Stacey Casey left her corporate City career behind to start her own all-natural soap business in Suffolk.
Stacey Casey, of Mildenhall, decided to leave behind her corporate City life in order to follow her dreams – by starting up an all-natural soap business from the comfort of her own home.
Stacey told the East Anglian Daily Times: “It was week two of the lockdown, and I had recently left a full-time career based in London in Construction.
“The travel time from my home in Suffolk and the general stress of my position made me decide to take some time out and focus on my personal life. At that time, I had also just completed my first cycle of IVF, which was unfortunately unsuccessful.”
With the pandemic postponing her next IVF cycle, Stacey needed a distraction, so began to focus her attentions on looking after her nearest and dearest.
“I have always made candles and soaps for personal use, so I decided to put together some ‘Covid Care Packages’ for my friends and loved ones.
“While researching and perfecting my candles, I came across quite a few interesting hand-poured soap recipes. These caught my attention, and I decided to start creating some unique and creative soaps to include in these packages.”
Stacey sent out 10 packages to her friends and family – and was overwhelmed with the positive feedback she received.
“Numerous family members said they wanted to purchase additional soaps, and wanted to pass on samples to friends.
“The timing was perfect for me - I had just left full-time employment, the world was in lockdown and I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands.”
To start with, Stacey first experimented with rose and lavender-based soaps, whereby she incorporated natural ingredients harvested straight from her garden.
“With Rose Garden, I used natural, dried rose petals to sprinkle on top of the soap - the petals infused with the mixture, leaving what looks like twisted green stems. It was very popular, and this is the soap that really started the ball rolling. The lavender soap was also popular, and again had natural lavender buds embedded into its top layer,” she explained.
With her newly-crafted soaps swiftly taking off, Stacey decided to open up an online shop using Etsy – a popular e-commerce platform for small businesses and independent creators.
“Orders quickly started flooding in, so I started building a brand. That was when I decided on the name ‘The Suffolk Soap Co.’
“When establishing the brand and its values, it was important to keep things 100% natural, cruelty-free and to be conscious of the fragile environment that we live in today,” Stacey said.
All of Stacey’s products are free of artificial ingredients and use recyclable packaging - all while still maintaining the feel of a luxurious, well-presented gift.
Jam-packed with natural goodness, her soaps are also based around a number of health benefits that essential oils can offer.
“For example, our tea tree soap is antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory, which makes it great for acne and eczema. Only yesterday did I receive some fantastic feedback from one of my customers who had been suffering badly from the aforementioned conditions. They had been using expensive, off-the-shelf treatments to no avail.
“The tea tree soap she purchased has completely cleared her skin condition up, and she was very grateful. It was so lovely to hear that something I made had such a positive impact on someone’s health and wellbeing that I posted the feedback on The Suffolk Soap Co.’s Instagram page. Hopefully it can help others too.”
Stacey’s best-selling bar however is her honey and oatmeal soap – which features honey from bees rescued here in Suffolk.
“I try and source my ingredients as locally and responsibly as I can. I actually found a local beekeeper who had rescued bees from residential and public places, so I use their honey in my soaps. I’d decided to create these, after reading many articles on the benefits of honey and oatmeal.”
With lockdown restrictions slowly easing, the demand for gifts and party favours has gone back up – keeping Stacey busy as she’s inundated with orders.
“I am receiving many large orders for baby showers, wedding favours and even for business conferences - what started out as a hobby has quickly become a full-time occupation for me now.
“I absolutely love what I do, and the best part of it is receiving such positive feedback from my customers, and knowing that not only have I provided something useful and beautiful, but it’s actually helped with people’s skin conditions and general wellbeing.”
Stacey has now begun to expand her range of all-natural products – and now sells candles, bath bombs, bath salts and lotion bars alongside her already-popular soaps.
“I am lucky enough to have quite a large summer house which has now become my ‘Soap Shed’. I am excited to see what the future holds for The Suffolk Soap Co. as I continue to release fresh, new products,” she said.
Head to www.suffolksoap.co.uk to see Stacey’s full range of all-natural products.
The Suffolk Soap Co. is offering East Anglian Daily Times readers 10% off their first order with the code SUFFOLK10
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