Brandon Mathess discovered a knack for creating scented products over a decade ago when he decided to hand-make candles to give to family and friends.
He soon branched out to soapmaking and began to sell his wares at craft shows and gift shops under the business name Three Rivers Handcrafted. In 2022, the business rebranded as Bubble & Fizz Mountain Apothecary, which more accurately captured Mathess’ ever-expanding list of offerings such as lip balm, bath bombs, linen spray, laundry soap, bubble bath and body lotions.
In October 2023, Bubble & Fizz graduated to a brick-and-mortar location in Middletown Commons, a newly completed shopping, dining and wellness destination in Whitehall. The occasion was celebrated with refreshments and a ribbon-cutting with the Marion County Chamber of Commerce. The business donated 10% of sales made on opening weekend to the Marion County Humane Society.
Bubble & Fizz products come in dazzling colors and intriguing, unique scents that Mathess formulates to fully engage the senses. The shop is ringing in the holiday season with Christmas-themed products such as “Granny’s Gingerbread” scented bar soap and peppermint bark sugar scrub. There are also activated charcoal soaps that smell like spiced sugar cookies but look very convincingly like lumps of coal — sure to get a chuckle at the office white elephant gift exchange. Gift cards are also available in the shop or online at bubble-n-fizz.com.
For those who can’t make the trip to Whitehall, Bubble & Fizz concoctions will be available for sale at the next Morgantown Moonlight Market, which will be from 2-8 p.m. Saturday under the Farmers Market Pavilion, 400 Spruce St. in downtown Morgantown.
EVA MURPHY is a freelance business writer for The Dominion Post. She writes a column on businesses, churches and other entities in the city.
