing it heavily.”

Those interested in Boozelite can visit www.boozelite.com.

Sara Hall can be reached at 581-7942 or smhall3@eiu.edu.