Aug 13, 2007

Master of soap making – Local residentBy Anne Fitten GlennCitizen-Times.com

Asheville — Kimberly Masters has been making soap since 1999. Two years ago, with demand for her all-natural soaps increasing, she realized her hobby had the potential to become a full-time business.

The resulting enterprise, Essential Journeys, has become so successful that national sales representative Lieberman & Associates now sells and distributes her soaps, bath salts and lotions to shops around the country. Masters, 35, previously had placed her products in about 200 stores.

“It’s so cool that she’s local,” said Katie Skinner, owner of downtown gift shop L.O.F.T. “Lots of people are making handmade soaps, but she’s making the best soap and making it here.”

Soap took on a luxurious significance in Masters’ life when she spent five summers living without running water or electricity in Skagway, Alaska. She showered at the local Laundromat, which charged a quarter per minute of water.

“Because a shower was such a luxury, I wanted to make it special, so I would bring quality body products and soap for my four-minute or, sometimes, seven-minute showers,” Masters said.

Masters’ soap studio is in her home in West Asheville, which she modified to provide extra electricity for her soap cookers. Masters uses all-natural ingredients and pigments to make her products, including aloe vera and vitamin E. The soaps are hypoallergenic and appropriate for sensitive skin.

“Her soaps are awesome sellers,” Skinner said. “Her quality is the best. The soaps smell great and they last a long time.”

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