photo: GreenBeing
Hello Amanda!
Tell us a little about yourselves and your background.
I’ve known Kathie for my entire life, mostly because she’s my mother. I grew up constantly working on projects her. We began doing crafty type things when I was young, and began making candles around the time I was eleven. Our candle making hobby grew into a bath and body care making hobby, which grew into an obsession, which grew into a career for the both of us. I’ve lived in the Scranton area for my entire life, and Kathie has been here since she was a young teenager.
How did The Fanciful Fox go from being a dream to a real life bricks-and-mortar store with a full line of products?
The Fanciful Fox just happened. It turned from a joke to reality so quickly that neither of us remembers the moment that we decided to actually take the leap. We fell so in love with the business that our product lines almost developed themselves, and we’re still thankfully growing. Whenever we see a need for a specific products in our lives or in the lives of those around us, we figure out how to solve the need.
Describe the different types of products that you make.
Our brand includes a very wide variety of bath, body, and home products. The list includes items such as liquid and bar soaps, lotions and creams, face and hair care, room sprays, soy candles, dog shampoo, an old-fashion men’s line, and even tattoo aftercare. We believe that covers a little bit of everything.
We know that The Fanciful Fox is completely dedicated to being a vegan and fair trade business. Tell us about why this is important to you and how it informs your business decisions.
As individuals, we find our ethics sway every decision we make in business. We both live vegan lifestyles, so it’s a no brainer that our store reflects those values. We live by the idea that all living beings both human and non-human deserve respect. Veganism and fair trade goes hand in hand for us, and we’re striving to share the message of restoring dignity to the supply chain.
There are so many wonderful aspects of being a small business in Scranton, but the best has to be our community of other small businesses. Teamwork is a beautiful thing.
What are some of the challenges?
As wonderful as being a small business is, it’s also hard to compete with big business. That’s probably the only drawback. People are still becoming educated on how the “big commercial” supply chain works, and sometimes it’s hard to show the value of a handmade product in comparison to a factory made or mass produced product.
What is your dream for your business?
Our dream is just to continue to thrive and grow. All either one of us wants to do for the rest of our lives is make soap. We are just very content making our customers smile through their bath experience.
Amanda- We’re so impressed that you were just high school when you a launched your business. You’re such an inspiration to young people in our community. Do you have any advice or words of inspiration you’d like to share?
I’m very flattered, but I’m just following my passion like everyone else. I was fortunate enough to figure out what I was in love with young in my life. The only words of inspiration I can share are rather cliché, but I would just advise everyone to just do what they love and love what they do. By making our lives enjoyable and bringing love into every aspect of our lives we can change the attitudes of the world.
Do you have any upcoming events?
Yes! We will be vendors at Green America’s GreenFest the last weekend in September in Washington, DC.
Follow the Fanciful Fox
FB: Facebook.com/fancifulfox
Twitter: thefancifulfox
Instagram: thefancifulfox
Pinterest: thefancifulfox
Amanda & Kathie's Vegan Rockstars
Kathie and Amanda are the greatest! A friend of mine saw they had a cool soap she wanted for a friend and told me about it. I emailed Amanda, and the friend had the soap within a couple of days! Great people! Nice article on a Scranton business and owners who are ethical and caring!
ReplyDeleteYes, WD, I agree and thanks for sharing your positive experience. If you are not from the Scranton area and ever plan to visit, they are on a fantastic artsy street in Downtown Scranton (Adams Ave) with another eco-friendly and handmade boutique, GreenBeing, and Eden, A Vegan Cafe as well as an indie record store, tattoo shop and cool bar. It's our own little Green Street and definitely worth the visit! ~ Chrissy
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