Business notebook: Area soap-maker offers a wide array of scents

Everyone needs soap, Autumn Abernathy knew.

There are what she calls "bath enthusiasts," those deep-soakers for whom cleanliness is near to goddess- ness.

There are the stoic morning scrubbers, with perfunctory rinsing rituals.

However they do it, they're all the same to Abernathy in one regard: Her business is making bathing better.

A crafter since childhood, she spent a year testing recipes and doling out samples to family and friends before finally bringing Little Ant Soap Co. LLC to market.

A variety of the Spring Collection homemade natural- soap products from Little Ant Soap Co. LLC is shown.Andrew J. Whitaker

Now, she offers about 20 soap varieties at a time, rotating types to match the season.

"I try to think like a consumer," she said. "What would a person want? What smells nice?"

That often depends on the person, so she tries to have something for everyone.

There are spearmint and eucalyptus, lavender oatmeal and Abernathy's favorite, rosemary mint.

For children, there's a reddish bar that smells uncannily like a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.

She has a knack for crafting olfactory doppelgangers, even cooking up a beer-scented soap for the big, tough guys out there.

Making the soap in her home, she said, is a bit like baking brownies, except it takes eight weeks and sometimes explodes.

"I have had the volcano," she confessed. "And I have used a paint scraper to get soap off my ceiling. But I tell you what; I have the cleanest stovetop in Southeast Missouri."

Her decision to offer vegan soaps rather than ones made with animal fats felt right, she said. Using all-natural ingredients, she said, means having one less thing to worry about.

"I look more toward the greener way of doing things," she said.

Along the same lines, she says sourcing local ingredients also is a priority, whether it be fresh herbs, essential oils or coffee grounds or beer for scents.

And several local businesses have extended the courtesy, stocking her soaps in-store. They can be found at Hempie's and Hunter Valley Winery, and Abernathy said she's in talks with several others.

Her soaps, as well as her full line of bath supplies, also can be found on the Little Ant Soap Co. Facebook page and at craft fairs and the Jackson farmers market.

"You never expect to fall into your passion," she said. "And honestly, it's a lot of hard work, but I love it."

And, she's happy to report, her customers are loving it, too.

"Children love it, husbands buy it for their wives," she said. "Wives buy it for their husbands."

Abernathy said she wishes she'd gotten into business for herself earlier.

"Don't be afraid to put yourself out there," she said. "It was very hard for me to work myself up from, 'I do this craft' to 'I own a small business now.' But it was just me that was holding me back."

Sisters' firm launches new pet crate

Carla Beaty Collette of Dallas and Lisa Beaty Bishop of Cape Girardeau founded LeisureEase LLC in 2016 and announced their flagship product, Wrapsit, last week.

Wrapsit is a soft-sided pet crate that slips over camp chairs to allow pet owners to keep their pets with them wherever they set up camp.

"Pets are an important part of any family," Beaty Bishop said. "Whether pet parents are taking their furry friends to their kids' soccer game, on a trip in their RV, traveling to dog shows or agility competitions or just sitting around a campfire, Wrapsit gives pets a safe and comfortable place to relax."

Farmers Insurance holds ribbon cutting

Farmers Insurance, Janice Scherer Agency in Benton, Missouri, held a ribbon-cutting March 15 for its office at 6150 State Highway 77 in Benton.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627