Meet the Makers

The first soap I made in my kitchen featured cocoa butter accented with cocoa to make it look like real chocolate.  A week later my oldest daughter found a video on YouTube of a woman making soap cupcakes with eco-GLITTER and mica.  We were hooked. 

I already owned a successful small business, S.K. Rhoades Contemporary Jewelry, and I was not looking to open a second. I fought it hard. Two business coaches told me to drop it and focus on my jewelry and being a mom of two small children I already felt stretched with running my jewelry business and working full time.

And really, where would we store it? 
How and where would I sell it?
But I just could not stop soaping and experimenting.

I knew if I started this crazy venture that it would have to be unique and different from anything else in our region. 

And it had to be about food. And it had to bring joy to my family.

I signed up for the Historic Newburgh Farmer’s Market and launched a limited product line with a few small retail partners. Our oldest daughter Lyra joined me at the market that summer and my youngest, Wren, LOVES to design new bars of soap.  This is very much a family affair.

We are still blown away by the positive response and in August of 2017 I became a full-time maker, a dream come true.

Soap making combines several things I love: formulating, baking, art, making something special for and with my daughters, it’s challenging, it’s better for the environment, and it’s good for our skin and appeals to all of the senses-it really is the perfect zero calorie indulgence.

During this short lifetime I have been a floral designer, teacher, manager, gallery curator, jewelry artist, and now a soap maker. One thing I have learned is that even the most beautifully crafted item needs to function just as perfectly as it looks.  Our soaps may be great beauties, but they are also some of the best on the market made with olive oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and formulated for children and those with sensitive skin. 

We focus on soap, fun soap that will make you happy when you use it.  The truth is, if you cleanse your skin properly and don’t dry it out with harmful detergents, you won’t need as many conditioning products, good soap is the key.  So making the best soap is our focus.  I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoy making it for you.

Everyone deserves a little daily joy and a little sparkle <3