Small businesses move in side-by-side

Blank Canvas and Robinson Family Soaps working next to each other

A building at 4646 E. Lake Road in Sheffield Lake soon will house two new small businesses.

Robinson Family Soaps and Blank Canvas wedding preparation have moved in side-by-side, and both likely will be up and running by April, according to the owners.

Mary Robinson, owner of Robinson Family Soaps, said her company started out of necessity.

It will have a grand opening at 11 a.m., April 2.

Robinson said her husband, Jon, and nephew Jayden Dolin both suffer from a rare skin condition, and most soaps made their skin flare up.

From her house in Elyria, she began creating her own soaps, oils, room sprays and other products.

“I built my business three years ago due to a genetic skin condition that my husband and my nephew suffer from, and my nephew was being bullied in school (for it),” she said. “I spent a year and a half researching what I could do to help.”

After engineering a lotion for Jayden, Robinson said she began to branch out into other products.

She said she found that Shea butter was one of the most effective ingredients she could use, but wanted to incorporate other ingredients into a more traditional soap package.

“I didn't want to send my child to school, just all greased up, covered in Shea butter,” said. “So, his product that we came up with is called Jayden's Wish.

“I started adding soaps to my line, which seemed to have the right combination of oils and butters.”

Though she cannot make any medical claims, Robinson said her soaps also seem to help with other skin conditions such as eczema.

As for the storefront, Robinson said she is excited for the grand opening.

“I am so excited,” she said. “I wanted to have an ability to offer handmade makers, whether in state, or out of state, the ability to sell their products as well.

“A lot of the people I've spoken to just don't have that opportunity where they live.”

Blank Canvas

Blank Canvas is a wedding preparation center run by Dawn Alexander.

The store opened the beginning of November, but Alexander plans to really get things going for the 2023 wedding season.

Alexander said she got the idea for a wedding boutique and prep center from her daughter Bailey Matthews.

“The space is created for brides to get ready for the wedding day,” she said. “It's a very popular concept in the south, and my daughter lives in (Charleston) South Carolina.

“I visit quite often, and this is something that's very popular down there. You'll see a lot of little studios and spaces like that.”

Blank Canvas presents Alexander, who has 20 years of experience as an event planner, an opportunity to stay put, instead of having to move around to different event venues.

“It's typically me packing stuff into my car and taking that somewhere,” she said. “The older I get, just the less that is appealing to me, right?

“So, my daughter said, ‘Why don't you try doing this, Mom, and see if it catches on?'”

The Blank Canvas name comes from the inside of the store, Alexander said.

The interior, she said, is almost completely white by default, and can be changed to different colors to match the bride's wedding colors.

“It's kind of a dual-purpose (space) at the moment,” Alexander said. “There are four stations where brides can get their hair and makeup done, and the rest of the space, if it's a bride, it's like a living room.

“And then a space to take pictures, on the day where they're getting ready.”

Alexander and the staff also provide mimosas, snacks and other amenities while the bridal party gets ready.

The space is not just for weddings, she said, and she hopes the community can help it to catch on.

“I also have been doing baby showers and wedding showers; any smaller, intimate party,” Alexander said. “I can do any type of birthday party, or a small party, or a small event, up to I would say, comfortably 40 people.”