How Stonegrove came to be.

Our Handmade Soaps are my passion, but I craft whenever I can and wherever I am. 

I grew up on a farm only a few miles from where I now live and one of my earliest memories is of sitting in front of the fire with my mum learning how to knit.  The memories of my childhood are always accompanied by the clicking of knitting needles as mum worked on keeping all four of us kids in jumpers for the winter. 

Allergies first became an issue when I was a child I came up in a rash in response to mum changing the washing powder.  Simple to fix, she changed that washing powder back to the previous brand and I continued on without issue.

Until 2015. 

It was like my body just cried 'enough'.   At one point my skin was so itcy I scratched till my shins bled - in my sleep.  I tried everything creams, lotions, changing my diet, changing my personal care products.  Nothing worked. 

Patch testing showed I had multiple chemical allergies. 

Finding personal care products that I could use became something of an obsession.

Some essential oils were okay - those I put into commercially made base preparations for my shower gel and shampoo. 

But those base preparations came with their own issues.  I finally tried making soap from scratch.

There were no miracles, but after around a month the itching was less, my shins healed.  I breathed a sigh of utter relief.

Then a family friend mentioned they were having trouble with eczema, knowing my own issues, and they asked how had I managed to find something that worked, and more importantly could I tell them where I had bought it? 

They suggested that perhaps I could sell them a bar or two.  They liked it, and wanted more. 

So today I make small batches of handcrafted soap.  Unscented as well as some batches with essential oils that don't cause me issues.  In these soaps, I use only natural colourants.  Each batch is cured for 4 weeks after cutting. 

Now some folks are asking for more scents so I'm working on including a range of soaps that are not so suitable for us sensitive types.  These are kept away from my main focus of low-allergen and no-allergen soaps for those who can use them safely.

When I'm not making soap I'm crafting other items, crocheting blankets and handcrafting jewellery, the sound of clicking knitting needles is a comforting reminder of those early years growing up as a farm worker's daughter.

Coming from a rural background I have a healthy respect for nature and am determined to keep my business as eco-friendly as possible.  With that in mind we use as little plastic as possible in our processing and packaging, utilizing food-grade paper and cardboard that can be recycled. 

Where possible the individual soaps are packed in cardboard boxes that can easily be posted through a letterbox - none of that pesky having to arrange to be home or have someone available to accept a parcel.