The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
‘A sensory journey’
Element LABS offers sensory experiences with its products
Nestled in a quaint shopping plaza on Lake Road in Avon Lake, sits an adorable shop owned by Melissa Clifford.
The financial and business executive turned bath and body wunderkind offers up her Element Labs as a boutique filled with sensory experiences for the mind, body and spirit.
The official name is Element LABS: Love, Art, Beauty, Science Ltd., located at 33465 Lake Road, is an artisan soap, bath and body company and its mission is to help customers look good, feel good and smell good.
The natural products create a soothing, uplifting and luxurious bath and body care experience, and one Clifford says people will remember long after their next bath or shower.
“I make everything you see in the store; I make it with my own two hands, from scratch, everything,” she smiled. “I know what goes in to everything, and I pour my heart into everything as well, so you’re getting quality made things made from quality ingredients.
“There’s a lot of chemistry that goes into cosmetics and fragrances and soaps, and honestly, I love science. I learned from reputable folks, did a lot of research and trial and error and have made some fabulous formulas.”
Clifford said she even relies on a computer program to assist her in her creations, showing that by adding a little more of this or some of that can create the perfect combination that she adds will nurture the skin and inspire the soul.
The products are made with the highest quality organic materials, no artificial dyes on most, and even the plastic shrink wrapping on products is biodegradable.
In 2007, the future Element LABS founder and Ohio transplant by way of Arizona and Nevada, Clifford said she began a wellness journey and focused more on what she was both putting into and onto her body.
Clifford searched for high-quality, personal care products made from all-natural ingredients, but when suitable, ready-made options were difficult to find, she decided to start to craft her own.
“When I became pregnant with my daughter, I started to feel like I was just allergic to everything,” she says. “All the heavy perfumes and smells and soaps and just everything made me nauseous or made me break out.
“I would go into the retail shops that have those highly fragranced soaps or candles and I could barely breathe. I couldn’t use anything. So, I did what I always do and that was to research it and learn as much as possible.
“A big thing I learned is that not everything all natural is good, and not everything synthetic is bad.”
Clifford said she found out, among other things, that many perfumes found in products have a byproduct of an oil secreted by, of all things, felines and more specifically, lemurs.
While this secretion indeed is all natural, she discovered that she was highly allergic to it.
So, while Clifford was a stay-at-home mom, she researched.
And, after years of careful research and experimentation to achieve her ideal soaps, lotions, scrubs, body butters, bath fizzies, lip balms, deodorant and body washes, Clifford, with a little help from the small business development center at Lorain County Community College, felt her knowledge and experience could help other health-conscious bath and body care lovers and decided to take the plunge into small business ownership.
“It’s not much different than my mindset when I was working in the financial industry,” Clifford said. “I wanted to help people; help people get a mortgage or a car loan or get their investments going.
“I’m all about helping people and educating them. Coming in here, folks feel relaxed. They can browse around the store and ask questions. What does this do, what’s in this and I can tell them exactly what they’re using on their body and how it performs.
“First impressions are everything. So, when people come in, we encourage them to try things and use our testers. Look at them, smell them, feel them; it’s a sensory journey.
“You can even make your own bath salts. There’s no consignments, there’s no trinkets and I make everything right here.”
Clifford said she frequently hosts special events, including the very popular sip ‘n shops, bridal parties, birthday parties and more.
She encourages anyone who wants a private party to call her to set it up.
Clifford also makes specialty products for events, such as bridal gifts.
Her top seller is her whipped sugar scrub and her top selling fragrance is strawberry champagne.
Shoppes can purchase products online through Elements Labs’ virtual store at www.ElementLabsBathAndBody.com.
Longer term, Clifford says she hopes to set up more teaching labs where customers can come in and learn to make their own handmade soaps, lotions and more.
For more information, call 440-202-9027.