Bella Corrente is proving that age is nothing but a number. She may not be able to drive yet, but, at fifteen years old, she is the young business magnate and head soap maker behind small shop The Little Bubble.
Corrente caught the entrepreneurial spirit when she was only nine. “The Little Bubble started as a homeschool project in 2013. My mom, ‘Momma Bubble’ gave me an assignment that included math, science and writing all in one,” she recalled. “I started by first making lip balm and sugar scrub, which helped me learn measurements and simple math, and then I made a tiny batch of soap. My mom set me up a fake Etsy account, we designed business cards and I ‘sold’ my products to my family, which helped me learn money skills and writing. A couple of our family friends really loved the soaps and scrubs and asked me to keep making more for them. Soon enough, I had a few orders! Then a friend set me up with a booth at a kids festival and I made a dozen scrubs and 40 bars of soap. I sold out that day and had a local gallery ask to carry my products. It has been pretty much nonstop since then!”
In the early days, the kidprenuer impressed small shoppers with her business acumen and high quality products. “But now that I’m a little older, I think the ingredients we use and our fun branding help us stand out from other handmade bath and body shops,” Corrente shared. “We have grown so much that we had to officially hire my older brother to work part-time, so I’m not only my mom’s boss, but I am his boss as well. We start every work day in the studio by blasting Jump Around by House of Pain!”
The business powerhouse in the making splits her time between school and suds. “I really love making soap. Creating soap is like making art with a little science mixed in,” Corrente exclaimed. “It is so calming to mix together oils, colors and fragrances and watch something magical happen. My very favorite part is the cut. You never really know if the design you planned is going to work or be even better than you thought. It is like painting and each bar is unique.” I really enjoy all of the creative product names, especially “Unicorn Farts,” inspired by Corrente’s father. “Unicorn Farts is hilarious, right? My dad comes up with lots of the fun ones,” she laughed. “And we also find inspiration in the fragrances themselves. Sometimes a fragrance just says…‘Name me Mermaid!’” The Unicorn Farts scent is actually the shop’s most popular product line. “Bar soap, bath bombs, lotions, scrubs, candles – it doesn’t matter what it is, Unicorn Farts wins hands down.” Corrente also suggested the Full Moon fragrance. “It is the perfect mix (in my opinion) of blood orange and patchouli. It smells so good.”
The Little Bubble is lathering up to release a new skin care line. “My mom and I recently launched a few new products in that line and have had the best parts out for testing with our brand reps. They are loving everything. It covers all bases: teen skin issues, ‘aging skin’ (I hate that term, by the way) and everything in between,” said Corrente.
Pop over to the Little Bubble website for a Unicorn Fart-scented bath bomb or subscribe to the shop’s monthly “Bubble Boxes,” which include soap bars, bath salts, bath melts and more. Use the code SMALLSHOPDROP to save 10% off your next soapy purchase. Thanks Bella!
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