We’ve become so accustomed to buy name brand products that it’s easy to forget there are a lot of great local companies making amazing products as well.
Take something as simple as soap for instance.
There’s a guy in Berlin making soap by hand and he’s starting to get a lot of attention for all the right reasons. Sean recently stopped by his shop to hear his story, and see for himself what goes into the soap-making process.
Jon Conley may not strike you as someone who makes homemade soap. But like any loving husband, when his wife asked him to give it a try, he got right to work.
“My wife asked me to make laundry soap for her. I knew nothing about it but I researched it and I made it, we were trying to get rid of chemicals, use less chemicals in our lives in about six weeks after that being successful she asked if I could make bath soap for the family and I did it,” Jon says.
Eventually Jon turned his hobby it into a side business, selling his products at local farmers markets. After finding success at the farmers markets, Jon decided to open Uncle Jon’s Soap Shop in Berlin.
“It’s been fantastic. I love this small town,” Jon says. “We have customers that come in just because they’re here for the summer season. They come in as a tourist in the beginning, and then once they discover us, we have a lot of repeat and a lot of online business from the out-of-state visitors.”
Paid Content by Uncle Jon s Soap Shop Soap Making Process YouTube
Jon teaches Sean how to make soap. They add the oils, fragrance, and water to make bar soap. However, Jon doesn’t make just soap. He makes beard oils, beard balms, and wet shave soap also.
beard
“I like dealing with people. I never used to. Being in construction, I was more of a I guess you could say, I was a hermit,” Jon says. “Give me my drawings and my materials and let me build it. Now I deal with customers and vendors and local businesses and I enjoy that tremendously and I also like the hands-on aspect of actually making the product.”
If you’re interested in trying some of Uncle Jon’s products, you can pick some up at his store on Williams Street in Berlin, at the Urban Necter Farmers Market or online.
