Face Time: Little Soapmaker, big undertaking

EDITOR'S NOTE: Face Time is a monthly feature profiling local business people in a first-person format.

Growing from a Christmas gift

After my husband and I got married (in 1982) and we had our first child (in 1983), we both decided that I would stay home and raise our kids. But I always had to have a creative outlet. I'm a very high-
energy person.

I was always looking to learn new things. I did everything from handmade moosehide moccasins to learning to decorate cakes.

I did all these things for Christmas gifts, because back then, we couldn't afford a lot of extra things.

I was going to make Christmas gifts and a friend of mine invited several friends over to make soap. So, everybody did it that one time and I -- out of all the things I had done, I guess it's the one that stuck -- the one I really liked doing.

I loved it and I came home and made my own soap. I started tweaking the recipe and started doing a lot of research online and started blending my own scents -- and kind of creating my own things.

So, I started making it my own and
doing it for Christmas gifts for friends and family. And two things happened: a bed and breakfast in Yakima saw some of my soaps and wanted them for their business. At the same time, Yakima was starting a farmers market.

From farmers market to downtown

I got a call at home (about 10 years ago) and a guy asked me if I would consider making soap for the farmers market.

I said, "I don't think so. This is just kind of my own thing. I don't think I want to go into business and do it all of the time."

But, I relented and I decided to give it a shot. It was very successful. I did the Yakima Farmers Market for five years.

Eventually, I got so tired of hauling it out to the market every Sunday -- in the wind, in the rain, in the dust. It was a little bit challenging, physically, for me.

By the time my youngest was 17, I thought, I'd really like to have my own store.

My first store I opened in Glenwood Square on Tieton Drive. It was very small spot. It was a perfect spot for me to start out in. It was 350 square feet and I remember having trouble filling it up.

Two years ago, I started looking for something new. There was so much going on in downtown Yakima and I had several friends call me and say, "Hey Julie, we found the perfect spot for you."

I had looked all over Yakima, trying to find something, but we didn't look right downtown. We came at night, like at 10 o'clock, and the chandeliers were on and just this huge, beautiful shop, all painted and ready to go with a big fireplace. And the rent was incredibly reasonable.

So, for about $100 more per month, I got into a space that was more than 1,000 square feet.

More than soap

When I was doing the farmers market, there was a gal next to me who did candles. People kept saying, "Can't you make candles that match the smell of your soaps?" And I said, "Well no, because she makes candles."

But, she finally decided to get out of the candle-making business.

I waited two years to make sure she wasn't going to do it again before I started making candles.

When I was still at the farmers market, I was using my soap, but I was using commercial lotion. I would put a lot on, and by night, my skin was really, really dry.

I turned it over (the lotion) and looked at the ingredients and it was mineral oil and alcohol -- the main two ingredients. Knowing what I know about those things, I started making body butter and lotion.

What we make is a great product and it's good for your skin. People with eczema, diabetes, people who have had chemo, they tend to be really, really dry. So it's been a big help for those kinds of people.

We took it to another level about a year ago, being able to make the lotion unscented and in bulk and people can add any of the 130 scents that I have.

Once you know a lot about the oils and have them on hand, it's easy to do. It just kept growing from there.

Staying small ... and local

My vision used to be to have one little store in every town across the USA that carried my product. But I quickly realized that when you wholesale, it means you do all the work and sell it half price to them. They'd be making a profit off of me and I'd be making very little and doing a lot of hard work for not very much money.

I had a store in Kokomo, Ind., that carried my stuff. I had some over in the western side of the mountains and a couple of stores in Yakima that carried my product. Then somewhere along the line, I decided that's not the direction I want to go. I'd rather go smaller and be able to continue to do everything myself and just service the people that come here and online.

Normally, Saturdays are my day making product and I spend probably 12 hours on Saturday making product and a lot of time during the week.

I have staff that helps me with the measuring, but I still make all the soaps myself. I also make the candles myself. I have an employee who has taken over making the lotions for me because it's just really hard to keep up with everything by myself.

-- As told to Assistant City Editor Scott Mayes

Julie Brown

Age: 50.

Business venture: owner, The Little Soapmaker, 302 W. Yakima Ave., Suite 103.

Web site: thelittlesoapmaker.com.

Education: 1976 graduate of Highland High School.

Family: Julie and husband Dave Brown,57, have three grown children and three grandchildren.