Getting soapy by the sea
P.E.I. businessman discovers joy of natural soap making
For Dennis Hubert, part of the enjoyment of soap making is the process of beginning and growing a business. Hubert, who lives with his wife Teresa in the hamlet of Duvar, near Bloomfield in western P.E.I., knows the joys of creating something new.
In the fall of 2019, just before COVID hit, Hubert began the business, By the Sea Soap Shoppe. The focus is on making healthy, natural handmade soap, mostly by including essential oils.
Hubert says his daughter-inlaw, Sarah Lauridsen, is also involved in the business and his goal was to begin a business that could provide some resources for their family as well as his own.
Their first sales event was the Westisle Craft Fair, a large, well-known P.E.I. craft fair in the month of November. The fair coincides with the Christmas rush.
To learn the art of soap making, Hubert says at first, he learned a little from both his sister and one of his daughters. But he says he learned most of the techniques through YouTube videos, from a few books and from experimenting and trying out different ideas.
There are a few things that distinguish their handmade soap from what you would buy in big stores, says Hubert.
“Our soap looks good, smells great and is actually good for your skin,” he says.
The ingredients they use nourishes and nurtures the skin rather than drying it out and damaging it.
The soap, he says, is made the old-fashioned way but with the added benefits of essential oils and nourishing ingredients.
The three most popular soaps they sell are ‘luscious lavender,’ ‘refreshing lemongrass’ and ‘handsome man,’ says Hubert.
Prior to Christmas, however, he says they do sell a lot of candy cane and Christmas Eve soap as well.
Hubert says they love hearing stories of how their soap helped someone and how many people buy their favourite soaps time and time again.
Hubert’s wife used to work with someone who had quite serious issues with eczema.
This person bought a bar of their soft and gentle soap, which is made from coconut, palm and olive oils with no scents or colours. It was coming up to February, which is the time of year that her eczema would be the worst.
One day at work, she showed Teresa a red spot above her wrist. The woman was thankful as normally, she would have eczema all over her arms, legs and clumped behind her ears and on her face.
“She was delighted, and all she had done, the only change she had made, was to use the soft and gentle soap in her regular routine,” he says.
Although Hubert says they cannot say their soaps heal, they have heard many stories like this and love to hear them.
“We love it when people say that they like the smell and feel of our soap on their skin,” he says.
TRIAL AND ERROR
When it comes to what soaps to make next, Hubert says he relies on his wife and daughter-in-law to direct him. Teresa often gets requests when she is selling soap at the farmers’ market during the summers and passes them on to Hubert. Also, some people still like to mostly use liquid soap, so they are planning on launching a line of liquid soaps this year.
“When creating a new soap, we usually already have an essential oil or fragrance oil in mind,” says Hubert.
The colours they add are usually a result of imagining what will complement the scent, such as purple for luscious lavender soap, or a small layer of brown topped by a larger layer of blue for the sea and sand soap.
“Often, there’s a bit of trial and error, and often it will take a few batches of soap to get everything the way we want,” he says.
Although there has been a lot to learn in the soap making process, Hubert says he enjoys the creativity involved with coming up with new scents, designing the appearance and even with choosing the names.
“When it comes to making soap, it’s both an art and a science,” says Hubert.
It’s also a great creative outlet. Although he was more focused on sports as a teen, Hubert says a lot of them would get together and play music. These days, he spends
some time every week writing, and works hard to be creative with that.
“For both of us, the process of making soap is relaxing, enjoyable and a fun way to get away from the stresses of life. I would recommend it to anyone,” he says.
Both he and his daughterin-law, Sarah, make soap part time. Sarah is a full-time mom with four young children and Hubert is the pastor of a new church in West Prince.
Eventually, says Hubert, they are going to need more space, so they are planning on building a spot for storage and production. They are also planning on providing their product to more stores and doing some more farmers’ markets and craft fairs this year. They plan to continue working on a liquid soap line as well as some salves and hand creams.
“We are also creating some soap specially for the tourist market,” he says.
“Many visitors to the Island love to take home a little piece of it.”
To view or purchase soap from By the Sea Soap Shoppe, stop by the small showroom attached to their house at 680 Duvar Rd., where visitors can see and smell their soaps and products.
This time of year, you might even catch them making a batch.
Otherwise, they have a number of gift shops and stores that now carry their soap in both O’Leary and Charlottetown. Teresa also does a number of craft fairs, including the Downtown Charlottetown Farmers’ Market during the summer.
They can be found on Facebook and Instagram by searching for bytheseasoapshoppe.