Hello and welcome to the brand spanking new Soapology website!
This is something that we have decided to do along with our re-launch and re-branding project. For most of 2017, we have been working on improving our formulas and our packaging and also streamlining things here at the workshop behind the scenes, improving our manufacturing processes and taking a long hard look at our brand and who we are.
Whilst doing this I found that yes I loved making soap and yes I enjoyed the freedom of being self employed and yes, now at the age of 34 I do feel like I am living my own life, doing what I enjoy and being my authentic self. I still have my own issues and imperfections like anyone but right now, I am extremely happy and content.
But something was missing. I felt the need to help people. Perhaps it is now because I feel that I don't need help myself. My life is running nice and smoothly for a change - a totally different story to in my 20's. My life was tumultuous, love life was unpredictable, my finances were a mess, my friends were scarce and I was always moving house.
Now I am settled and happy, I keep getting the overwhelming urge to help people so I've decided to do something about it. Along with my re-brand and reinvention of Soapology, cutting out the products that I didn't enjoy making or weren't selling well, I have also decided to weave in some social good into the fabric of the business from the very beginning. Soapology is built upon the longing to give back and to help the world in our own little way.
Growing up in Nottingham, homelessness was something I saw daily. When visiting Nottingham city centre, I would see maybe 5 homeless rough sleepers on my way to work each morning. I, like many, would turn the other way and ignore these people. I couldn't afford to help them, I would have liked to but hey I was struggling with money myself and didn't want to become one of them right?
I don't see so many homeless people now, I live in the countryside but I do still think when its cold outside, those poor people who don't have a home. And now I have such a beautiful home myself, I do sometimes feel guilty for those who don't have a home at all.
The Soapology Homelessness initiative and our partnership with Framework is enabling both us as a company and you as our customers to do something about it. To give back and to help these vulnerable people very easily by contributing to them just by buying something you would buy anyway. Doesn't it feel good?
I will definitely be feeling good when I drop off the boxes of soap donations a few times a year. We will make sure that we blog about it and let you know how much soap we donated, where it is going and who it will be helping.
Thank you for helping us to help the homeless and vulnerable in the UK.