Featured Seller - Cyril's Soap Shed

How did you get started -  Cyril’s Soap Shed came about pretty much by accident! I gave up my full time job to start a family in 2006. We were already on the road to self suffiency with our chickens and vegetable gardens, and so we decided to get a goat for milk. We decided on one goat, however to cut a long story, we came back from the local activity farm with 2 goats. Penny and Florence. The following year they kidded and started producing LOTS of milk, despite me not taking the kids away from mum, they were still providing us with over 8 pints a day!

I spent my days making milk puddings, whey cakes and learning how to make cheese. All this was helping to use the milk, but I needed to find something else. After a bit of research I discovered that Goats Milk Soap was becoming increasingly popular due to the fantastic skin loving qualities that the goats milk had. So I set about learning how to make soap! I quickly learnt that I wanted to do it ‘properly’ and from scratch, and that the Cold Process method, although more time consuming, would produce the best soaps. We only use ethically sourced base oils, and while these cant be 'local' (We use Olive, Coconut, Cocoa Butter and sustainable palm, as we feel these oils make the best soap for us) to The New Forest, or even England, we source from small reputable companies. Our Essential Oils for the Fragrance we use a local company, and the herbs we use are either grown in our garden, or come from the New Forest.

After I thought I had perfected my recipe and method I gave some to friends and family who were so impressed they thought I should sell it. After getting my safety assessment I booked a stall at the local market. The soaps were really popular, and I had many people come back again, saying how the soaps had helped their skin, especially eczema sufferers. That is the nicest part I think! Knowing that the soaps had been able to help someone. I always let the goats know too! Every nice email I get I read to the goats, as it is their milk which is the magic ingrediant!!

I also needed a name for the company. Thats where Cyril comes into it! Cyril was my Grandad, who had a shed at the bottom of the field. The shed was the hub of the local community for all the old folk! Many a day they would be sat in the ‘shed’ putting the world to rights (normally while drinking his homemade ‘scrumpy’!) When Grandad moved on to the great shed in the sky, his shed down here became a bit worse for wear. When the time came for myself and husband to have our own home, we decided to resurrect the old shed. So we built our log cabin home on the same spot.

Things have moved on since the first days of ‘Cyril’s Soap Shed’. Instead of just one or two markets a month, we now do anything up to ten events a week, including New Forest Producer markets, County shows and various events going on around us. The markets and shows have led to us being ‘seen’ and approached by various other business’. This led to us supplying an ever growing range of farm shops, gift shops and local village stores, mainly in and around the New Forest, but we can go as far and wide as anyone wants! We currently have around 16 stockists, and supply 8 hotels and guest houses with guest bars.

Person you most admire - My Husband!! It may sound not very adventerous, but he is a true inspiration to me. He works so hard holding down a full time job with different shift patterns, he helps me by cutting all the paper needed for wrapping, does most of the labelling and he is my top seller! He even does markets etc after a night shift at work! On top of that he does most of the small holding maintenance, looks after the veggies, and is a brilliant Dad! I just love his energy.

What you like to listen to - I spend most of my days in my kitchen making soaps with Essential Oils, which quite often varies my mood, which varies which music i Listen to! I quite like Country and folk music, Ruth Moody is a favourite, Alison Krauss, Patsy Cline, The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Pink Floyd, Led Zep and Fleetwood Mac are all on my 'Soaping playlist' too!

Favourite Item of Clothing - My crocs!! I live in my crocs. Being on my feet all day I need something comfortable, and I hate wearing anything tight on my feet.

Favourite Drink - Cup of tea!

Ideal evening - Warm summers evening riding my horse in the forest.

Perfect holiday - Any!! With the goats which need milking daily, and all of our other animals, holidays are virtually impossible. However if we could go away, we would do a King Arthur trail around Britain, and visit all the sites that are connected to King Arthur.