My Biz: Eastern Iowa’s soap queen

CEDAR RAPIDS — A book led Wende Fugate to launch her business, Rare Bird Soap Shop, five years ago.

'I've always liked learning new things,' Fugate said, 'and my mother had given me a book on soap making. It was something I'd wanted to try.'

Fugate likes the self-reliance that comes in making her own things, and her first batches of all-natural soaps blossomed rapidly into a lucrative business. She began selling her products at local farmers markets and quickly developed a loyal following.

'People really liked the products and it just seemed to develop on its own,' she said. 'I just rolled with it.'

She started out selling her wares at the Iowa City Farmers Market and when NewBo City Market opened, Fugate became a temporary vendor, selling there on the weekends. She said after creating a solid customer base, she decided to apply for a permanent spot at the market, adding 'it has worked out great.'

'All of my products are vegan,' she said. 'They are made with vegetable-based oils. I use all-natural ingredients like herbs and essential oils, and they are completely paraffin free, as well as chemical free.'

The range of products she sells now includes soaps, body lotions, facial scrubs, sprays, salves, lotions, shampoo and an all-natural deodorant.

'The deodorant is aluminum free,' she said. 'And our shampoo won't strip your hair of its natural oils.'

To ensure the highest quality, she makes all of the products in small batches, utilizing ingredients such as coconut, palm, olive and sunflower oils.

Fugate transformed an old-time summer kitchen on her small farm into her soap-making kitchen. She uses the cold-process method to turn her own recipes into the wide array of products she sells at NewBo City Market as well as six other retail locations around Eastern Iowa and larger farmers markets.

Fugate brews up 80-ounce batches of soap at a time, which translates into 25 or 26 bars of finished product.

'I use 100 percent essential oils, so a lot of my products are herbal,' she said. Her lavender and rosemary is a very popular scent with her clientele, but it is the oatmeal, milk and honey soap that is by far her customers' favorite.

'It has crushed oatmeal in it,' she said.

Her clients range from college-aged students interested in more natural, healthier products, to middle-aged and older folks who remember the days when they made their own soaps.

'I have a lot of male customers, too,' Fugate said.

AT A GLANCE

• Owner: Wende Fugate
• Business: Rare Bird Soap Shop
• Location: NewBo City Market, 100 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids
• Website:

  www.rarebirdsoapshop.com

• Etsy product site:

  rarebirdsoapshop.etsy.com

l Know a company in business for more than a year that would make an ideal My Biz? Contact Francie Williamson at francie.williamson@thegazette.com