8 White Mountain Business News | February 2011 | www.whitemountainbusinessnews.com
For the Love of Home-Crafted Fragrance By Debe Campbell White Mountain Business News
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love to walk my dogs past White Mountain Soap & Bath’s home-based business. When there are fragrant aromas drifting out of the studio, I know there’s dreamy and creamy work afoot. The dogs pause to sniff along the ground while I savor the air like a scent hound. This is one good neighbor! White Mountain Soap & Bath is a homebased business success story, despite the economic squeeze and the surprising way it developed. It all started on a whim in 2002 to make soap for Christmas presents. The success of that first batch of soap yielded more bars than Dave Fischer and Don Hotz could give away. Light bulb! The idea for a new business was born. Dave and Don have been in the White Mountains for more than three decades. Both were nearing retirement from respected education professions, and finding some busy work to keep them active and alive was the goal. Little did they know they were opening the door to a little bubbling goldmine. After retiring, Don pursued a Master of Business Administration degree on top of his education credentials, so that he could
take the reins of the business’ financial end. Dave, ever the crafter, polished up his college chemistry skills and creativity to become the experimenter, designer and packaging guru. They credit extra courses at the local Northland Pioneer Community College – in everything from aromatherapy to accounting – with helping them round out their needed product and business knowledge. They started selling their wares at craft shows in 2003. They moved into the retail market at the Art Barn for a summer, before consigning sales at local outlets, including Wings of Light, Liberty Marketplace, Embellish, White Mountain Cottage and the White Chair. Their goal was to evoke a country general store apothecary aura with their products. Attention to handcrafting and consistency were paramount. Today, from too many bars of soap for Christmas, WMSB has up to 80 fragrances of soaps and an extensive line of body products, from butters and lotions, to scent infusers and bath salts, fizzy bath bombs and scent rollers, salt and sugar scrubs to essential oils and shampoo. The objective is to develop anything that “smells good and feels great” for therapy and relaxation. That being said, WMSB already has
absorbed two similar local companies that expanded too quickly or took money out of the business early. Those purchases showed the pair “what not to do” in the business and provided an infusion of low cost inventory. Meanwhile, Dave and Don adhere to the premise of making varieties
Upcoming new products include expanding the shampoo line and adding potpourri, incense and hemp body butter cream. “We listen carefully to customers,” said Dave, and they often introduce frequently requested scents and products. Beyond special blends for holidays, most scents
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WMSB recently won first place nationally in soap fragrancing with its Strawberry Bliss soap, containing fresh fruit. The fragrance smells scrumptious enough to eat.
out of simple bases and not producing a large product back stock, which does have a limited shelf life. Growing the business from the laundry room “lab” and living room “warehouse,” they built a 288-square-foot stand-alone studio in 2009 onto the garage and now wish they’d doubled the space. To answer this crunch and to expand from their consignment location at The White Chair in Pinetop, WMSB will expand into a 7,500-square-foot facility to accommodate not only The White Chair, but also Red Geranium Boutique and Snowflake Coffee Company, with openings for another retailer and a commercial kitchen operator. Advent of their website in 2008 raised sales and gave WMSB a virtual retail outlet. Web sale events are infrequent and an e-newsletter was recently introduced. Orders over $50 are shipped free in one to two days. Pricing is reasonable, from $5 to $20 for any product. Web sales continue to constitute an important part of business, with one-third of local retail outlet sales coming from local sources and two-thirds from the local visitor market between May and October. “Between October and Christmas, the local market really supported our products,” said Dave, “which we really appreciated.” They use the slow first quarter of the year to restock inventory and develop product. While 80 varieties of soap – from herbs, fruit, seasonal scents, foods and floral – sounds excessive, the soap base recipe remains the same. Small batches are brewed as needed, and that applies across the board for all products. The duo discovered that scent trends follow an “economic” cycle. “Florals and herbals are for a fair economy. In 2009, those went out and comfort fragrances of citrus and foods were in demand,” said Dave. Overall, White Gardenia, Lavender and Oatmeal & Honey remain consumer favorites, said Don. They say 95 percent of sales come from professional or retired women who value quality, natural skin care products.
are distinctive, single note fragrances. “Customers seem to appreciate identifiable and understandable scents,” explained Dave. WMSB is an eco-conscious company. Recyclable packaging is used and Don said that customers can return their bottles for refilling at the studio factory. Minimal packaging, paper and labeling is used and packing peanuts are recycled. From a self-built database system to incorporating fruits and herbs grown in their own garden behind the production studio, WMSB makes every effort to put a personal, homemade touch on every single product. All ingredients are revealed in packaging and sales materials. Member of the national Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild, Inc., WMSB recently won first place nationally in soap fragrancing with its Strawberry Bliss soap, containing fresh fruit. The fragrance smells scrumptious enough to eat. WMSB has donated custom labeled products to Cancer Centers Healthcare of Northern Arizona and to troops abroad. When asked about retirement, Dave and Don simultaneously respond with beaming smiles -- “What’s that?” They say their full-time retirement commitment is lots of fun and keeps them active. “When it’s not fun, we’ll think about it,” said Dave. Meanwhile, if capacity begins to outstrip the product they can produce, WMSB will hire and train staff to take over aspects of the business, “and teach them to do business our way,” said Dave with an arched eyebrow. WMBN
White Mountain Soap & Bath 1466 S. Julia Lane Lakeside, AZ 85929 928-367-2442 www.whitemountainsoapandbath.com