At her downtown Canton shop, Alison McDowell (with mom, Pam) sells handcrafted body wash, bar soap, candles, lotion, lip balm, and more. photograph by Tim Robison
Using the soap recipe developed by her mom, Pam, Alison McDowell expanded the family business into the old pharmacy building it calls home today, while staying true to her mother’s commitment to high-quality ingredients. Each small-batch soap fills the former drugstore with scents that evoke the state where they’re made. “For everything that we do, we try to make a choice with our hometown people in mind,” says McDowell, who keeps local favorites in rotation. The Beach Bar recalls memories of trips to the Crystal Coast, while Willow Winter hints at crisp snow surrounding Asheville. Meanwhile Granna, as the employees call her, still helps the team whip up new sudsy staples.
80 Park Street
(828) 492-0626
willowhillsoapcompany.com
Lather up with a sweet Outer Banks scent from Milk Street. photograph by Chris Hannant
Seeking a remedy for her children’s skin issues, Kim Meacham turned to a library book, her local hardware store, and a kitchen of organic ingredients to fix a homemade cure. “It was one of those things that you touch, and it lights you up inside,” Meacham says of perfecting the Eczema Bar. She shared her healing soap across Ocracoke — “that scrumptious small community that supported me” — and Milk Street Soap was born. Now based in Kitty Hawk, Meacham keeps up with demand for the company’s signature soap alongside the Fig Bar: an Outer Banks staple full of jammy, sunbaked figs harvested fresh from Rodanthe to Ocracoke each summer.
Farm&Field’s soaps draw inspiration from their North Carolina home, like the Woodsy Blue Ridge bar. photograph by Jarrett Helms
Christina Helms always loved gardening, farming, and anything outdoors, so when she started making soap for fun — and later as a business — she made it a goal to create each item with all-natural ingredients. A mother of two, Helms didn’t want her family using products with harmful chemicals, opting instead for essential oils to scent her soaps. She sources locally where she can, getting lard from a Reidsville farm where she knows the farmers (and pigs) personally, before making each batch by hand at her Piedmont home. “Each time it comes out a little differently, and I like that,” Helms says. “There’s a method in place, but the creativity comes through.”
Determined to offset the cost of raising goats on her homestead, Lisa Velasquez learned how to make soap. She and her husband, Kenny Gossett, quickly outgrew their local markets and purchased a storefront in downtown Selma to house their rustic, cold-process body and laundry soaps made with homegrown honey and goat’s milk. “Right now, we can lay our hands on every bar,” Velasquez says of their production process. “We’re not trying to ‘go big.’” Staying true to the region’s roots, the pair sticks to the recipe they find best: a simple lye soap that the local farmers grew up using for generations.
117 South Raiford Street
(919) 351-0633
hankepankyfarm.com
“You form a lot of good-quality relationships with people not just here in North Carolina, but all across the country,” Jeff Isenhour says. One customer even bought a box of muscadine bars to send to her daughter in England — the musky-sweet aroma taking her right back home. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
Once, running out of soap mid-shower, Jeff Isenhour dared to use the artisan bar sitting on the counter — and realized it wasn’t just for decoration. Several years into Isenhour’s new hobby, he dropped into a distillery and asked the owner, “Have you ever thought about putting your liquor into soap?” A mini moonshine jar spotted on his way home sealed the idea, and the Jar Bar was born. Isenhour makes his soap — with a splash of ’shine — in his woodstove-heated shop. That woodstove is sometimes used to make products, “but more importantly,” he says, “to cook a pot of pinto beans.”
101 Wilmar Street
(828) 241-1090
moonshinemountainsoaps.com
Lux & Lye’s Turquoise Mint soap blends all-natural botanical scents. photograph by Riley Corrine of Scodioli Creative
By cutting out chemicals and leaning into her creative side, Natalie Rodeniser built a plant-based soap and skincare business. She wants customers to feel confident in themselves, and crafts her products with natural beauty in mind: They should help your skin, not hide it. “I’m passionate about not just creating a product that’s good for the consumer, but creating a brand that’s good for my community,” says Rodeniser, who donates portions of sales to local partners. A nod to the classic Moscow mule cocktail, the Turquoise Mint soap swirls together ginger, lime, and spearmint essential oils.
A cake first made in Depression-era kitchens using household staples now helps us savor the season, no green thumb necessary.
From woodsmoke to salt air, certain scents carry memory, tradition, and comfort across North Carolina.
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Across the Carolina coast, silvery strands offer texture, shelter, and quiet wonder.
