My Splendor of Florence brand began as a cultural event celebrating the birthplace of my ancestors, Florence, Italy. My grandparents were artisans, so the festival’s main focus was on the city’s most famous artisans, with the main objective being to expose as many Americans as possible to the glories of Florence without having to buy a plane ticket across the ocean.
Tens of thousands of people participated in our SOF ten-day celebrations, which were held in Providence, Philadelphia, and New York City. The festival allowed residents and tourists to view 16th Century paintings from the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery, interact with the most famous Florentine artisans, and listen to music performed by opera singers from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and last but not least, sample Tuscan delicacies presented by well-known visiting chefs from Florence.
The Product Line
My SOF product line was a recent addition to the brand, but I had the dream and vision all along. When I was seventeen and about to graduate from my local high school in Providence, Rhode Island, the question I heard day and night from my parents was: “Where do you want to go to college?” Much to their dismay, “Paris” was always my retort. “You want to go to college in Paris, France?” they’d reply. “No, I want to live in Paris and be a fashion model, make money, and see the world.”
Much to my parent’s surprise, this is exactly what I did. Paris for a year, Milan for five years, followed by temporary homes in Zurich, Hamburg, Barcelona & London while crisscrossing the globe for shoots and satisfying my desire to see and experience the world I dreamed of when I was young.
Modeling Career
Being a model was exciting, but it also had its drawbacks. For every stunning magazine cover or makeup ad, there are hours upon hours spent sitting in chairs unglamorously “glamorized” by makeup artists. They applied multiple creams, foundations, and lip and eye products, followed by the dreadful routine of rubbing the skin raw, removing it all, then reapplying a new “face” for the next shot.
This process often involved six facial changes a day, and when I got home at night after all the prepping and cleansing, the last thing I wanted to do was think about cleansing and moisturizing again. So, I did what no model would ever admit: I USED SOAP!!!
From Career to Business Owner
The effects of my past career and a wee bit of aging (lol) have taken their toll and dried out my skin slightly, but I am still a dedicated champion of the “mighty bar,” and my skin still looks and feels great! I decided to make my soap with my favorite ingredients.
While I was in Florence planning my festivals, I discovered a treasure trove of the most wonderfully gifted artisans for all aspects of making my product — everything from the design, packaging, and fragrance to the actual oils and nutrients in the products themselves. So, when I was ready to produce my SOF Soap and Home Fragrance Line, I went to them.
The Fragrance
First stop: I needed to find the perfect fragrance. I spent days walking around Florence’s beautiful Renaissance gardens with a master perfumer, searching for the right mix of fruits and flowers. It took several months of trial and error (mixing, adding, and subtracting various essential oils).
Finally, one day we hit upon the perfect combination of the purest ingredients: a gentle mixture of citrus (orange blossoms, limes, and bergamot) for sharpness, a drop of a rose for softness, and a touch of cypress to bring it all down to earth. It is truly the fragrance of Florence! I named it Passeggiata, which means “a walk or stroll,” which will always remind me of how I discovered the fragrance.
The Design
There is so much dazzling design and inspiration in Florence that it was almost impossible to narrow my eye on one thing that could serve as the packaging “muse,” so to speak. Luckily, I partnered with an amazing graphic designer, and she was able to interpret what I wanted on paper.
The design and colors of our packaging were inspired by the intricate tiles and mosaics of the beautiful churches and palazzos in Florence, combined with an intricate Renaissance floral arrangement containing some fruits, flowers, and spices in our fragrance. Our gift boxes are hand-made by one of Florence’s most famous box artisans.
The Soap Process
The making of Passeggiata soap was not easy. I had to find the best soap makers in Florence who would consider a minimum order for a startup company like mine. Fortunately, the world-renowned and multi-generational Saponieri Fissi liked the idea of returning to their artisanal roots and agreed to work with me. Together we produced a vegetable-based, solvent-free, hand-cut soap that contains the wonderful oils of apricots, coconuts, and olives and the evocative scent of Passeggieta.
After my bars of soap spent a month basking “under the Tuscan sun,” they were hand wrapped by wonderful artisans and shipped to me in the USA, and the more grueling and less creative selling process began.
Retail Sales
I had zero background in retail or online sales, which I realized rather late should have come first. A friend who had retail experience took the reins with me, and together we loaded up my Land Rover and hit the road to visit stores in and around New England. It was a slow start as most retail stores buy from reps rather than the producer, but that didn’t deter us. We pushed on until we had several upmarket boutiques onboard. At that point, we developed our online store.
Our soap started doing well in stores. Our customers loved the texture and the moisturizing effect of the soap. But above all, they loved the fragrance, so I decided to add candles, diffusers, and bath & shower gel to the line. Our soy-based candles and diffusers are alcohol-free and, like our soap, bath, and shower gel, are natural and moisturizing. All SOF products share the same wonderful scent, which I feel has been the line’s success.
Online Sales
The Covid Pandemic was horrific, but it led to more people shopping online. While sitting at home – isolated and in need of something to lift their spirits- people began gravitating toward our brand. They enjoyed the blogs, which in most cases took them to beautiful parts of Italy, which was important for people who were accustomed to traveling but could no longer jump on a plane. If I
learned anything during that period, it was that in many cases, people don’t just buy a product but buy a story. They want to be entertained. They seek experiences that are easily accessible. In this world of so much information at everyone’s fingertips, it’s important to be ready to compete and continuously provide updates.
I do not spend a lot of time online, and I have to be constantly pushed by my colleague Lisa Sicard at Inspire To Thrive to write a blog, post on Instagram, and send emails to existing clients. For me, it is a chore. I am more comfortable with the creative side of my brand. However, following Lisa’s suggestions has results. The more I blog post, and email, the better results, and the more orders I receive.
My colleague Cindy Barclay is also such a big help to me. She is great at photography, website organizing, and creating “specials” for our products. I always answer emails personally from existing and potential customers promptly. In the beginning, I handled all the fulfillment myself to ensure that they went out immediately as the orders came in.
Growing the Business
In this world of online shopping, people are used to Amazon-like service, which includes next-day delivery and free shipping. It was not easy to provide both as a small startup company, but I learned that the only way to grow a business from the ground up is to provide consumers with exactly what they want. In some cases, this means cutting into profits, but it is a necessity – especially in this competitive world of Home Fragrance and Bath and Body.
I have to compete with mega-corporations with unlimited funds to pour into their marketing coffers. Plus, as an unknown, I had to work hard to get people to know and trust my brand, and with Bath and Body products like mine, returns are not allowed — apart from the goods arriving damaged — so I had to be sure to convince potential customers that they would not be disappointed.
The SOF product line is costly to produce as everything is natural and handcrafted, and shipping from Italy is at an all-time high. However, I was determined that my market was to provide luxury products of high quality.
Advice For Others
If I were to advise anyone thinking of creating a home fragrance line like SOF and working solo with a very limited budget, I would suggest that a strong marketing and distribution plan be fleshed out before unleashing the passion and creativity of actually producing the line. Unfortunately, I put the proverbial cart before the horse and realized it was my biggest mistake as it took me much longer to get into the market.
However, now that SOF is doing well, I look back and consider my mistake a great learning experience for future SOF products.
MS, University of Latvia
I am deeply convinced that each patient needs a unique, individual approach. Therefore, I use different psychotherapy methods in my work. During my studies, I discovered an in-depth interest in people as a whole and the belief in the inseparability of mind and body, and the importance of emotional health in physical health. In my spare time, I enjoy reading (a big fan of thrillers) and going on hikes.
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