Last year, we started our Maker of the Month series as a way to showcase the talent and creativity in this community. It turns out you love it as much as we do, so of course we had to continue it this year!
Meet the 2021 makers below. The interviews include information about how they got started, what inspires them, and their plans for the future.
January - Fizzy Soaps
Our first maker used TikTok to grow her business. Isabella started sharing videos of making cold process soap and explaining the method behind it. People especially loved watching her make adorable boba soaps. She now has more than 500,000 followers!
"I love bath products and when I found soap making, I knew this is what I wanted to do because of how creative I could be with it," she said.
February - Abdah Emporium
Naseerah's products have an ethereal, elegant quality to them. That's because they're often inspired by dreams and stories. You can definitely see it in the way she packages and photographs her body oils, soaps, and perfumes.
"I’m a storyteller at heart and so when I imagine new projects, I usually have a whole story behind them," Naseerah said. "I don’t always share the whole story, because I want people to also be able to attach their own memories and stories to the items they purchase from me."
March - Mad Sass Soap
Community support, hard work, and a loyal customer base have been the keys to Naomi's success. She started selling soap at local markets before signing a lease on a storefront. Then, weeks later, COVID-19 shut the country down. Today, her store is fully stocked and still expanding.
"Opening a storefront during a pandemic, with 5 year old twins, has not been easy," Naomi said. "But I did it, and it's working because of an incredibly supportive community, and I would have regretted it had I not done it."
April - Miner's Daughter
Kelly has always loved working with plants. Now, she grows flowers and herbs to include in her bath and body products. She especially loves comfrey, calendula, and rose. They're always a fixture on her simple and stunning soaps.
"Nature, beauty, and simplicity is what inspires me to create," Kelly said. "The alchemy of using plants, oils, and lye to make a beautiful, useful, simple product is so rewarding."
May - Bottega Zero Waste
When Marta started researching ways to reduce waste in her life, she soon came across cold process soap. She loved the idea of using simple and sustainable ingredients to make her own bars. Now, she teaches others how to do the same in her book, Botanical Soaps: A Modern Guide.
"My goal is to create products that are functional yet simple, each made with only a few essential ingredients," Marta said. "This minimalistic approach has allowed me to make natural products that actually help to reduce waste and genuinely benefit the skin."
June - Bittersweet Soap Works
Husbands David and Chad believe that everyone needs a creative outlet. Theirs is soap making. They started as a hobby, then word of mouth spread about their bars and soon they were selling them online and in stores. They're known for their colorful and skin-loving soap and comforting candles.
"We all work so hard and are so busy with our families, we believe you need an escape," David said. "Soap making is our escape! We love the variety of scents and designs we can make, but also love that simplicity can shine through as well."
July - Big Sky Soap Arizona
Jennifer was born and raised in Arizona, so she tries to add a little bit of her home to every bar. Her products are inspired by the flowers, sunsets, and animals there. And Jennifer's customers love knowing where the ingredients came from and how they feel on the skin.
"To me, it doesn't matter if the products are popular, I make them because it's important to my people that they are represented as the first and original beauty and skincare products of Hopi," she said.
August - Black Honey
Breona's cousin had a rare and painful skin condition growing up, so Breona decided then she wanted to make affordable and high-quality products for people in similar situations. Then, when COVID-19 hit, she finally had the time she needed to make that happen. She's been selling her luxurious masks, toners, bronzers, and more since then.
"As a soldier, I never really had much time to really start a business, but COVID-19 changed that," Breona said. "I wanted to make a change for my friends, family, and my community."
September - Big White Yeti
Making candles scratched a creative itch for Katie - especially after working corporate jobs for so long. She loves every part of the process, including creating scent blends, designing labels, and thinking of clever names. Customers love it too. Katie sells her candles at markets, in stores, and online, and hopefully in a building of her own soon.
"Our candles are seriously high quality and good smelling - but they aren’t serious," she said. "My desire for my workdays to be lighthearted and fun is what inspires me to create."
October - Oavender
Baking and soap making share many of the same techniques, like layering, frosting, etc. Cassie is an expert at making delicious-looking bars with those designs. Her products are inspired by all things sweet, including donuts, cake, and even strawberry smoothies.
"I think soap making is just like baking cake," Cassie said. "Once I found the right recipe to work with, then I started to make cake soap with all different kinds of cake decorations and frosting. I designed a lot of cake soap and made them look yummy because they are skin food."
November - Willow Bella Soaps
Sharon has always loved being creative. Nine years ago, she rediscovered that love - especially for bath and body products. She started with scrubs, then began adding other things to her line like bath bombs, lotions, and soap. Each one features a colorful and creative design.
"It wasn't long before I was making and then selling sugar scrubs," Sharon said. "And I was back to experimenting and making and creating - all of those passions just came bubbling up to the surface."
Keep tagging your photos with #BrambleOn for a chance to be featured next year!
