72 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • NOVEMBER 2021
GIFT GUIDE
LI ENTREPRENEURS PURSUE THEIR PASSIONS
BY BERNADETTE STARZEE
Dana Porciello began making artisan
soap bars as a creative outlet. Aft er
several years of developing her soaps
and other products, she opened a retail
store in Northport Village called The
Soothery in May 2021.
Porciello, who worked as a ceramic
artist and was the ceramic artist in residence
at Stony Brook University before
having children, was going through
some challenges in her life and thought
developing a creative business would
help her deal with those challenges.
She makes her soaps with high-quality
ingredients such as coconut oil and
olive oil, merging colors and scents to
convey a feeling, and she gives them
names like “Beach Day,” “Citrus Basil”
and “Pumpkin Pickin’.” She began
selling them at craft fairs about four
years ago and eventually on her website,
TheSoothery.com.
“The response of people to my products
was so powerful,” she said. “I loved
knowing how much my products made
people happy.”
With an eye toward opening a retail
store, Porciello expanded her product
line by creating salt scrub bars, lotion
bars, and lip balms, and attended trade
fairs to source additional products from
other artisans.
“If it’s something that is soothing and
that would have comforted me when I
was going through hard times, then I
include it,” she said.
The Soothery’s items include cozy
bathrobes, blankets, slippers, candles,
and inspirational cards.
Since the store’s opening, Porciello said,
sales and local support have been strong.
“I am living my dream,” she said.
Maddalena Harris also began
hand-craft ing soap as a way to deal with
a diffi cult time.
“My husband was getting sick, and I was
looking for a creative outlet,” said Harris,
who has always been drawn to the
arts. Aft er visiting several craft fairs,
the Northport resident discovered an
affi nity for the soap-making community.
“Soapers are so passionate about their
art form, and they’re so generous,” she
Dana Porciello, owner of retail soap shop The Soothery in Northport. (Photo by Bernadette Starzee)
said. “I said, this is something I could do.
My husband was on board, as he always
was, and I began making soap.”
Aft er her husband passed away, Harris
continued to make decorative soap,
with subtle aromas and high-quality
ingredients like olive, coconut, and
avocado oil and therapeutic-grade
essential oils. She has made about 500
bars under the brand name Maddalena’s
Soap du Jour, giving away many of
them as she focused on perfecting the
process. Now exploring ways to turn
her hobby into a business, Harris was
particularly successful selling soap
at a fundraiser for a local arts group.
She donated 40% of the proceeds to the
organization, and she recently took a
table at a local church fair.
“Doing craft fairs is a good method for
validating your ideas and seeing how
your product sells. You can get great
feedback and earn money at the same
time,” said Brian Fried, a Melville-based
serial inventor, inventor coach, and
founder of the National Inventor Club,
an online group that he expanded nationally
from the Long Island Inventors
Club, which met at Farmingdale State
College before the pandemic.
But as sales at craft fairs are limited by
the number of attendees, Fried counsels
entrepreneurs about the benefi ts of
exploring online sales.
“You can reach the whole world online
and use social media to drive traffi c to
your website or wherever your product
is sold,” he said.
Through his company, Inventor Smart,
Fried helps entrepreneurs turn their
idea into reality, from securing patent
or trademark protection and licensing
deals to barcoding, packaging and
marketing.
“If people have one product, it’s diffi
cult – but not impossible – to get it
into a physical retail store,” Fried said.
“Buyers prefer companies with product
lines with multiple items, but they’re
more willing to work with one product
for online sales. Online retailers like
QVC.com, Walmart.com, and Lowes.
com are always looking for new products
– that’s what keeps consumers
coming back to them. They look to
entrepreneurs and innovators to come
out with new products to off er to their
customers, and they have really opened
the door for inventors to sell online.”
National Inventor Club member Tony
Pagoto is a retired information technology
professional from Cutchogue
/QVC.com
/TheSoothery.com
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/Walmart.com
