Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Loeffler.
Lisa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Pure & Simple Soap really began with a diagnosis on Christmas Eve of 2009. Not good news: primary, slow-growing, left frontal, stage 2, glioma. In layman’s terms that meant my husband had a brain tumor. The treatment plan was not what we wanted to hear; so we decided to take a different route. We decided to make some serious life changes and begin to make wiser choices for our family. This journey took us to Atlanta every week for immune building treatments, detox regiments, and supplement formulations. Another area we had to address was what we were putting on our skin. There is no question that what we put on our skin goes directly into our bloodstream and does affect our health.
I began making lye soap for my family, and when I gave some away to friends, they wanted to purchase more. I then began making other healthy skin products to avoid the chemicals found in the typical commercial options. As I needed things like cleaner without bleach, deodorant without aluminum, lotions without chemicals and fragrances, I learned how to make them myself. My husband encouraged me to start a website and see if things would sell online. I was skeptical, not really intending this to become a business at all. I just wanted to make natural products for my family and sell some locally to offset the costs.
I began to sell my products at a local farmers market and then got in contact with a large grocery store chain in our area (Ingles Markets). They agreed to sell many of my products in their Health and Beauty department and it became my first wholesale account.
My husband’s health took a turn for the worst in February of 2014. The tumor had upgraded to a stage 4 glioblastoma and he was having trouble walking, holding things and speaking. Since he was a pastor, he knew he could no longer preach every week. He stepped down from the pulpit and we prioritized our family time, knowing his time with us was limited. We had five children, ranging from 19 down to 3. For four and a half months, we watched him become more and more affected by his tumor. We took lots of pictures and on some days did nothing but video the kids playing outside or pulling each other in the wagon while their daddy watched from the rocking chair in the carport. Somehow nothing else mattered more than spending quality and quantity time together.
Steven passed away in our home on June 3, 2014, with all of us near. He never regretted the choice he made to turn down surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation and treat his cancer naturally. His quality of life was exceptional and we are so thankful for that. The pictures we took during those last months are displayed in collages around our home.
I now had to consider how I was going to support the family without him. Soapmaking became a form of therapy for me during my time of grief. I enjoyed doing things with my hands that would benefit someone else. God led me to enclose our carport and turn it into a soap kitchen with an outside entrance. A generous family who was following our life story gave me $10,000 to help toward that project. I began making more products, bought some shelving units and updated my website. I continued to sell at our local farmers market and festivals and added new wholesale accounts in our area. I knew that if I had to work to pay the bills, I wanted to do something I loved to do and help people at the same time. I love to interact with people who are looking for natural products. I love to help them substitute chemical skincare with natural.
In December of 2018, I took a huge step of faith and opened a “brick and mortar” store in downtown Cornelia, Georgia. I have been there one year and I have loved it. The expenses of renting a storefront have taken a huge toll on my income, but I am hopeful that each year will get better as more people find out about my store. I now make and sell over 30 natural products and have added handmade gift items to the store as well. I continue to sell on my website (pureandsimplesoap.com) as well as several other wholesale accounts. I am so grateful to have my products in four of my local Ingles Markets (Cornelia, Clarkesville, Cleveland, Commerce), Rahab’s Rope (Clarkesville & Gainesville, GA), Turnip Greens (Darien, GA), Wauka Meadow Farm (Clermont, GA), Glen Ella Springs Inn (Clarkesville, GA) and A to Zinc Healthstore (Clarkesville, GA).
I never meant for any of this to be a business but I believe my husband did. I think he was looking ahead to the day when he would no longer be here to take care of us and saw that this was something I loved to do and could do from home. Pure and Simple is not just a business, it is a ministry. If I can help someone with cancer make better choices for their health, if I can help a mom treat her child’s eczema without steroid creams, if I can give people affordable, healthy alternatives to commercial skincare and cleaning products, I am happy.
I know if Steven were able to see me now, he would be so supportive and proud of what this has become. I don’t know what God will do with this business, I don’t really have a business plan, but I am leaving it in His hands and trusting Him with the results. My prayer to God is: “bless the work of my hands by doing your work through my surrendered hands”.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was not easy to juggle my husband’s treatment regiment, manage the home, care for five children (one a newborn), homeschool three of our children, and start a business at the same time. But God has been faithful and I have had so many supportive friends along the way to keep me going.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Pure and Simple Soap story. Tell us more about the business.
Pure & Simple Soap is a family-owned business that offers a wide variety of handmade all-natural soap, skincare, and cleaning products for the whole family. We make our products from scratch in small batches in our soap kitchen in Cornelia, Georgia. We intentionally leave out the harsh chemicals, preservatives, and artificial dyes and fragrances that are harmful to your skin.
Our products include: bar soap, foaming soap, cleaner, hand sanitizer, deodorant, body butter, lip balm, sugar/salt scrub, toothpaste, mouth rinse, shave soap, beard oil, pain cream, eczema cream, facial scrub, bug repellent, sunscreen, essential oil roll-ons, essential oil aromatherapy inhalers, essential oil spritzers, bath products, dish detergent, laundry soap, beeswax candles, and organic artisan teas.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe everything happens for a reason. God is in control and as His child, I can trust Him with every event (good or bad) in my life. That has been a real source of comfort to me in my journey through my husband’s cancer. He believed it and we taught it to our children.
Contact Info:
- Address: Pure and Simple Soap
1050 N. Main Plaza Dr.
Cornelia, GA 30531 - Website: pureandsimplesoap.com
- Phone: 706-778-9374
- Email: pureandsimplesoap@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Lisa Loeffler
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