Sep 21, 2013

Organic Soapmaker Opens Verbena Botanicals in BeavertonBy Anna MarumOregonLive.com

Beaverton, OR – When Maggie Nolder concocts her products, she wears rubber gloves to protect her from the corrosive lye, and she’s surrounded by glass jars, 5-gallon containers and large bags of various substances.

“People probably think I’m cooking meth,” she joked.

But Nolder’s life and occupation are nothing like those of Walter White, the fictional chemist-turned-drug-manufacturer on “Breaking Bad.” The lye — sodium hydroxide produced by combining wood ash and water — is a necessary component in soap-making, which is what Nolder is doing.

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