- Madeline Cooperman, 27, is a die-hard Swiftie who's followed Taylor Swift's career for 10 years.
- In 2019, she began collecting song-inspired snow globes that Swift sold on her website.
When Taylor Swift releases a snow globe on her merchandise website, Madeline Cooper buys it — no question.
The 27-year-old Los Angeles native is a Swiftie. A big one.
She told Business Insider that she became a "next level" fan about 10 years ago and has been dedicated to supporting Swift's career ever since. She attended the Eras Tour multiple times, posts regularly about Swift online, and collects the singer's merchandise.
Cooperman is especially fond of Swift-branded snow globes, the first of which was released in 2019. The original globe featured Swift's famous "Lover" house surrounded by trees, with white snowflakes inside and a gold-embellished base.
"I ordered it when it came out around Thanksgiving in 2019, and it arrived damaged," Cooperman said of the knickknack. "I didn't realize so few of them were released, so I didn't worry too much about mine arriving shattered."
Though she got a refund from Swift's merchandise store, the company said there was no stock left to send Cooperman a replacement.
Then Swift released another snow globe about a year later. It was inspired by her holiday hit "Christmas Tree Farm."
"I bought that one right away, and every time she would release another, I would just buy it as soon as it went on sale," Cooperman told BI.
Today, Cooperman's collection includes all eight snow globes that Swift has released in her career.
There's a golden vault that was released alongside "Fearless (Taylor's Version)," a red-based globe with a tree inside to represent Swift's masterpiece "All Too Well," and an unassuming copper one with a tree inside. It represents "Willow," the lead single off Swift's 2020 album "Evermore."
With tax, Cooperman's assortment has cost just over $400 so far — a little over $50 per globe.
She purchased each on Swift's website moments after they were released — a necessity, she said, as they often sell out in minutes. And she's keeping a close eye on merchandise drops in case the singer decides to release a new one.
But as she purchased snow globes two through eight — a task she likens to "collecting Infinity Stones" — Cooperman was plagued by thoughts of the original "Lover" piece that arrived in pieces.
The snow globe was so popular that Swift re-released it this year. It's the eighth globe in Cooperman's collection. But there are differences to the original.
The new version has brighter trees and a house that's just slightly narrower, and it actually plays the "Lover" track, unlike the original.
Cooperman, of course, wanted both. The only thing in her way was the price. At the time her mission began, original "Lover" snow globes were being resold online for prices upwards of $2,000.
Naturally, the Swiftie took on side hustles to buy one. First, she made and sold Swift-inspired keychains and crafts, but she said it wasn't profitable enough.
So she turned to the next best thing.
A determined Swiftie and plasma donations
While researching "popular side hustles" online, Cooperman came across articles that mentioned donating plasma. She quickly realized that not only is the practice profitable, but it also helps people with various health issues.
So Cooperman began visiting a local center twice a week, made 48 plasma donations, and eventually earned about $1,500 — all in the hopes of purchasing an original "Lover" snow globe secondhand.
"I'm vegan, so it was tough for me because my protein just wouldn't stay up after the donations," Cooperman said, noting that she had to change her diet and often felt fatigued while donating. "But I didn't mind at all. I'm going into the healthcare field."
As BI previously reported, plasma can safely be donated by people in good health up to twice a week because the human body will replenish what was donated within 48 hours. The procedure is also safe for vegetarians and vegans, according to donation centers.
"All of the employees at the plasma center knew that I was doing this for Taylor Swift," Cooperman said.
But then Cooperman got lucky.
"I was ready to bid on eBay for one about a month and a half ago, but it ended up selling for $3,800, which was over my budget," she said.
So as a last-ditch effort, she posted in a Swift-focused Facebook group and asked if anyone would be willing to trade her an original "Lover" snow globe for another piece of coveted merch.
"Somebody bit," she told BI. "I traded my signed 'Reputation' slipcase, and that's how I ended up with the last one in my collection."
Of course, that means Cooperman didn't spend the money she earned from plasma donations on the expensive knickknack.
But she dipped into the funds for other merchandise she otherwise wouldn't have bought — like a $75 umbrella that featured lyrics from Swift's "1989" track "Clean."
"I just have some extra money now, and I'll probably end up spending it on more merch," she said.
If it's not clear, Cooperman takes Swift's merchandise seriously.
She even gets notifications on her phone from a "merchandise bot" on Twitter that alerts Swifties whenever new items are added to Swift's online store.
So it's probably not surprising that she also stores her snow globes in a temperature-controlled cabinet.
"I always keep them in their closed cabinet, and I don't store them with batteries inside in case they get corroded," she said. "But I keep the batteries nearby because I do play them sometimes."
She does so because the snow globes are more than just knickknacks to her. They're physical — yet subtle — representations of the music she loves so much.
"I've always been somebody who doesn't want a huge Taylor Swift picture on my sweatshirt or a big poster on my wall. I've liked the more subtle merchandise," she told BI. "And that was something that really spoke to me about all of the snow globes."
But more importantly, she said, the delicate, glass pieces pay homage to the artist who inspires her daily.
"I love that she's created an empire of merch that matches songs, experiences, events, and music videos," Cooperman said of Swift. "It's a journey that she takes us along on."
"Even if she never released merchandise at all, I would still be a dedicated fan, just as in love with the music and all of the work that she does," she added. "But I'm really glad there is merch to collect because it's a lot of fun."