Dreams Come True

So often, people ask me how I became interested in making soap and I still have a hard time answering the question, mostly because it involves pieces of my childhood that are stuck in time and when I go there I get lost in the details.  I tend to jumble the story even though I’ve told it so many times.

What I know for sure is this:  I was probably no more than seven or eight when I stood before my next door neighbors double door closet in their basement and was awestruck at the sight of a shelf full of large brown clunky bars of soap that were cut into many shapes and sizes.  I really wanted to take one to tell you the truth.

I used to help them in the summer with their wash on Mondays – these 90 something year old folks who had a routine-driven life that fascinated me.  I spent alot of time with them which was my good fortune.  One year I helped them address Christmas cards to family who never showed up to visit – one name was Tucker…..I was young (keep that in mind), and I accidentally made the capital “T” a capital “F” in Tucker….I was too embarassed to show old George so you guessed it, it went out like that…oops…

These folks not only made their own soap but their own catsup too.  They had an old gas stove (the kind you see in vintage stores for many hundreds of dollars now) in their immaculate basement where I recall seeing large pots of tomatoes from their garden bubbling away and splattering everything around it!  I never saw them eat catsup, but oh well.

George used to randomly cut roses from his garden for my Mom – I think he knew she needed some spoiling with her eight kids, diapers on the clothesline and her rheumatoid arthritis that ruled all our lives.  She knew he would give her flowers for the asking too, and often I would go over the fence that separated our yards but not our hearts and come back with a beautiful bouquet that would light up her face.  One day he came to the fence with a box of tampax and said he thought they were cigars, my face can still go red when I remember how embarrassed I felt!

Our grand opening is this Friday.  I think of my family, my neighbors who loved me, my friends in Athens and my two fabulous fantastic partners who are helping me realize this dream and I smile to myself.  Smile because, who knew, fifty years ago that the little girl who found those clunky bars of soap so fascinating, would be opening a soap store in Athens, Georgia.

Come see us at 130 Ware St., we’ll be there for ya from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Saturday!