Check out our feature in October 2023 magazine for Aurignys onboard magazine 'En-voyage'. Page 20.

Written by Amanda Eulankamp - "Wandering along the seafront of St Peter Port, looking at the different, local stalls, prompted Amanda Eulenkamp to find out the story behind some of the island’s budding entrepreneurs. From soap through to jewellery, candles through to hand-made wooden crafts, there is a plethora of different stalls selling locally produced products at a Seafront Sunday. But once the summer season is over, where do the stallholders go? What inspires them to turn out early to grab a pitch? Are they just for summer or do their products go beyond Seafront Sunday? Whatever the goodies, behind each stall is a passionate entrepreneur, who wants to ‘do things right’ and in a sustainable way. Some are at the very start of their business journey, others further along the road. Charlotte Blainey from Melt & Glow started her business as a hobby during lockdown. ‘I started watching how to make wax melts on TikTok,’ she said. ‘I also watched and practised making whipped soap.’ A fully trained beauty therapist, Charlotte knows about skin, and it wasn’t long before she became fixated on the idea of producing whipped soap for her new business. ‘Whipped soap is a versatile product, with a thick, foaming lather,’ she said. Keen to be as eco-friendly as possible, Charlotte’s whipped soap is vegan and cruelty-free, paraben-free, and PH balanced. ‘It’s very moisturising and can be used by people who have eczema and psoriasis,’ she said. Being one multi-use product, it also reduces plastic, and her pots are all made from recycled plastic. She has already expanded her range to include body scrubs as well as some cosmetics, and describes her products as ‘affordable, self-care cosmetics’. Many are brightly coloured, but they are all skin-safe colours. ‘Life is hard, you want to be able to enjoy yourself, so these brighten lives up.’ All her recipes comply with UK law, something that she says is important as she looks to expand the business into online sales. She even designed and built the website herself (meltandglow.gg), as well as the brand design, and is currently building a log cabin at her home to create space in order to increase production. The next stage of her expansion includes adding SPF to facial products and finding a way to offer a refill service for her products. One side benefit that she wasn’t expecting was the increase in her mental health. ‘Running my own business has been a massive help – I used to have a phobia of planes, but I’ve been on one now and am heading off for my first holiday abroad!’ she said."