Meet Feel Good Market
Where are you from and does that affect your work? I’m from Southern California. I love playing up southern California botanicals in our products, from Citrus to eucalyptus and Rosemary.
How did you get your start? While working my before job, I was on an audit and my manager at the time told me she made her own soap. I have a sister with severe psoriasis, and my husband, son and father all have eczema, I thought this could help! Crazy as it was that was the beginning in 2014…She came over and showed me how to make soap and from that point I could not stop. I was addicted and evidently on a mission to make the best bars I possibly could. I developed my recipe in 2018 and went to a craft show. It rained and we still did amazing. Some of those customers are still with us today. In 2018, I met Amanda from Me Mother Earth at a craft fair and began making soap for her company. I love her mission and business model. Amanda gave me an opportunity to take what I was doing and make it better. Better for the earth, too! She challenged me to source my ingredients sustainably (not greenwashed, but sustainably), use no plastic in our packaging and to make products that I wasn’t even familiar with yet. Like solid dish soap, stain remover and pet shampoo in a bar. This aligned with my values and pushed me to be a better version of myself.
What would you say is the hardest part of your creation process? Now the hardest part is getting the time to create new items. But when we do it it’s always exciting. Our newest creation is our Cashmere soap! But we have a list of others that we can’t wait to do.
What is your favorite item that you have created and why? for me it’s the Peppermint and Tea Tree bar. It was the first bar that I replaced full fat organic Coconut milk in place of goats milk. The coconut milk and shea butter was a game changer in the bar. A super punch to the lather and to the moisturizing properties of the soap. I’ll never go back and now our bars are plant based and vegan, with the exception of beeswax in a couple products.
What do you love most about Pasadena? A lot, but it was at Jackalope under the giant trees with the grass under my feet in 2021 that I made the decision to leave my career and follow my heart. I have not regretted it once. The community at Jackalope gave me the confidence to pursue my passion full-time and the art faire helped me grow my customer base.
What is a fun fact about yourself that others may not expect? I am a certified Public Accountant gone rogue! What I do now is so much more fun. I have been a girl scout and scout leader for most of my life, this path in some ways feels like a continuation of it. Doing the right thing, this feels like I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Hopefully opening another Feel Good Market with my amazing team. I am not alone in this anymore! In five years, I’d like to know that I made a difference.
Any advice for someone just starting off on their own?
2 things - Learn from everyone, and never stop pursuing how you, your business or your art can become better. I asked people what they wanted and tried to incorporate my customers’ needs into my craft. Have a plan - My business started as a side hustle until I was able to leave my job. It was scary but was totally worth it.
Anything special that you would like to share? My little soap business started as Mama’s Handmade Sudsy Soap, a way to get my kids to make money selling soap, but it has grown into Feel Good Market, a Soapery, Refillery and Boutique. A sustainable store that I am so proud of! I get to do what I love, to promote living sustainably, provide jobs and security for others, and to support other small businesses and artisans! I never, in a million years, thought that this is where I would be, but I am so glad that I am here.
We love being able to watch you take on this journey!
Find Feel Good Market at Jackalope Pasadena on November 15th & 16th.
Website: www.feelgoodmarket.com/
Instagram: @feelgoodmarket_