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Edition:
September 02, 2010
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NEWS
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Friday, November 20, 2009
1999 FHS graduate starts homemade soap business
Handmade, pure, natural skin-loving products
 | | 1999 FHS graduate Heidi Holland-Price created a company called Nature’s Embrace to share natural-made products with others. |
• by Cally Nundahl
Handmade bath and body products are becoming very popular.
If 1999 Frazee High School graduate Heidi Holland-Price has anything to do with it, the popularity of these products should rise even more.
From fragrant rejuvenating soaps to moisturizing beeswax lip balm to body butter lotion bars, Heidi created a company called Nature's Embrace to share natural-made products with others.
In August 2008, Heidi had some extra fragrance oils left over after making a few homemade candles and curiosity about the oils prompted her to research making cold-press bar soap.
Cold-press soap is created by a chemical reaction between oils, water (or other liquid) and lye, which is the oldest cleanser around.
Although lye is highly caustic, there are no caustic properties left after saponification (the chemical reaction that makes soap). All of the soaps are created with lye and made using a variety of different oils. Animal and plant oils are used in the soap making process, each adding different qualities to the soap.
"I did hours of research and failed multiple batches of soap before figuring out the process," said Heidi.
After making a few batches of soap, realizing she thoroughly enjoyed the process, she continued to make more. "I ended up making more than my family could utilize and it was then that I sprang the idea on my husband to start my own small business and take my soap to the Lakes Area Farmer's Market in Detroit Lakes."
Immediately people fell in love with the products and Heidi started having repeat customers each weekend, so she continued to make more soaps and that is how her business - Nature's Embrace began.
There are many healing properties of a handmade bar of soap. Those suffering from skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, as well as people that have sensitive skin or are hypoallergenic, often find immediate relief by switching to a handmade soap.
Heidi also has an unscented bar of soap for those who are sensitive to fragrances.
Compared to a conventional bar of soap, handmade soap is very mild since it is made from vegetable-based oils, such as olive, coconut and palm and does not contain the potentially harmful chemicals found in store-bought soap.
Most soap available in stores today isn't really soap at all, but instead is a detergent. Detergents are petroleum-based products and tend to leave skin feeling dry, itchy and tight. Alkali, the most common irritant in soap, is most often blamed for this effect.
"While at the Farmers' Market, I was approached by a local business owner who was interested in buying my products at wholesale. It was shortly after the inquiry that I decided wholesale was a direction I wanted to take my new business," explained Heidi.
Nature's Embrace products are available at three shops in Detroit Lakes - Bliss in the Washington Square Mall, St. Mary's Hospital Gift Shop and the Becker County Museum Gift Shop and another shop in Wahpeton, N.D. (Phaze 2). Heidi is also working with Maplelag Resort in Callaway with "mini bars of soap" which will placed in the guests' rooms.
After the business took off a little faster than expected, Heidi and her husband converted a bedroom in their house into an office and work area. It takes a bar of soap anywhere from four to six weeks to dry and be ready for sale, depending on the oils used, so she needed a place to work. "I currently pour five pound logs of soap at a time, which when cut equals 18 bars. My bar soaps are 1" x 2" x 3.5" and vary in weight due to the different oils I use," stated Heidi.
Heidi also makes lip balms, lotion bars, a healing salve, a cuticle balm and a foot balm. All products are naturally manufactured, packaged, labeled and sealed by Heidi.
Most of Heidi's weekends are spent at craft shows and art fairs to promote her products. Her ultimate goal is to be able to sell completely wholesale one day, but at this point Heidi feels these types of shows are the best way for people to become familiar with the company and the products.
Heidi's winter schedule in the area is as follows: Nov. 14-15, Westridge Mall, Fergus Falls; Nov. 21, St. Peter's Church, Park Rapids; Nov. 28-29, Wadena Elementary, Wadena; Dec. 5, Detroit Lakes Community & Cultural Center, Detroit Lakes; and Dec. 12-13, Westridge Mall, Fergus Falls.
All the products can be viewed at www.naturesembrace.biz, as well as on Facebook under Nature's Embrace.
Currently, Heidi makes 21 different scents of bar soaps, seven flavors of lip balm, three moisture rich healing ointments and six different scents of skin-loving lotion bars. Online ordering will be available soon. Orders can be placed via phone, 849-2305 or e-mail, orders@naturesembrace.biz. Gift baskets are also available and are a great gift idea for Christmas.
Heidi graduated from Frazee in 1999 and has been married to Randy Price for six years.
Randy has been employed by BTD Manufacturing for nearly 10 years and is currently a sales project coordinator. They have two kids, Lilah, 4, and Milo, 2, and live in the area.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to have a supportive husband and family in this endeavor and to have found something that I love and that others love as well," Heidi noted. "I like to tell people, "It may have taken me 28 years, but I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up... a soap maker!'"
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