Cleaning up with soap
By Loretta Sorensen Journal correspondent | Posted: Sunday, November 11, 2007
Co-owner Mary Johnson displays bars of soap at Riverbank Bathing Co.'s new shop in Yankton, S.D. The soap, hand made by Johnson and her husband, Dave, are also available online and through a number of vendors in the region. (Photo by Loretta Sorensen)
YANKTON, S.D. -- Applejack and Orange Peel, Cool Peppermint and Night Fire are just a few of the fragrant scents greeting customers the moment they enter Riverbank Bathing Co.'s new handmade soap shop in downtown Yankton.
Owners Dave and Mary Johnson never imagined they would find themselves in the business of cleaning up when they first began purchasing handmade soaps several years ago at a monastery in Missouri.
"We just fell in love with the product," Mary says. "One of my sister's friends was making it. They sold it through a religious goods outlet. We started using it, then told our family and friends about it. Pretty soon, every time we went to Missouri, we brought back soap.''
The Johnsons were attracted to the moisturizing properties of the handmade soap their friends made. Mary says her hands were no longer dry and she loved the overall silky feeling she noticed after using the soap in the shower.
''It's the butters and oils that are in it," she says. "They are really good for your skin."
After several "buying trips," their Missouri source recommended the Johnsons start making and selling the soap themselves.
"We thought, why not? We took several weekends and drove down to Missouri to learn how to do it," Mary says.
From the start, the couple agreed that Dave would handle mixing the soap. The ingredients, butters, oils and lye, require some lifting so it made sense that he would work with cooking the soap ingredients.
The process begins with heating the butters and oils to a specific temperature.
"You don't want to rush it," Dave says. "It takes about 45 minutes to heat them. The lye mixture is added and heated to what soapers call 'trace,' then you poer the mixture into a crock pot and cook it for another 45 to 60 minutes.''
The ingredients are stirred once while they continue to heat. Fragrances are added just before the soap is poured into handmade wooden molds designed to hold the heat to aid in the soap's curing process.
"There is a cold process you can use to make soap too," Dave says. "But the bars have to cure longer, up to two weeks. With the heat process, the soap hardens in about 24 hours."
The wooden mold leaves lines for dividing the soap into bars and Dave carefully cuts the bars so they are uniformly the same size and weight.
Initially the Johnsons marketed their soaps by word of mouth and through craft and hobby fairs. As the requests for their products began to grow, they started making plans to establish a Webs ite and open a shop. Their new store is on the lower level of an existing building at 12 1/2 W. Third St. in downtown Yankton.
They also offer their products through numerous vendors in the region, such as Hy-Vee. In addition, the soap is sold through Sioux City's Floyd Boulevard Market.
Single bars are $4.50 and three-bar gift sets are $14.50.
''One of the ways we've gotten the word out about the soap is through fundraisers," Mary says. "We offer groups 40 percent of the sale and this is a very practical item, which makes you feel pampered, so it sells well."
At a time when naturalists are discouraging the use of antibacterial products, Mary says handmade soaps can provide a good alternative to some commercially made products.
"We use very gentle cleanser oils and butters that work to keep your skin clean and smooth," Mary says.
Over the last two and a half years, the Johnsons have developed 65 different fragrances for their soap, which includes some special holiday scents. Developing their scents has been a trial and error process.
"Some of the fragrances that smelled good in the bottle just didn't work with the soap," Dave says. Because they make their soap in small batches, the Johnsons plan to carry a wide variety of fragrances so they can meet individual needs of their customers.
"Dave's adventurous with the fragrances we use," Mary says. "He's always imagining what a new fragrance might be like and usually suggests the new ones that we try. As long as we have several customers who like a particular fragrance, we'll be able to keep it on hand."
Providing a high quality natural product with some personal packaging touches has proven to be a successful business focus for the Johnsons.
"We started putting our soap in little fabric bags," Mary says. "The fabric was left over from my sewing days and I thought I might as well use it for something. Turns out it's a nice way to package the soap and people can easily sample the different fragrances to see what they like."
The Johnsons also use recycled wood for their three-bar soap packages. They promote the fact that the soap can be used as a deodorizer in many different ways, including in gym bags, lockers, purses and drawers.
"It really has a lot of different uses and its biodegradable," Mary says.
While the Johnsons are pleased that their interest in handmade soap has turned into a business, they say none of it would have worked for them without the enthusiasm they found for the product and the process.
"One of the vendors told me they could see the passion I have for this when I talk about it," Mary says. "I'm not sure where that comes from. We just thought it was so good for us and we loved seeing other people discover it too."
Riverbank Bathing Co.
Owners: Dave and Mary Johnson
Products: Hand made soap
Store location: 112 1/2 W. Third St., Yankton, S.D.
On the Web: www.riverbankbathingcompany.com.
Owners Dave and Mary Johnson never imagined they would find themselves in the business of cleaning up when they first began purchasing handmade soaps several years ago at a monastery in Missouri.
"We just fell in love with the product," Mary says. "One of my sister's friends was making it. They sold it through a religious goods outlet. We started using it, then told our family and friends about it. Pretty soon, every time we went to Missouri, we brought back soap.''
The Johnsons were attracted to the moisturizing properties of the handmade soap their friends made. Mary says her hands were no longer dry and she loved the overall silky feeling she noticed after using the soap in the shower.
''It's the butters and oils that are in it," she says. "They are really good for your skin."
After several "buying trips," their Missouri source recommended the Johnsons start making and selling the soap themselves.
"We thought, why not? We took several weekends and drove down to Missouri to learn how to do it," Mary says.
From the start, the couple agreed that Dave would handle mixing the soap. The ingredients, butters, oils and lye, require some lifting so it made sense that he would work with cooking the soap ingredients.
The process begins with heating the butters and oils to a specific temperature.
"You don't want to rush it," Dave says. "It takes about 45 minutes to heat them. The lye mixture is added and heated to what soapers call 'trace,' then you poer the mixture into a crock pot and cook it for another 45 to 60 minutes.''
The ingredients are stirred once while they continue to heat. Fragrances are added just before the soap is poured into handmade wooden molds designed to hold the heat to aid in the soap's curing process.
"There is a cold process you can use to make soap too," Dave says. "But the bars have to cure longer, up to two weeks. With the heat process, the soap hardens in about 24 hours."
The wooden mold leaves lines for dividing the soap into bars and Dave carefully cuts the bars so they are uniformly the same size and weight.
Initially the Johnsons marketed their soaps by word of mouth and through craft and hobby fairs. As the requests for their products began to grow, they started making plans to establish a Webs ite and open a shop. Their new store is on the lower level of an existing building at 12 1/2 W. Third St. in downtown Yankton.
They also offer their products through numerous vendors in the region, such as Hy-Vee. In addition, the soap is sold through Sioux City's Floyd Boulevard Market.
Single bars are $4.50 and three-bar gift sets are $14.50.
''One of the ways we've gotten the word out about the soap is through fundraisers," Mary says. "We offer groups 40 percent of the sale and this is a very practical item, which makes you feel pampered, so it sells well."
At a time when naturalists are discouraging the use of antibacterial products, Mary says handmade soaps can provide a good alternative to some commercially made products.
"We use very gentle cleanser oils and butters that work to keep your skin clean and smooth," Mary says.
Over the last two and a half years, the Johnsons have developed 65 different fragrances for their soap, which includes some special holiday scents. Developing their scents has been a trial and error process.
"Some of the fragrances that smelled good in the bottle just didn't work with the soap," Dave says. Because they make their soap in small batches, the Johnsons plan to carry a wide variety of fragrances so they can meet individual needs of their customers.
"Dave's adventurous with the fragrances we use," Mary says. "He's always imagining what a new fragrance might be like and usually suggests the new ones that we try. As long as we have several customers who like a particular fragrance, we'll be able to keep it on hand."
Providing a high quality natural product with some personal packaging touches has proven to be a successful business focus for the Johnsons.
"We started putting our soap in little fabric bags," Mary says. "The fabric was left over from my sewing days and I thought I might as well use it for something. Turns out it's a nice way to package the soap and people can easily sample the different fragrances to see what they like."
The Johnsons also use recycled wood for their three-bar soap packages. They promote the fact that the soap can be used as a deodorizer in many different ways, including in gym bags, lockers, purses and drawers.
"It really has a lot of different uses and its biodegradable," Mary says.
While the Johnsons are pleased that their interest in handmade soap has turned into a business, they say none of it would have worked for them without the enthusiasm they found for the product and the process.
"One of the vendors told me they could see the passion I have for this when I talk about it," Mary says. "I'm not sure where that comes from. We just thought it was so good for us and we loved seeing other people discover it too."
Riverbank Bathing Co.
Owners: Dave and Mary Johnson
Products: Hand made soap
Store location: 112 1/2 W. Third St., Yankton, S.D.
On the Web: www.riverbankbathingcompany.com.
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