Rising Stars: Meet Katherine Franceschelli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Franceschelli.

Hi Katherine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been crafty and constantly making things with my hands. I’ve dabbled in scrapbooking, painting, sewing, cross-stitching, making jewelry and cards. I used crafting as my form of therapy/decompression from my teaching job. I saw soap-making on a website and thought it looked really cool. I purchased books and read blogs on it. A few weeks after my research, I tried making my first batch of soap and I was immediately hooked. I made tons of batches, developed my own formulations, and then I had family and co-workers asking how to purchase what I was making. Everything snowballed from that point and now I make a wide variety of luxury bath and body items. I put such dedication into every product I make because I want people to take back even just 5 minutes for themselves each day. I am in over 35 stores across the United States and have a few stores in England and Germany as well.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yes and no, at first it started out not as a full business and just a side hustle. There’s not as much stress and pressure when it’s a side hustle. When I decided to go full-time working on my business is when there were some bumps. You have stores turning you down and that can sting at first, but then I learned to just keep pushing along. Getting the turn downs helped me really hone in on what I was doing and upping the quality of my branding. After I really found my footing and target audience, some of those stores came back to me and had changed their minds. There’s also a struggle in feeling alone when running your own business. Some days are definitely harder than others but I have fortunately made a lot of new friends stepping into the world of being a maker and I know I have people I can go to with issues and even wins and we all cheer each other on so it’s not as lonely.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am really proud of where I started to where I am now. If you would have asked me five years ago what I would be doing, I can’t say it would be working for myself and paying myself a salary. As a teacher, I was making an impact on my students and I thought I would not get that feeling again. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I hear from my clients all the time about how my products have helped them take care of themselves. From using the bath bombs and bath soaks on a Sunday for a bath, or simply using my shower steamers in the morning or night to help them wake up/wind down. I have an oatmeal honey soap that has helped a lot of clients with their dry skin – I even had a client tell me that this soap made poison ivy go away in 2-3 days rather than a week. I have created these products with my own two hands, so to hear how much they help people always makes my heart feel happy and full. What sets me apart from others are my distinctive scents and designs I use. I am always making up new scents to keep my clients happy and I always hear how the scents are not like ones they’ve smelled before.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Of course, the biggest support would be following and sharing my products through social media. Clients can also make purchases by going on my website. I love working with local stores and do offer wholesale. If anyone is interested in collaborating, they can e-mail me at hummingnaturals@gmail.com.

Contact Info:

• Email: hummingnaturals@gmail.com
• Website: https://hummingbird-naturals.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hummingbirdsoaps/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hummingnaturals

Image Credits
Kristin Austin