Hi, y’all! My name is Lorene (pronounced Low reen), and I’m the woman behind Labellepalms Soaps. I’d like to tell you a little about myself and welcome the chance to learn about y’all.
I’ve been living in the Aiken area since 1994, and I love it. I was raised as a military brat and have lived in South Carolina since 1974. I’m married to a wonderful man (Tom), have three adult children, an adult stepchild, and three grandchildren. All of my family, including my sister, brothers, and parents, help in some way with the farm/soap business.
We have always had animals from fish and hamsters, up to horses and cattle at one time. Thankfully we’re down to horses, goats, dogs, cats, chickens, and fish. Whew, just naming it all is work! We added goats when our lactose-intolerant family grew and we realized we could drink goat milk.
Soon we had more milk than we could drink, and I started making soap for our family. It was natural to share it with extended family, then we got growing requests from friends. I’ve been making soap for about four years. I got my crocheted washcloths and scrubbies from my high school best friend. I started making soap in my kitchen, then moved to a spare room (so I could still cook on soaping days!), and this year moved into a studio on the farm. Last year when I donated a kidney to my son and couldn’t work as usual on the farm, Kelly taught me to crochet the washcloths, and it takes both of us to keep up with demand.
I’ve always worked for other people and had extensive knowledge of retail/customer service, so starting my own business just developed. Now the website is allowing me more time to create soaps and allows me to spend time doing work around the farm, all the while keeping up with orders and inventory. I’d say that if you’re thinking of starting your own business-what are you waiting for? Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and we don’t know how how much time we have left in this life. Do a little research, then take a breath and dive in!
Our studio hours are flexible- call or text to make sure we’re there. When my sister’s schedule allows, we offer Paint Together classes to groups. We’ve hosted a group of chemistry students in Soapmaking, and in season, you’re welcome to come to visit the kids (baby goats).
If you haven’t tried goat milk soap yet, I’d say you’re missing out on a good thing. Give it a try! And if you’re wanting to chat about crafts or animals, or grandkids, etc., I’d be happy to get to know a little about you, too!
