Today we’d like to introduce you to Genesis Smith.
The idea for Luxurious Lathers stemmed from an experience Genesis’ parents, had when coming upon a store that sold handmade soaps. Genesis’ mom Tijuana, purchased several products as gifts for family and friends. Weeks later, loved ones were clamoring for more, noting how the natural products were moisturizing and non-irritating to those with various skin conditions.
An entrepreneur herself, Tijuana saw the opportunity. And while Genesis said her plans never involved running her own business, an offer to help her mother evolved into becoming a shareholder and CEO of Luxurious Lathers at the age of only 22.
Luxurious Lathers offers a wide selection of handmade body products including handmade soaps, body scrubs, sugar and salt scrubs, organic facial and body products and bath bombs. They offer cruelty-free, all-natural, handmade products. But unlike other body product companies, they offer a more luxurious, beautiful product people want to buy to pamper themselves or for others.
Has it been a smooth road?
This journey has definitely not been a smooth road. From the very beginning, I struggled the most with balancing the business while completing my final semester of college at Illinois State University. Simultaneously, I fought with the idea of owning my own business, because of what I saw my own mother go through during most of my childhood years.
Moving forward, after roughly 8 months of buying body products wholesale from an Arkansas based company, I received a shipment of soaps that had spots throughout some of the bars of soap that I received. After posing questions to the company, the owner sent an email to us closing our wholesale account with them. For what reason, I still do not know. This was a fundamental event in the timeline of our business history because up until this point, our entire business was based on the product line from this one company.
So, by them choosing to close our account, we essentially had no product line – nothing to sell – almost left to nothing but our business name, because there was no more source for products that were similar in quality to what we had already been selling. I thought this would be the end, until my mom found a handmade soaper in Spain. Finally, after opening two store locations, I can sum up the remainder of our obstacles – from finding funding, creating recipes (since I now manufacture 70% of our products), staffing stores, increasing sales and foot traffic, differentiating our brand from LUSH Cosmetics (the single, largest company selling handmade cosmetics around the world at such a large scale), keeping a cohesive brand image and in-store experience with our customers, etc.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The equivalent of a dessert shop for the body, Luxurious Lathers draws in customers in droves. Initially from the sweet, decadent scents of its array of bath bombs, handmade soaps and lotions, and then from its beautiful, inviting interior.
A favorite stop for gift-seekers, Luxurious Lathers offers a clever assortment of products such as tuxedo, cake and cupcake soaps. In addition, the company has been rapidly growing its custom soap line, providing soap favors for baby and bridal showers and other events.
Nearly 80 percent of the products sold in the store are conceptualized by Genesis herself, who has demonstrated a gift for creating dreamy concoctions that appeal to the romantic and feminine sides of her customers.
The popularity of the store has had as piqued the interest of 14 other malls in the Chicagoland area, and beyond, reaching out to Genesis all but begging for expansion to their locations. But the young entrepreneur isn’t rushing things. “I learn about myself, about others, about business. I wouldn’t get this experience doing anything else. The sky really is the limit.”
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
In some ways, yes it is. A lot of people here are very open to trying new things and supporting local businesses. However, there is a vast majority of people that don’t have much of an interest in a company like mines, which isn’t always seen in mainstream media outlets (it hasn’t become the biggest fad/trend yet). Therefore, many people resort to just going back to shop at places like LUSH or Bath and Body Works. I’m starting to wonder if there’s a reason why you only see companies like mines in small towns or just at farmer’s markets. In shopping malls, it’s not a place that people are used to seeing.
If there was someone just starting out, I probably wouldn’t suggest that they start in Chicago. Chicago, in my opinion, isn’t a known for place for supporting local businesses. Perhaps some states such as California or Texas would be a better place to start a business like mines. Somewhere either on the west coast or on the east coast. I think our city is off to a good start, with selling local products in store chains, or throughout the airport, it’s a good start. On the other hand, there’s definitely more work to be done though.
Pricing:
- Bath Bombs – $5.00 each
- Body Scrubs – starting at $5.00 each
- Holiday Themed Gift Sets – $10.00
- Handmade Soap – starting at $8.00
- Bath & Body Oils – starting at $2.00
- Body Butter – starting at $5.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 15 Spinning Wheel Road
Suite 330 Hinsdale, IL 60521 - Website: https://www.luxuriouslathers.com
- Phone: 844-877-7627
- Email: sales@luxuriouslathers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luxlathersltd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luxlathersltd/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/luxlathersltd
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/luxurious-lathers-lombard-2
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
