Soap-Making Hobby Blossoms Into Business

Leader-Telegram:

When Shawnda Swanson was a teenager, her mom started making soap.

It was a hobby for Carla Benson, but she also wanted to provide gentle soap for Shawnda, who had sensitive skin.

Eventually the hobby grew until Benson was selling bars of soap at craft sales.

Three years ago, Swanson decided to take her mom’s Oakridge Soap a bit further. She began selling the company’s products on a Web site and at regional retail shops.

Swanson, 31, still makes all the handcrafted soap in the basement of her mom’s Boyceville home - occasionally with her mom’s help.

Swanson and her husband, Brad, are expecting their sixth child. Swanson said she feels blessed to have a hobby that turned into a business. The arrangement allows her to stay home, care for her children and home-school them.