Interview with Belanima Owner Quinn Cao

I had a chat with Belanima store owner Quinn Cao about weddings, bridal parties and living luxuriously. Keep reading to find out more about her store, products and information on how you can create an unique, eco-friendly, spa night with your girls before the big day.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came up with the idea to create your online store Belanima.
After I lived in Europe and Asia, I felt the need to return home and fulfill my dream to support the local economy.  The result was Belanima, an online store that brings accessible luxury at a reasonable price to everyone and with products that help reduce the stress of everyday life.  Basically, I wanted to create a community where people can find out how to live a luxurious eco-chic lifestyle.

What does Belanima mean and why did you decide to use it as the name of your store?
Belanima is Italian for “beautiful soul.” I thought it was perfect for the name of my store because it reflects what I wanted to achieve. I wanted to share these amazing eco-friendly products with everyone and bring to light the importance of inner beauty, a beautiful soul.

As you probably already know, weddings can be stressful. What are some products you would recommend for the bride and her wedding party before the big day?
As a bride two years ago, I know how stressful wedding can be. I wish I had Belanima back then, prior to my own wedding. Products such as our bath tea, lustrate bath soak, soy candles, relaxing mist, lavender eye pillow are all great for creating a spa like environment in the home or hotel suite. Use them to create the ultimate bridal shower experience or as a night before the wedding destressor and as a fun way to get the girls together.

Another idea is to give out special thank you gifts to the bridal party with jewelry or a customized gift bags filled with the products of your choice from our store. Actually right now I’m working on special handmade gift bags for a friend and her 8 bridemaids.

I noticed that you have a line of organic beauty products. Can you tell us about a few of them and what makes them organic?
We are doing our best to use all organic ingredients for our products. They are also handmade and the ingredients are actually being harvested locally in Napa, California. Even our packaging is being made locally. In fact, one of our vendors that we have doesn’t use much chemicals at all. One of our products is a bath soak that relieves stress and is the most natural cure that has been use over 100 years.

Why is creating an eco-friendly line so important to you?
It has been a dream of mine to make a difference in the local economy and help our planet. We are trying to reduce our carbon footprint. I feel very passionate about this. I believe that we can all make a difference in keeping our environment healthy for future generations.

A bride’s wedding party is truly her lifeline when it comes to her big day. Do you have ideas or suggestions about what she can do to say thank you to them for everything that they’ve done?
I would suggest our custom jewelry and signature necklace. Also, I’m excited because we just started a partnership with Frette (you can check out the company at www.frette.com). Since, I truly believe that weddings are a magical event, our partnership ensures that you will get the most luxurious gift bag from Frette filled with our amazing relaxing bath products.

What is your favorite Belanima product?
I like all of them but if I have to pick one, it would be the eye pillow. I love to travel and it helps me to sleep on the plane.

It is always a challenge to find unique wedding favors that fit in with a couple’s wedding theme. What type of wedding theme is best suited to your line of products and which products do you recommend as favors for guests?
There are many different type of themes such as wine theme, eco-friendly and spa theme weddings suited for our line of products but we can work with the bride to help her get any wedding of her dreams.

Thanks Quinn! Anything else I missed that you would like Wedding Fashion File readers to know about you or your company?
I love to travel. I lived in London in the past and our company is continuing to grow. We’re hoping that we’ll be in the UK in the very near future. We love to hear feedback from our current clients and potential clients. Please email us with questions, suggestions and how we can improve our products.