row, and we can respond to requests in a proper way.”
One of the newest entrepreneurs to set up shop at The Foundry is probably also its youngest resident yet. Twelve year-old Zandra Azariah Cunningham started her very own business specializing in homemade, all-natural bath and body products in early 2010. With the help of her mother and right-hand woman, Tamara Lewis-Cunningham, she has expanded her business and now has a production space to call her own at The Foundry.
Zandra’s business, Azariah’s Innocence, sprouted when she joined the KidzBiz training program offered by the Small Business Development Center at Buffalo State College (see more). At the age of nine, she came up with her own business concept and through the entrepreneurial program, she learned the basics of starting a business, promoting it and engaging customers. “We were playing around with lip balm and body butter, making stuff at home. Through the KidzBiz program we started making more. She had to produce inventory, packaging and labels,” Tamara said. Zandra even had her own table set up at the Elmwood-Bidwell market to sell her products.
Then a friend who owns Floral Explorations on Hertel Avenue wanted to sell Zandra’s products in his store. “We did our first wholesale order with him and that pretty much launched it,” Tamara said. “We talked about it being a real business and we agreed that it would be. It’s pretty much taken off since then.”
So the mother-daughter duo began researching, sifting through books on soaping, websites, YouTube videos and Facebook. “I’m a member of a DIY Facebook group for mixers, herbalists, people that talk about the benefits of different things,” Tamara said. “[Zandra’s] thing is the designs, looking at Etsy, the packaging. My thing is the health and wellness aspect. My job is to research the oils and why we should use them. We want something that looks pretty, but it has to be beneficial and all natural.”
Azariah’s Innocence specializes in all-natural hair care products, soaps, bath bombs, body butters and lip balms. They now offer over 75 bath and body products, made from imported coca butter, shea butter, and other natural, paraben and sulfate-free ingredients.
The West Side Bazaar (learn more), located at 25 Grant St., has been the home base for Zandra’s retail sales. She also sells her products at The Foundry’s Second Saturday events (see here – next one coming up on April 13 from noon to 5 p.m.) and inside the Boutique at Elim Christian Fellowship Church. Zandra’s father also developed a website for Azariah’s Innocence where customers can order her products.
Her newest project has been “candy” soap in candy bags–soaps shaped like gummy bears, rock candy and chocolate bars. “If you did a spa party, you would set it up like a candy buffet of soap,” Tamara said. “It would be like penny candy in jars, you would start with a bag and fill it with different candy soaps.”
Azariah’s Facebook page offers plenty of photos of her newest products. Spreading the word through social media has seriously boosted the orders coming through the website. “We’ve gotten inquiries from people saying ‘Send me your products and I’ll do a review.’ We’ve been in two monthly subscription boxes,” Tamara said. “For Crunchy Crate, we did an all natural herbal bath tea and it was the spotlight product. We were so excited when the box came, knowing that so many people all over the world are reading about us.”
Mother and daughter have also been doing plenty of networking in order to promote their business. “We’re in a women’s networking group called Women in the Spotlight,” Tamara said. “Zandra is a junior ambassador.” The two recently traveled to a conference in Atlanta where Zandra was able to connect with other women in business. She was also recently accepted into the UB Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership’s Allstate Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneurs Program. She’ll be connected with a mentor, attend monthly seminars and networking events, and work to redevelop her business plan in hopes of winning seed money for her business. “The youngest person that’s been accepted into this program was 26. It’s a big deal because she’s 12,” Tamara said.
Standing with Zandra Lewis, Owner of Azariah’s Hats located at the Westside Bazaar | Standing with Michelle Barron, founder of Women in the Spotlight | Meeting Jeff Johnson, journalist and motivational speaker
Family has been the foundation for Zandra’s success, including her father, Jimmie Cunningham, who set up her website and handles the financial side of the business; grandparents Dr. and Mrs. James L. Lewis III; her siblings and extended family members. She also has the support of teachers at the Tapestry Charter School, her church family at Miracle Missions Full Gospel Church, and Women in the Spotlight Going Global (WITSGG). She’s also gotten help from their fellow residents at The Foundry. Megan McNally of Rusted Grain (learn more) recently handmade 50 soap dishes for Azariah’s Innocence.
According to Tamara, establishing a workspace at The Foundry ended up being a perfect fit for their business. “It’s great because everything there is handmade. Everything is natural and organic, and someone spent time researching it. So we fit right in. Everyone is really cool, laidback and helpful. The Foundry was like the foundation. Now that we’re in there we’re set, we can g
row, and we can respond to requests in a proper way.”
row, and we can respond to requests in a proper way.”
Products from Azariah’s Innocence are available to purchase on her website, at the West Side Bazaar, and at the Second Saturday events at The Foundry, located at 298 Northampton St. For more information on new products coming out, check out their Facebook page.
Also see Sarah Fonzi
Also see Buffalo Bottle Craft
Also see Rusted Grain
Also see ReUse Action
Also see The Woodshop
Also see The Foundry
Also see Net+Positive