Mum hopes small business will clean up a big success
Businesswoman’s hand-made soaps attract celebrity fans
AMUM-OF-THREE has started her own artisan soap and skincare business with fans including Strictly and Geordie Shore stars.
Clare Blasbery makes homemade soap and skincare products by hand using vegan, cruelty-free and natural ingredients.
The 38-year-old was working at a PR agency in Liverpool city centre when she started developing her range, which started out as a quest to find a gentle product she could use on her children’s skin.
Clare launched her business Skyn Bakery online in March 2020, just before the pandemic hit, and is now producing hundreds of orders a month from her home in Ormskirk.
She said “I just fell into this randomly. I was looking for products I could use on my children, two of them suffer with eczema. I used lots of different creams but nothing would soothe their skin. Now I use my soap and body butter on them and their skin has cleared up a lot.
“In late 2019, I started researching how to make soap, it started off as a hobby. I’ve always hated soap, it leaves your skin dry but the soap I make is made with cocoa butter and essential oils.
“It wasn’t my intention to start selling the products, but I have always had a desire to set up a business.
“I started selling them on a market stall at Edge Hill Uni on a Tuesday and it has gone from strength to strength over the last year since my focus shifted to selling online.”
During lockdown, Clare had to juggle her three young children aged eight, five and three, homeschooling during the day and working on the business at night.
She said: “I launched the website in March 2020, a week before lockdown and straight away I had orders coming in and started getting really positive feedback and building a good reputation in the community.
“I love my kids but it was hard work, trying to work during the day while homeschooling and then sorting through orders for my business when they were in bed at night.
“My husband has also been an absolute rock through all of this, supporting my dream and indulging my crazy ideas. My family and friends are my biggest supporters too, always there when I need them.”
In fact, it was Clare’s husband, Ian, who works as a web developer, that gave her the idea for the name of the business.
She added: “The majority of the ingredients I use are edible, all the oils and butters, and I use mixing bowls, spatulas and a whisk. So in the early days when I was still learning my craft, I was in my kitchen one day and it must have looked like I was making food.
“My husband saw me and he said ‘what are you up to, are you baking?’ I think he thought I was making something nice for him, I said ‘no I’m making soap, it’s my little skincare bakery’ and then it just clicked in my head, Skyn Bakery.”
Eventually, Clare decided that she needed to concentrate solely on her business to get it off the ground and made the difficult decision to leave her job at Moore Media in October 2020.
“It was very hard to leave the job I loved so much, but it became too much to do both.
“Jayne [Moore] is such an amazing boss, my colleagues were really lovely. I’ve worked for Jayne off and on in between periods of maternity leave since my first baby and she has always been amazingly supportive, especially of family life and commitments.
“She is a good friend of mine and been a huge influence on my career and personal life, she has been there for me through thick and thin and is so supportive of Skyn Bakery, we are even stocked on her website Berry and Bay.
“Jayne and the team really have been so amazing, I’m lucky to have them.”
The Skyn Bakery now offers 19 different products plus gift sets and distributes around 1,000 to 1,200 products each month, including 400 to 500 bars of soap, more than 300 body butters and around 200 body scrubs and other products including lip balms and bath bombs. Her bestsellers include pink Himalayan scrub soap and the Charcoal Rose soap which Clare said has helped her calm her customers skin including back acne.
Clare, who lived on Lark Lane for more than a decade and is originally from Skelmersdale, added that she has even attracted the attention of some celebrity fans.
She said: “I sell mainly through my website, have UK stockists and was selling at artisan markets including the Bombed Out Church.
“I have even gained celebrity fans including Karen Hauer from Strictly and Charlotte Crosby from Geordie Shore.
“It’s just crazy to make a product and love it but when other people give amazing feedback you know you’re on to something.”
All Skyn Bakery’s products are cruelty-free tested and use plastic-free packaging all hand wrapped with labels all made by Clare.
Clare added: “Off the bat, I decided to use plastic-free packaging.
“I didn’t want to be contributing to the huge plastic problem and this was a great opportunity to start the business the right way.
“People are looking for more ethical companies and I’ve put a lot of work into that like the cosmetics safety reports.”
Clare is now looking forward to launching new products, hopes to expand to her own unit and take on staff.
She said: “For the future, the business will be moving more towards facial skincare and we’re in the process of launching our first product very soon which our testers have absolutely raved about.”