Purely Enchanting: Combining Family & Business

The dictionary defines enchantment as a magical spell, and that's what Debbie and Bill Brink of Pure Enchantment in Rocky River, Ohio cast on me when I finally met them in person at the Conference of Handcrafted Soapmakers earlier this month. (See more conference photos here.) The couple launched Pure Enchantment in 2003 after discovering the benefits of using handmade soap on a family vacation in Wilmington, North Carolina. I first encountered them online in July 2004 when they joined the Indie Beauty Network.

Pure Enchantment's signature product is the shea butter lotion Made with 30% shea butter and oils of almond, avocado and jojoba, it comes in 4 scents: Cucumber Melon, Coconut Lime Verbena, Oatmeal Milk & Honey and Orange Patchouli. The body size is 3 ounces ($13.50) and the purse size is 1/2 ounce ($4.50). If you had been at the conference, you would have gotten your very own sample. Mine was Cucumber Melon and soon it will be all gone. My family and I used to soothe minor sunburn after spending the afternoon at the pool on Memorial Day. You can get the lotion bars here.

In addition to running the business, Debbie and Bill have 5 children ranging from elementary to senior high school. They recently left their traditional jobs in the real estate industry to manage Pure Enchantment full-time. At the conference, Bill said, "We are now wholly focused on Pure Enchantment and glad to be making products in a family owned enterprise that gives us the ability to spend more time together as a family." And isn't that what being Indie is all about!!?

Until now, Debbie and Bill have declined my invitation to share tips for combining family and business on Indie Business Radio due to concern about the publicity that might result while they had full-time jobs. Now that they have handed in their pink slips, I'm planning to schedule them for a future show. Stay tuned!