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My grandmothers used to talk about making homemade soap back in the 1920's & 1930's during The Great Depression.
My Mom said she remembered the adults cooking soap in a big cast iron pot outside over a fire, her dad pouring the soap into a big rectangular mold, storing it in the barn and cutting it with a large corn knife. I loved hearing those stories of the "good ol' days", but my soap making experience in the 21st century has been quite different from Grandma's. I became a soap maker in 2002, after "retiring" from my corporate sales position to become a stay-at-home mom in 2001. My soap-making adventure started when I bought a bar of handmade soap at a local craft fair, that stung my skin. I wondered why, and thought to myself "I bet if I could make soap..." I bought a couple of soap making books and gave soap-making a try. The first batch was ugly, and it didn't smell good at all... but it was SOAP! Yippee! The thrill of seeing bubbles as I washed up my utensils was so exciting! I was hooked on the soap-making process from that very first batch! I am now into my 22nd year of making soap, and over the years I have added handmade body cream, aluminum-free deodorants as well as bath bombs to my lineup of products I often create items that are somewhat "seasonal", such as foot cream, sugar scrubs, etc. My products are still made in small batches, to ensure the highest quality. Since 2013, I have been blessed to be a resident artist at Tiadaghton House in Lebanon, IL. Located on the historic "brick street", at 111 W. St. Louis St. Lebanon, IL 62254. Hours are Tues.-Sat. 10:00 - 5:00; Sun. 12:00 - 4:00. I hope you'll stop by and say hello if you're ever in Lebanon, IL! |
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