Unwrap the Magic: Shop Small. Shop Oakland County.

Not long before Green Olive Soaps was born, necessity became the mother of invention.

Owning the Troy-based small business hadn’t been a goal for Camilla Rice, but her son Miles, just a baby at the time, suffered from eczema and other skin issues. Available products that were designed to treat sensitive skin weren’t a good fit for Miles. So Rice, whose professional background is in engineering, sprang to action.

“I wanted ingredients that would be as clean and natural as possible,” she recalls.

Her efforts, which included consulting a girlfriend who works in chemistry, resulted in her first homemade bar of soap. Today Miles is 10.

?“His skin is great now,” says Rice. “His skin is amazing!”

Since forming Green Olive Soaps in 2017, Rice has joined a growing number of Michigan small businesses that specialize in gift and craft items, both during the holiday season and throughout the year. Support from Oakland Thrive has added to Rice’s success since she began working with the non-profit consulting organization that provides assistance to qualifying women-, minority-, veteran-, and LGBTQ-owned enterprises based in Oakland County.

After finding success with the right balance and combination of ingredients to relieve her son of his skin challenges, Rice went on to develop other soaps, designing them in the shapes of cakes or other sweet treats. By the time she participated in her first craft show she’d become a proven vendor: Green Olive sold out of its products.

Although Rice worked full-time for an automaker, she began to consider entrepreneurship more seriously.

“Especially being in the automotive business, with the ups and downs, I said, ‘I better take a look at this,’” she remembers.

By 2019 she’d opened a storefront in Troy and received media attention including a feature on local TV news, but when COVID-19 hit Michigan, Rice shifted Green Olive Soaps to an online sales model.

?“I was thankful,” she adds, “because many businesses went under.”

Now, with Green Olive once again in a physical, collaborative space at 888 West Big Beaver Road in Troy, she says the holiday season, in particular, has been a good time. Oakland Thrive has aided Rice since 2023 when she met Thrive business consultant Jamar Bray at a diversity expo in Royal Oak.

?“I would say that they’ve been very instrumental in helping my business grow in marketing and in reach,” Rice says.

Formed in March 2023, Oakland Thrive works to strengthen resources for small and disadvantaged businesses. Providing entrepreneurs with one-on-one consultation, access to training, workshops and resource fairs at no cost, the initiative was funded with federal American Rescue Plan dollars. The organization aims to help companies that were struggling or undergoing transitions during the pandemic.

“It’s especially important that small business owners and their teams are visible during the busiest shopping season of the year,” says Vicki Selva, CEO of Oakland Thrive. “The corporate chains and department stores have commercials and other advantages that make it challenging for local and independent companies to gain notice. Part of our purpose at Oakland Thrive is helping entrepreneurs to position themselves so they can occupy the marketplace with larger brands when it’s time to buy gifts and choose retailers.”

Rice says she’s happy that Thrive is working to help “put my organization in the spotlight.” Her in-person sales and online growth have both expanded. and she’s excited about the season underway: Christmas tree and Oatmeal Milk and Honey are among popular soaps, while lip kits and body butter are gift items she recommends for any occasion.

“I like hearing back from folks, once they use the product, when their skin improves,” says Rice. “Some of them have been customers long enough for my kids to recognize their voices on the phone. That’s the part I love the most.”

For Jessica Brooks advertising and selling gifts, particularly during the holiday rush, has long been a family tradition. Based in Milford, she took the helm of Sweet Retreats Chocolate Shoppe in 2024, following her aunt’s retirement. At Christmastime, in particular, few edible gifts can rival quality chocolate.

“We have a huge selection of holiday boxes,” says Brooks. “You can make custom boxes and also decide what goes in them.”

Handmade, specialty gift items at Sweet Retreats include chocolate Christmas trees and chocolate sleighs. Suckers in the shapes of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer or Santa are available for young customers, and there’s a variety of “creams and clusters,” Brooks says, naming hazelnut, cashew, and peanut butter cup samplings among the store’s general offerings. Pretzels of different varieties and with tasty toppings are popular, too.

Brooks says she recently learned about Oakland Thrive and began communicating with a business consultant about potential support for Sweet Retreats.

Along with the pride of operating the neighborhood attraction her aunt opened to customers for 30 years, Brooks says a bonus of entrepreneurship is “the people.”

“People love buying chocolate and they’re friendly, and they’re happy,” she adds. “I love hearing the stories of what brings people into the store.”

But what’s more symbolic of a holiday gift than the packaging? Kelsey Hartung, a professionally trained gift-wrapper and designer, fills a retail niche and takes the holiday hassle away from customers of her business, Give Wrapped.

Hartung started the business about three-and-a-half years ago after being laid-off from work where she’d built a career in public relations, including crisis communication. Inspiration to re-create herself as an entrepreneur came as she pondered her next move.

“I said, ‘I want to be happy. I want to be around happy people,’” she recalls, “and I’m creative. It kind of feels like a version of public relations, making people look good.”

“There are three types of people,” she adds, “people who love to wrap gifts, people who enjoy it, but don’t have time to do it, and need that support – that pizzazz to take it over the top – and people who hate wrapping gifts. They just want you to make it look nice for them.”

Operating out of Bamboo Royal Oak, a co-working space, Hartung’s company wrapped 1,000 gifts in 2023.

“I use high-quality paper, stuff from around the world,” she says, naming locations as far away as Japan and Nepal.

Ribbons and other accents collected during Hartung’s travels are also incorporated with her hand-wrapped styles.

“I like different elements and embellishing,” she says.

Hartung learned about Oakland Thrive when she met consultant Sairy Garcia at a community event. Like Oakland Thrive, Give Wrapped provides consulting to companies, but in the form of gift giving for employees. Beyond creating splendid packaging that draws occasional gasps and reactions of awe, Hartung advises corporations about gift contents for team members.

“When you’re thinking of your employees, when you’re thinking of a vendor, when you’re thinking of a client, give them something thoughtful and they’ll remember it,” she says. “It shouldn’t be just a one-time thing. It should be part of a strategic relationship, and that helps show that you care.”

Even as the remaining days of the profitable holiday season dwindle toward a new year, Hartung says her journey as an entrepreneur remains inspiring, not to mention fulfilling on a personal level.

“I tell people this all the time, I have too much fun every day,” she adds. “I get to wrap gifts and make things look beautiful. How does it get any better than that?”

Learn more about these businesses and how to support them by visiting their websites at: www.greenolivesoaps.com, www.sweetretreatsmi.com, and www.givewrapped.com. You can also hear more from Camilla Rice of Green Olive Soaps on this week's Thrive Live. Listen here.

Happy shopping!

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