Cocoa Village Shop Owner Nurtures Young Entrepreneurs
Artists and artisans dream of having their own place where they can connect customers to their creations. Historic Cocoa Village is a cozy and fun area to spend time wandering in and out of such shops.
Upon entering one of them — B&B Candles & Soaps, a store tucked into the northern corner of Brevard Avenue — the first thing to hit you is the incredible smell of owner Bethany MacArthur’s homemade candles and soaps. The second thing to hit is the revelation that her store is a microcosm of the Village.
Bethany rents space to 14 other small-business owners who stock their own section of shelves and wall displays with artwork, jewelry, crochet, macrame, pottery, skin and hair care, wood creations, sewn items and more.
All 14 happen to be females, and three of them are minors — two teens and a 10-year-old who I claim as my offspring. Seeing Bethany welcome my Ella with the same respect as all the other vendors has been a beautiful experience. I’ve written before about what can happen for young people when enough older people tell them, “Yes.”
Bethany’s path to welcoming others into her shop started with her displaying her products at other retail locations — first at Antiques and Uniques in Melbourne (a super fun place I could write a future column about). She’s expanded her presence to 10 other shops around Brevard, and now she loves hosting others in the same way.
“Having a place for other creators to have their goods and supporting our local community is important to me,” Bethany said. “It’s nice to help someone bring their dreams to life.”
She left the medical field after 14 years to open up B&B (named by her daughter Brittany for her and mom). She had a successful first decade selling on Etsy and put the branding on the glass storefront for B&B in May 2022.
“I always was creative and I would do random things. I was looking through Pinterest and found a soap recipe and thought, ‘I’d like to do that,’” she shared about the transition from medical work to soaps and candles. “Out of all the crafts that I tried, I like making soap because it was something that you could use and it wouldn’t just get thrown in a closet,” she said.
Meet the three young entrepreneurs at B&B Candles & Soaps:
Everything Ella
Instagram: @adventuresofellagrace @ellabellabeads
Owned by: Ella Grace Helton
Age: 10
Sells: Hand-numbered limited edition prints, notecards and brookmarks of her original pastel artwork, plus other useful merchandise printed with her art; bead bracelets, necklaces and earrings from her first business, Ella Bella Beads.
Ella says: “I think it’s nice that Bethany lets someone as young as me go in a big shop like that. People think of me not as a kid but as an entrepreneur. I have a real business that I hope will become big, and this is where I’m starting.”
Bethany says: “People are literally shocked when they see Ella’s artwork and then her face (on a poster on the wall). When I tell them she’s 10, their mouths drop and they don’t believe it. People are blown away by Ella’s stuff.”
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Persona-G
Instagram: @persona.g_ , @_sophia.sews_
Owned by: Sophia Guignardi
Age: 17
Sells: Personalized sewing projects like water bottle holders, bags, hair bows, keychains, bucket hats and scrunchies.
Sophia says: “I am very grateful for the opportunity to sell my products in this beautiful retail space. It allows my work to be showcased and gives me a glimpse into the future since my goal is to open my own boutique one day.”
Bethany says: “I like how her items are different from anyone else’s. She’s so young for her quality of work, I think she’s definitely going to succeed.”
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Hello Pottery
Owned by: Catriona McDonald
Age: 16
Sells: Hand-painted plant pots of various sizes with fun designs.
Catriona says: “To have my own retail space to sell my products means so much to me because I started out painting pots as a gift for my friend's birthday, and now to have people buying my work is just truly an amazing feeling!”
Bethany says: “I love her creativity and uniqueness, she takes a boring clay pot and turns it into a masterpiece — working while still excelling at school and helping her mother create Brittany’s Wish greeting cards on the side. It’s wonderful to see for teens these days.”
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Bethany said she loves being a part of the unique feel of Cocoa Village. “It's not like any other shopping area that I’ve been to, it’s a community.”
“When I was their age, those opportunities were not available,” Bethany said of the young entrepreneurs she’s hosting. “And I think that they are more likely to succeed in their visions if people in the community are supporting them.”
Just like that old adage, “It takes a village.” Thank you, Bethany and Historic Cocoa Village for living up to the name!
CONNECT:
B&B Candles & Soaps
bandbcandlesandsoaps.com/
105 Brevard Ave., Cocoa, FL 32922
760-805-3498
Instagram: @bandbcandlesandsoaps__
Facebook: /BandBcandlesandsoaps
Cool feature: Ongoing candle bar in the back room. Walk in, make an appointment, book a party and make your own candles.
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