The Beginning of Brushwood Corners

brushwoodcorners
Oct 19
3 min read

Updated: Oct 28

Rising from the Dirt: My Journey to Creating Handcrafted Soap

Brushwood Corners isn’t just a business. It’s a fight. A climb. A stubborn refusal to stay buried.

If you’re holding one of my soaps or reading these words, you’re not just seeing a brand — you’re witnessing the very first steps of a woman rebuilding her life from the ground up. I don’t say that as a dramatic tagline. I say it because it’s the truth.

This story doesn’t start with success. It starts in the dirt. It starts after fire, after heartbreak, after watching the life I built burn down — literally and figuratively. It starts with standing on a small corner of family land I bought after losing my mother, trying to make a home where nothing felt like home anymore. It starts after losing the house I grew up in — the one that held four generations of memories — and the job I poured myself into for eight years. It starts after being silenced, shut out, and left standing alone by the very community I believed would always stand beside me.

It starts with loss — of people, of purpose, of place. And it starts with the choice to rise anyway.

The Birth of Soapmaking

Soapmaking wasn’t part of some master plan. It started as survival. It began as something I could do with my hands when my heart was too heavy to carry. It became a way to focus on what I could create instead of what I had lost. Stirring melted tallow, blending nourishing oils, pouring rich goat’s milk — these weren’t just steps in a recipe. They were steps toward reclaiming myself.

And slowly, something happened. Those small acts began to plant roots. A sense of purpose started to grow in the cracks left behind by everything I had lost. Brushwood Corners was born in those moments — not as a business dream, but as a lifeline. As proof that even when everything is stripped away, we still have the power to build something new.

Climbing the Mountain

I’m not telling this story from the top of the mountain. I’m telling it with dirt still under my nails. I’m still climbing. I’m still rebuilding. But every bar of soap that leaves my hands is a piece of that climb — a piece of strength, of grit, of stubborn hope. It’s thirty years of skill, five years of research, and one year of pouring everything I have left into something that matters.

Brushwood Corners is more than soap. It’s my fight to turn heartbreak into purpose. It’s my stand against silence and surrender. It’s the corner of the world I’m reclaiming as home — one small batch at a time.

The Heart of Brushwood Corners

Every product I create carries a part of my journey. Each bar of soap is infused with my story. It’s a blend of resilience and love. I want you to feel that when you use it. I want you to understand that this isn’t just a product. It’s a connection. It’s a reminder that we can rise from the ashes, no matter how deep we’ve fallen.

I pour my heart into every batch. I choose natural ingredients, ones that are kind to your skin and the earth. I believe in the power of nature. I believe in the beauty of handmade goods. Each soap is crafted with intention, with care. It’s a labor of love.