Name Bubbles

Closing this season with gratitude, appreciation, and excitement for what is to come. Thank you to all of our guests who started out with us on Season One of From the Basement Up!

Join us for a 20th recap episode of all of our interviews! 

Closing this season with gratitude, appreciation, and excitement for what is to come! Thank you to all of our guests who started out with us on Season One of From the Basement Up.


From the Basement Up - Season One Recap

Season One Recap: From the Basement Up

Michelle Brandriss is the CEO & Founder of NameBubbles.com, Sticker & Co., and Labels to Last. Now as the host of From the Basement Up, Michelle will be back after camp and back-to-school season in the Fall with Season 2!


Meet the groundbreakers and community makers, with Michelle Brandriss, founder of Name Bubbles. This podcast is for those thinking about starting a business, branching out on their own, or creating something for their community. Hear from people who tackled their biggest fears and got their grit on. Learn how they are redefining success and creating inspiration for others to do the same.

From The Basement Up

In today's episode, we're joined by Shennel Fuller. A mom, and entrepreneur, who’s created a clothing brand for kids that is known for its minimalist style. Though her collection takes us back to basics, it is meant to blend in with anyone's wardrobe. Treated like your everyday uniform, or favorite outfit that you could wear everyday if only you had five sets of the exact same soft cute long-lasting, staple pieces. Shennel’s genius is a gift for moms wanting soft, high-quality clothing that removes the fuss. The brand excels with the basics, is gender-neutral, and shares big smiles in white, grey, and black. Miles and Milan by Shennel Fuller. It was featured in InStyle Germany, on Oprah’s list of favorite things, recommended by celebrities, and found in stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.&nbsp;The clothing inspires an effortless style that is current and allows a little one’s cuteness to shine. Shennel is a veteran in the world of fashion, she has worked as an executive at brands like Talbots, Converse, Levi’s, and 7 for All Mankind, and From the Basement Up is very excited to have her share her journey with our listeners.

Once I became pregnant, I began to receive gift after gift from friends and family that didn’t seem to connect with my personal style (classic, simple, and effortless). It occurred to me that it wasn’t that my friends and family didn’t know my style, but instead it was what the market offered.
 
Shortly after the birth of my son, I decided to create a children’s brand that was classic, simple, and always current.

I created a brand that is for everyone. I do this to inspire anyone who is following my journey, but more importantly for my young sons (who are the models). I want them to grow up in a time where their dreams are not limited before attempt. I want them to dream big and apply hard work to everything they set out to accomplish and until that happens, they will watch “Mommy” do just that every day. 

Shennel Fuller

CEO & Founder

Shennel Fuller, a mom, and entrepreneur, who’s created a clothing brand for kids that is known for its minimalist style. Shennel’s genius is a gift for moms wanting soft, high-quality clothing that removes the fuss. The brand excels with the basics, is gender-neutral, and shares big smiles in white, grey, and black. Does it sound familiar? Well, it should! The clothing line is Miles and Milan, and it’s been on Oprah’s list of favorite things, recommended by celebrities, and found in stores like Saks and Nordstrom. The clothing inspires an effortless style that is current and allows a little one’s cuteness to shine. Shennel is a veteran in the world of fashion, she has worked as an executive at brands like Converse, Levi’s, and 7 for All Mankind, and Michelle and Emily are very excited to have her share her journey with us on From the Basement Up today.


Shennel Fuller - Miles and Milan

Interview with CEO & Founder of Miles and Milan

Shennel Fuller, CEO and Founder of Miles and Milan, writes this excerpt on her company website, "as I searched and searched for that perfect in between, that would support my minimalistic yet fashion thoughtful aesthetic, my brand Miles and Milan was born. Named after my lovely niece and nephew; I set out to develop a brand that provides key basics and fashion items that are playful, effortless, and current. A brand that grows with your child and hopefully removes the fuss in dressing to help you enjoy those precious moments a little more. I hope you enjoy!"


Today's episode is another installment of meeting the Name Bubbles team! Listen in for some fun questions, hard questions, and advice about small business ownership from our very own, Ashley Murdza!

College of Saint Rose alumni - Bachelor of Science. Certified elementary school teacher and former hospitality/catering expert. Current accounting, human resources and business administration professional. Thrives in start up environments. A fast learner with an aptitude for optimism.

Ashley Murdza

Director of Business Administration

In this episode of From the Basement Up, Michelle is joined by one of the members of the Name Bubbles family, Ashley.


Ashley - Name Bubbles

College of Saint Rose alumni - Bachelor of Science. Certified elementary school teacher and former hospitality/catering expert. Current accounting, human resources and business administration professional. Thrives in start up environments. A fast learner with an aptitude for optimism.


Today's episode highlights Sejal Thakkar, a civility officer, leader, mom, and entrepreneur. Sejal teaches us a little bit about ourselves through this episode. She created her company to try to help other companies create a positive and constructive workplace. She provides legal advice, consulting, and training in creating constructive employee relations. Sejal helps companies avoid costly litigation, but more importantly, she helps companies elevate their culture with training and sound personnel policies. As you will hear in today's episode, Sejal is also a public speaker, she has been a keynote speaker and even appeared and TED talks. She discusses her own experiences of discrimination, bullying, and harassment, and how that is shaped her career and addressing the importance of diversity and inclusion, sexual harassment prevention, anti-bullying, and unconscious bias. In this episode we hear how she got her start, where she plans to go, and some of the hurdles she's had me and mitigate through along the way.

 Sejal Thakkar is on a mission to educate and empower people to create a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  She is responsible for cultivating a people-first culture at Nobody Studios. Sejal is a former employment law attorney, a 2X TEDx speaker, and the Founder and Chief Civility Officer at TrainXtra, where she helps leaders create positive, safe, and respectful workplaces through customized training and coaching.

Sejal Thakkar

Founder of TrainXtra

Today's episode introduces a very special guest, Sejal Thakkar, civility officer, entrepreneur, TedX Talk speaker, and founder of TrainXtra. This episode sheds light on conversations about diversity and inclusion. 


Sejal Thakkar - TrainXtra

TrainXtra

From Sejal, 

"My Vision: I Envision a More Accepting 🌎. 

My Mission: Plant 🌱🌱🌱 every day. Educate and Empower others to be a part of the solution to achieving my vision. Create safe, civil, and inclusive work environments—to drive human progress and provide the freedom to be our whole selves and do our best work. 

My Philosophy 🧠: Be a Better Human Being. 

🎬: I founded TrainXtra to help companies create positive, safe and respectful workplaces by providing effective customized training programs. My highly experiential workshops are tailored to bring the courtroom to the training room in an interactive, engaging environment that favors human stories over compliance checklists. 🧾

📢: Recently, I joined Nobody Studios as a Chief Culture Officer! 💥 As CCO, I’m responsible for building, supporting, and providing guidance on all global culture initiatives. 

🦋: Having lived in a predominantly all-Italian neighborhood while growing up, I faced bias on a daily basis. In my TedX talk, I examine the concept of bias through three different viewpoints (pain, paradox, and power) and encourage people to show empathy and compassion in the face of adversity by controlling our own biases. Let's all get our H.A.T.S on!

Watch my TedX talk and let it transform you: https://youtu.be/3IBn_JkH1Kw
 
My Favorite Quotes:

➡️"You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness."~ Brené Brown

➡️"You may as well be yourself; everyone else has been taken." ~ Oscar Wilde

My Magical Key 🔑 to Bliss: Choose to see the beauty in the differences."


Over 30 years ago, Jessica Iclisoy embarked on a journey to create a non-toxic environment for her family.&nbsp;In 1995, launching in her kitchen with ingredients she had sourced, Jessica began to create the beloved formulas for what is today, the industry standard in natural skincare, California Baby. Since then, Jessica has built California Baby into a globally recognized brand, with more than 200 products available at retailers nationwide and through a global distribution network. California Baby is a recognized Women Owned Business, with its own certified organic and FDA registered manufacturing operation and organic farm. Jessica is a member of the Plant Based Product Council and serves on their Policy, Education and Communication Committees.&nbsp;She is also a member of the Fast Company Impact Council which is an invitation-only collective of innovative leaders and the most creative people in business. Jessica is the chair of Female Arts Initiative, which is a nonprofit to support women in the arts.&nbsp;She is a Board member of UCLA – Santa Monica Hospital and serves as the Board Chair of the committee for their Integrated Medicine Initiative.&nbsp; Jessica believes that her mission extends far beyond creating products that are safe for children and healthy for the environment. In 2016, she launched The Natural Advisory Council (NAC) to form a coalition of natural, organic, and “green” product manufacturers, retailers, and non-profit consumer protection organizations to advocate, collaborate and educate (ACE) on the definition and use of the term, “natural” in all consumer products. Resources:<a href="https://www.californiababy.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.californiababy.com/</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/californiababy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/c/californiababy</a> Key Takeaways:00:24&nbsp;-&nbsp;01:16 🎙 Episode overview: California Baby and Jessica Iclisoy01:25&nbsp;-&nbsp;07:26 🧑‍🍳 The most important ingredient in every California Baby product, and more about the company07:26&nbsp;-&nbsp;12:13 🧪 Creating recipes with scientists, and what that process was like12:14&nbsp;-&nbsp;14:33 💎 What inspires Jessica and her team to create new products?14:40&nbsp;-&nbsp;19:17 👏 Jessica's thoughts on organic and natural practices spreading across industries19:18&nbsp;-&nbsp;24:13 🌼 Being a stickler for ingredients and the capability to grow all California Baby's own ingredients24:53&nbsp;-&nbsp;28:37 🧩 The organic industry, marketing strategy, and doing the research28:37&nbsp;-&nbsp;33:03 🐝 Beekeeping failures, learnings, and considerations33:05&nbsp;-&nbsp;35:58 🌳 The Natural Advisory Council's relation to California Baby35:59&nbsp;-&nbsp;37:21 🎉 Reflecting on 30 years of business37:21&nbsp;-&nbsp;40:56 🌔 The stages of California Baby's life40:57&nbsp;-&nbsp;42:59 🗝 "When did you know you would be wildly successful?"43:01&nbsp;-&nbsp;45:21 ♻️ What the pandemic was like for California Baby from a supplier standpoint45:25&nbsp;-&nbsp;51:29 👯‍♀️💪 On encouraging other women in business51:31&nbsp;-&nbsp;59:19 🔮 Jessica's reactions to people wanting to buy California Baby, and her future outlook for the brand

Jessica is the host of the California Natural Living Podcast which breaks down healthy living challenges to apply problem-solving tactics. Topics are as varied as bee keeping, Chinese integrative medicine, organic textile production and tips for living a healthy vibrant lifestyle.

 

Jessica is a member of the Plant Based Product Council and serves on their Policy, Education and Communication Committees. She is also a member of the Fast Company Impact Council which is an invitation-only collective of innovative leaders and the most creative people in business. Jessica is the chair of Female Arts Initiative, which is a nonprofit to support women in the arts.  She is a Board member of UCLA – Santa Monica Hospital and serves as the Board Chair of the committee for their Integrated Medicine Initiative. 

 

Jessica believes that her mission extends far beyond creating products that are safe for children and healthy for the environment. In 2016, she launched The Natural Advisory Council (NAC) to form a coalition of natural, organic, and “green” product manufacturers, retailers, and non-profit consumer protection organizations to advocate, collaborate and educate (ACE) on the definition and use of the term, “natural” in all consumer products. She also collaborates with leading groups and companies to initiate congressional action to establish federal legislation demanding safe cosmetics and has participated in lobbying activities to help shape the Toxic Substances Control Act and Personal Care Product Safety reform.  

Jessica Iclisoy

CEO & Founder of California Baby®

From the Basement Up talks with Jessica Iclisoy about California Baby and lessons learned throughout nearly 30 years in business.


Jessica Iclisoy - California Baby®

California Baby®

In this week's episode of From the Basement Up, Michelle and Emily are joined by Genika Blandshaw, founder, owner, and operator of Juice Factory VII. Her passions are food, health, and staying true to herself. Among the most dedicated and hard working women From the Basement Up has had the pleasure to host, Genika had an interesting background before beginning her career as a serial entrepreneur. While she at one time had a hand in policy making for Medicare and Medicaid, her career path has clearly changed completely; however she maintains that common thread of health throughout all of her endeavors. Join us today and listen in on how Genika got her start, found her balance as a mom, wife, and businessowner; and where she plans to go!

My name is Genika Blandshaw the owner of Juice Factory VII located at 501 Broadway Troy NY. Juice Factory VII has been in business since October 2017 and offers a wide variety of healthy options such as juice cleanse, cold pressed juice, smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, salads, acai bowls, breakfast along with vegan options. Juice Factory VII is your healthy option on the go! 

Genika Blandshaw

Founder & Owner

In today's episode we are joined by a local entrepreneur, Genika Blandshaw! 

Her passions are food, health, and staying true to herself. Among the most dedicated and hard working women From the Basement Up has had the pleasure to host, Genika had an interesting background before beginning her career as a serial entrepreneur. While she at one time had a hand in policy making for Medicare and Medicaid, her career path has clearly changed completely; however she maintains that common thread of health throughout all of her endeavors. 




Genika Blandshaw - The Juice Factory VII

Juice Factory VII

About Juice Factory VII from their website: 

"We wanted to make eating healthy and making positive food choices an easy win for those that are too busy, too overwhelmed with options, or just don’t know where to begin. We of all people understand how tedious it is to be healthy in the busy seasons of life, and if you are anything like us…you’re always in a busy season! We were craving a place that met our high standard for quality, healthy food options on the go within the capital region area, and Juice Factory VII was born on October 13, 2017."


Today's episode is another installment of meeting the Name Bubbles team! Listen in for some fun questions, hard questions, and advice about small business ownership from our very own, Brent Marianetti!

Brent Marianetti 

Operations Manager at Name Bubbles

In this episode of From the Basement Up, Michelle is joined by one of the members of the Name Bubbles family, Brent.


Brent - Name Bubbles

EXPERIENCE
Operations Supervisor: Name Bubbles – Ballston Spa, NY (May 2016 – Present)
- Collaborate with management team to interview, hire, and train new employees
- Build and operate an in-house lighting studio for product photography
- Brainstorm and carry out new processes to improve production lead times

Lead Photographer: Dave Bigler Photos & Films – Saratoga Springs, NY (July 2013 – May 2016)
- Captured formal and candid wedding images while leading a photo and video team
- Edited photographs, built blog posts, and designed custom albums for clients
- Handled new inquiries and worked with couples to build wedding-day timelines

Studio Manager: Portrait Simple – Salem, NH and Natick, MA (April 2009 – June 2013)
- Implemented on-the-spot solutions for both customer and employee concerns
- Created balanced labor schedules and daily session plans for a team of fifteen people
- Conducted both weekly and annual performance reviews with each associate

Assistant Store Manager: Portrait Simple – Salem, NH (September 2007 – April 2009)
- Photographed the most challenging sessions and strived for customer satisfaction
- Assisted the corporate office in creating a company handbook for training new hires
- Traveled to different studio locations to present new protocol and gather feedback

HONORS/AWARDS 
- Portrait Simple All-Star Photography Team
Comprised of the 10 most exceptional photographers, out of the 150 employees company-wide
- Portrait Simple Brand Award
Given to the sole employee who signifies the company brand: “Under promise and over deliver”
- Portrait Simple Above and Beyond Award
Presented to the individual who constantly goes out of their way in pursuit of outstanding
photography and even better customer service


Recent Episodes

SEASON 1

Shennel Fuller - Miles and Milan

Ashley - Name Bubbles

Sejal Thakkar - TrainXtra

Jessica Iclisoy - California Baby®

Genika Blandshaw - The Juice Factory VII

Brent - Name Bubbles

About The Show

From The Basement Up

Michelle Brandriss

Founder of Name Bubbles

Emily Flanagan

Producer