We recently connected with Rosemarie and Candice and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rosemarie and Candice, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is something we both got from our family and mother/grandmother. She was a single mom and raised three kids alone. It was a very difficult childhood and one filled with financial challenges but we able to overcome these challenges and find success. Rosemarie’s mother/Candice’s grandmother taught us strength, a great work ethic and resilience. That was instilled in Candice when she was young and has carried on in our family. We have both been able to obtain higher level college degrees, maintain successful jobs and open our business.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Three years ago we launched our soap and bath bomb business, called Sudz Kitchen, during the pandemic. Since washing your hands was even more important at the time, we thought making soaps and bath bombs that resemble food would be a fun way to get adults and children to wash their hands and enjoy the soaps they were using. Within a year of our launch we were asked to sell products at a retail location in Glendora. We soon started selling our products in businesses in San Dimas, Claremont, Los Angeles and then had a permanent home at a location in San Dimas.
During these last three years we gained the opportunity to open our own retail location in San Dimas called House of Sudz. House of Sudz is a larger picture of the items that we started selling with Sudz Kitchen. We now specialize in items that resemble food and household items. So for example we have soaps that look like toothbrushes. Our store contains handmade soaps, bath bombs and unique kitchen and bath items. We also have numerous vendors in our store that also make handmade items. We just had our ribbon cutting ceremony in San Dimas on September 21, 2023 and are so excited for the opportunity to grow and get the word out.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
– Being positive and keeping an open mind when learning new ways to promote our business has definitely helped in our success. We have studied, asked questions and learned from many successful businesses.
– Always striving to bring new fun items to our customers has always been our goal. We listen, learn and try to bring the best products and services that are unique, fun and bring a smile to our customers’ face.
– Giving back to the community has always been a goal we keep in mind. We have done several fundraisers and donations and give back to our community.. Giving back to the community is so important and has been one of the most rewarding experiences of having a business.
How would you describe your ideal client?
First of all, someone who likes all things food… a foodie 🙂
But also, someone who likes home decor items that can’t be purchased at big name retail locations. Almost every item in our store is handmade, and if it isn’t handmade, we guarantee it is unique or interesting. Our ideal client loves new and rare finds and handmade items.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sudzkitchen.com
- Instagram: @sudzkitchen and @houseofsudzshop
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sudzkitchen
- Other: Our Store Address: 233 W Bonita Ave, San Dimas, CA 91773 Ribbon Cutting Celebration Links: https://www.facebook.com/sandimaschamber/posts/pfbid0aixapSi3b1QZsowmpw6wXa9d7wxZr1pvuPdsWmqnkvbFy2pHBwngmPgLKDZUN2n5l?notif_id=1695344476745214¬if_t=mention&ref=notif https://www.facebook.com/SenSusanRubio/posts/pfbid025z5wLqr9opDxTc5K4d8PwZLRVf6FkJWboR5LdZ2LbG1uJjKGsHyA8ye2rG4dmrFVl?comment_id=273419542197114¬if_id=1695435357832968¬if_t=comment_mention&ref=notif
Image Credits
San Dimas Chamber Sudz Kitchen
