Bonnie Garrity from Good Earth Spa
My name is Bonnie Garrity and my soap company is called Good Earth Spa because I love using natural and organic ingredients from our earth. I also believe in doing good. My soap company donates one bar of soap to charity for each retail bar sold. I specifically chose the word spa because it perfectly describes the type of work that I do. I work with natural botanicals, skin foods, exotic butters and other awesome good earth ingredients to pamper and nourish the skin. Your bath tub should feel like a spa treatment every day because you deserve it.
I’ve always been a crafty girl. When I was a child I met a soap maker. I thought what she did was amazing. I couldn’t believe she made her own soap! Fast forward a few years, I was in the workplace and discovered I was expecting twins. Due to complications with my pregnancy I decided to leave the work world and stay home. I began making candles in my small apartment for
supplemental income. Then it progressed to soap and other bath items. I really wanted to be able to stay home with my children so I put all my focus on my home business. I became an ebay powerseller 90 days after my first sale and networked locally. Fast forward another few years and now I have my own website and live on a beautiful small farm in Washington State where I can now produce a portion of my raw materials including beeswax, herbs and essential oils.
My favorite thing about my business is being able to combine two of my life’s passions: Science and Nature. I love learning about each ingredient and combining them together to make a brand new product. I’ve always been interested in art and science equally. In high school I focused on art and in college I focused on science. I always wanted to work in a field that allowed me to express myself creatively and scientifically. Soap making is both science and art. It is chemistry and art blended carefully with a touch of love.
In December 2010 I restructured my soap company and began using a charitable business model inspired by Toms Shoes Company. For every retail bar of soap that I sell, I donate one bar of soap to a charity or charity fund raiser. When I went into
labor prematurely with my twins, I had to take an emergency flight to another city that was equipped with the resources to care for two premature infants. During that time I stayed at the Ronald McDonald House and used donated soaps. I knew then that I wanted to find a way to give back to people and I am glad that my business in is a position to do this. Thanks to my awesome customers I have been able to make donations to various shelters and organizations and raise money for Tsunami relief, Tornado relief and other good causes.
The most difficult part of my job is time management. I often feel as if I don’t have the time to do all the things I want to do. I have a lot of big ideas so prioritizing my work load is my greatest challenge. I cannot afford to be stressed or frustrated. I absolutely love what I do and I remind myself of that on a regular basis. I try to stay focused on one task until it is complete instead of trying to accomplish 100 things at once. Time management never came natural to me so I work on it daily.
I love using Nature’s Garden fragrances in my fragrance items. I’ve shopped around and have not seen any other fragrance supplier that offers such high quality for the price. I really appreciate that as a small business. I also trust their fragrances. Each fragrance description includes usage rates for various applications and even includes cold process soap results. I’ve never had a Nature’s Garden fragrance that didn’t do exactly what I expected it to.
In the past I have been very limited on the number of craft shows I could attend with my children being so young. Now that they are getting a little older I hope to attend more craft shows and local markets. I love getting out there and meeting people. I’d like to put a lot more focus on my local markets this upcoming year.
Website: http://www.goodearthspa.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Good-Earth-Spa/235357973148329
Blog: http://goodearthbonnie.com/
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdentiaFarms
