A new shop on Port Moody’s Clarke Street that sells bath bombs is doing more than just softening your skin or enticing your kids to get clean with moulded rockets that shoot colourful streams of glittering fizz.
It’s providing jobs and a sense of worth for developmentally challenged adults.
DisDaBomb is an initiative of the Community Ventures Society (CVS) that provides support, outreach and shared living services to people with developmental disabilities and their families from Vancouver to Abbotsford.
The shop is the organization’s first storefront after several years selling the fizzing handmade and hand-painted soaps at craft fairs, fundraisers for schools, select pharmacies and online.
Getting the space in Port Moody’s historic downtown core, just blocks from its administrative office on St. Johns Street, was a bit of serendipitous opportunity as it also provides much-needed programming space for clients participating in its community inclusion programs.
“It’s always been in the back of our head to have a storefront,” said Dawn Walsh, the employment coordinator at CVS.
“We needed more programming space and more room to sell.”
And boy, do the bombs sell.
Originally started by local entrepreneur Angela Lusignan in 2010 for sales at local craft markets, she gifted her business to CVS in 2017 because of a family connection to the organization and a strong belief in the capabilities of people with developmental disabilities.
It proved a good fit with CVS’ other entrepreneurship programs, like dog walking, lawn care and bin cleaning, said Walsh.
From there, four of its clients, including Yujin Jung, picked up the bath bomb and ran with it.
Jung said she loves making the bombs and talking to people about them at the craft markets, noting the lavender-scented hearts are her favourite.
Walsh said that kind of passion is key to making the business soar. Two or three days a week the small production team is in the workshop at the back of the store moulding the natural ingredients into shapes like spheres, rockets, video game handsets and even poop emojis and painting up to 200 bombs a day, then packaging them up. With the Christmas season approaching, that will ramp up to daily production.
Each member of the team is paid minimum wage for their time that supplements their disability incomes.
But more importantly, said Linda King, the executive director at CVS, they’re learning important employment skills that could lead to bigger and better things, as well as gaining confidence in their interactions with the community.
“It’s a great step,” she said.
“My goal for them is to give them the opportunity to find full employment,” added Walsh. “It gives them purpose.”
For more information, you’re encouraged to visit DisDaBomb’s Facebook page or visit their shop located at 2342 Clarke St.
