BELLE — An artisan soap shop, owned and operated by Belle native Corina Jacquin, opened Dec. 17 at 316 S. Alvarado Ave., in the old Ford building.

“I want to be the Bath and Body Works of Belle,” Jacquin said during a Dec. 28 interview about the opening of her shop Heavenly Homemade. “Significantly cheaper with better ingredients.”

The shop offers bath and body soaps as well as scented candles. Jacquin is also offering a boutique clothing line. The pink and white decor along with upbeat words emphasize the persona of the boutique and the unique personality of its owner. Jacquin said she wants people to feel happy and light when they visit Heavenly Homemade.

“I want someone to want to come and buy my soap because they love the smell, the material it is made out of, and that it is non-toxic,” Jacquin said about the all-organic products. “I wanted to use the least amount of material and all organic. Organic sugar and coconut oil and those things.”

The soaps from Heavenly Homemade are for everyday use and the candles are made without paraffin.

“While they could be advertised for special purposes, the (soaps) are for everyday use,” Jacquin said. “Bodywashes can be used in the bath and shower. Bar soap is for both cleansing and scent. It is an everyday product. Sure, if we are making lavender soap we can say it is relaxing; or that peppermint and eucalyptus soap does clear the sinuses — and that is true. But this soap is for everyday use for everyday people.”

Heavenly Homemade is for anyone and all skin types and Jacquin says she hopes it is price-inclusive.

“It is very hard to talk about price range because I want to make things affordable,” Jacquin explained. “My goal for the shop is — I obviously have to make a living off of this — but also affordable for everyone to purchase it. I would say my prices are lower than most, probably not all, but the quality is there.”

She added that the Heavenly Homemade Candle line is 100 percent soy. There is no blend of paraffin and coconut oil or toxic fragrances. Jacquin explained that many people who understand what candles are made from will say no to them because it puts so much toxic chemicals in the air.

“If you have any type of paraffin candle, that is true,” Jacquin said. “I don’t use a blend of paraffin and coconut oil. Just wax and the highest fragrance load of non-toxic fragrances.”

Jacquin said sometimes people will ask her about allergies to her products.

“I don’t give advice,” she said. “Everyone is different. But the risk factor (of an allergic reaction) to any of my products is extremely low. I tell people to do their own research on ingredients in the products.”

With that said, she feels like her prices are reasonable.

“My goal is to beat the Bath and Body Works line,” Jacquin said.

When the store opened its doors on Dec. 17, Jacquin felt like she may have been on her way to achieving her goal.

“It was very busy on the first day,” she said. “I had a ribbon cutting with the Belle Community Betterment Association (BCBA) and immediately afterward, my father-in-law came up to me and said someone was at the door and didn’t have time to come back later. So we opened the doors at 11:45 a.m., and it was busy the whole day.”

Jacquin said she didn’t get to sit down because she was so busy running from the front counter to help people and back to the counter to check them out.

“I talked to a lot of people, but I know that there are people that I missed,” she said.

The day was a pleasure compared to the lead-up and preparation. 

Jacquin started Heavenly Homemade four years ago, working out of her home after her oldest daughter, four-year-old Delcie, was born. She stayed home while her husband Chase Jacquin supported their family.

“I did it as a hobby thing where I went to craft fairs and things like that and got into it as a way to stay home with my oldest daughter and make a bit of income to help,” Jacquin said. “My husband was a lineman and was doing pretty decent.”

As a new mom, she had been reading about Johnson and Johnson baby products and other items that may contain harmful ingredients. That is when she began making soaps.

Fast forward to September 2022, she realized she needed more space for the soaps and candles.

“It was branching into something bigger,” Jacquin said. “I thought, ‘hey, I need a shop.’ I was tired of it being in my house and not being able to walk away from it.”

She moved into her grandmother’s detached garage and began advertising store hours over the weekends.

“But then my parents were like, ‘we want to sell our building,’” she said. “I thought that the front part would be perfect for my stuff and began the venture of my husband and I purchasing and renovating the inside.”

Things moved quickly, but she had set her goal to open on Dec. 17 because she wanted to be in business before the new year.

On the evening of Dec. 16, she and her husband and father-in-law worked into the early hours of the morning on Dec. 17 to be ready for the grand opening. They left for home at 2:30 a.m. and came back between 8 and 9 a.m. the next morning.

“We met our deadline,” she said. “I didn’t completely sell out of everything of everything on the first day.”

However, she was out of a lot of product. The candle and bath and body side of the business is time-intensive.

“Those things have to sit a certain amount of time,” Jacquin said about the soaps and candles. “We did not prepare for that. I was not prepared for the influx of people who came in, but they did! Now I know I need to be better prepared with the bath and body side and the wax candles and stuff like that.”

Since the business is open from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday through Monday, Jacquin and her brother Koda Struemph came in and “knocked a whole bunch of product out at once.”

“Every day I am there, he is there with me,” Jacquin shared about her brother.

Jacquin said the clothing line, which was a later decision to help fill the space and meet her overall goal of making people feel happy and comfortable in their space, is easier to keep stocked.

“The clothing side is easy because I purchase in advance,” she said. “The bath and body side, not so much.”

The clothing is all-inclusive as well, with sizes ranging from children to 3x adults.

“It is more jeans and blousy tops and some comfier clothing options like loungewear and pajamas and socks,” she said. “My real passion is the bath and body stuff, but the clothing side — I am very passionate about finding something for people that they are comfortable in. That they feel beautiful in. Making people feel good, that is what I like about it.”

She and her helper are always ready to lend assistance in the dressing rooms as well, helping customers find the right sizes and colors and providing good service.

“This is a kid-friendly environment,” the mom of three added. “Don’t be afraid to come shop with your kids. Mine will probably be there running around too.”

Aside from her husband, 4-year-old Delcie, 2-year-old Riverlyn, and 1-year-old Sylvia are consistent helpmates with the family-ran business.

The Jacquins aren’t finished with the building and its improvements. Chase Jacquin is working to open an axe-throwing arena in the backroom.

“Chase is working on an axe throwing room, but we had some issues with the place working on our floor,” Jacquin said. “We were hoping to open before the end of the year.”

The couple hopes to announce the opening of Cornerstone Axe House shortly.

The Heavenly Homemade and Cornerstone Axe House add to a string of businesses the building has housed over the years, beginning with the old Ford manufacturer.

“It used to manufacture Ford vehicles,” Jacquin said. “The back part was where the assembly line was and the front where the windows are was the showroom.”

Jacquin said the building has also housed a pharmacy, auction house, laundromat and grocery.

Her parents purchased the building around three years ago before her grandmother, Delpha, passed away. Before that, family members had bought and sold the building to each other over the years.

As the newest resident of the building, Heavenly Homemade has given the building an extensive facelift and a light-hearted ambiance.

Now coming into her third week of sales, Jacquin is much better prepared to meet her customers with product. 

“It’s busy, and I am loving every minute of it,” she said. “Having it all come together feels pretty good.”

Store hours are from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday–Monday.