Katie Williams finds success through peace love and soap
It was 2008 and Katie Williams was looking to try something—anything—to take care of her baby’s eczema. The pediatrician suggested steroid creams and shots, but Williams held her hopes out for something less clinical and more holistic. “I’m not totally granola, but I like to err on the side of nature,” she says. “So, I learned how to make natural soap from a couple of books.”
While the soap wasn’t the cure-all for eczema (though it helped), she noticed a stark difference in quality between natural soap and the mass-produced stuff. As her personal stash grew, she signed up on a whim for a small makers market, to shocking results.
“I made $100 that day, which you would have thought was $100,000. I never thought anyone would want to buy anything from me,” Williams says.
Success
With that, Peace Love & Soap was born, and over the past 17 years, she’s seen her business—and the community around it—grow.
“I have customers who have been with me the full 17 years. Others, I’ve had for ten-plus,” she says. “And my neighbors at the [TD Saturday Market], I’ve also watched them grow. Their kids were tiny just like mine when we started, and now the kids are grown with their own lives. It’s just like a market family.”
Ask any personal-care artisan what the holy grail of retail is, and you’ll get one answer on repeat: Whole Foods. Two years into PL&S, Williams saw her position on its store shelves as a sign she’d made it big. Instead, it left her with a greater appreciation for her hometown farmers market.
“I thought, this was it—it was the ultimate to get into Whole Foods. But immediately, they say, ‘Okay, we need 24 barcodes,’” she recalls. “I didn’t have two dimes to rub together at that point, so we put it on credit, but then the barcodes weren’t compatible with their system.”
After several additional issues arose, she came to a realization: “I would rather be at the market with people who appreciate my stuff and where I’m making money. It kind of broke my heart a little bit, though, to walk in with one idea and walk away with another.”
As it turns out, she didn’t need the big account with a national chain anyway. Between the farmers’ market, Mast General Store, and her online shop, PL&S has grown enough for her husband to join her soap business full-time.
“Over the years, the business has served so many purposes. Back in the day, it was Disney money, vacation money for my family. Now that my kids are 20 and 18, it’s more that it gives me something to pour myself into, and it’s the main source of income for our entire family,” Williams says. “It’s changed over the years, but it has fit the needs that we had at the time. In that way, it’s definitely saved me.”
Signature Peace Love and Soap Scents
Baccarat Rouge – Warm amber, soft woods, and a hint of florals
Blue Ridge Parkway – Balsam and Fraser fir, crisp mountain air
Lavender – A soothing, timeless scent
Lemon Eucalyptus – Bright and revitalizing
Patchouli Lavender – Earthy and calming
Find Williams’s products online at peaceloveandsoap.com.
