It all started with a gift from a friend and a Mother’s desire to help her daughter. Lisa Loeffler’s daughter, Larissa, was suffering from eczema and a friend had given Lisa a crude bar of homemade soap. It helped her daughter, so she asked her friend to teach her how to make the soap.”I was just trying to save money and help my daughter,” explained Loeffler. Her friend was making the soap in a lined kitty litter box. Loeffler learned the process and then set about making her own. “My first bars were peppermint and lavender and then I just started experimenting,” said Loeffler. She also started looking at labels for other products and was horrified to find what ingredients were in many brands, including products for babies. “They can’t even call these products soap because of what is in them. They are detergents,” explains Loeffler of the research she found.
At the same time. Loeffler’s husband, Steven, was fighting cancer. They learned about natural methods and they were successful for many years. Sadly, Steven lost his fight last year. Loeffler was a widow, with 5 children. Loeffler continued experimenting with her soap and after giving them out as gifts, people started asking to buy the soaps. Her bible study group at Level Grove became her biggest customer base and her biggest supporters. So about 3 years ago she decided to try selling at the farmers’ market in Cornelia. “I was a rose between 6 thorns,” she laughingly describes. The Cornelia farmers’ market is a loose gathering with no guidelines and most sell their produce out of the back of their trucks. Ben Dockins of the Clarkesville Farmers’ Market started calling Loeffler after he found her soap at the Sautee General Store. He kept calling and Loeffler joined the Clarkesville market. After a year and a half at the Clarkesville Farmers’ Market, Loeffler is now the market manager.
During this time, Loeffler has continued to expand her product line. She now sells more than 16 different soaps as well as lip balms, deodorants, scrubs, sunscreen, bug spray, all-natural cleaners, and more. As the line expanded, Loeffler began to share her story as a homeschooler and a widow. Her story was heard by a national speaker and then “The Old Schoolhouse” magazine ran her story. She found herself running to the post office with 16 boxes a day. When she reflects back, she muses, “the Lord was starting to provide for us before we even knew we needed it.” The business now supports her family.
The family is also watching and learning. The kids first noticed that there was no food at the market, so they started making their own. They started with caramel corn and Chex mix and then added baked goods like cookies, muffins, and cinnamon rolls. “They enjoyed having their own money,” notes Loeffler. Like any good teacher, Loeffler turned the opportunity into a lesson for the kids. She fronts the money as a “loan” for the ingredients, the kids make and package their own products and then sell them at the market. They pay the “loan” off and have to make sure they have enough money for the next round of product before they start spending the money on themselves.
Larissa, 20, has carried the lesson forward and took her love of tea into a new business. “My cup o’ tea” is Larissa’s line of teas. Larissa started dehydrating herbs and creating her own line of teas. Immunitea, Kiss Goodnight, and the berry and fruit teas are her best sellers. Now a cinema production major, Larissa has created a blog about her tea at https://justmytea.wordpress.com.
As the business has expanded, the need for space increased. Work is progressing on turning the garage into a retail and production space at Loeffler’s home in Cornelia. “I need it done by the holidays,” she explains. The space is bright and will give the “work” and inventory a space of its own away from the “family” space. The space is sorely needed as Loeffler meets the demands of her customers and 6 commercial accounts. Pure and Simple can be found in 5 Ingles stores, Cornelia, Clarkesville, Toccoa, Commerce, and Cleveland, as well as the Jaemor Farms location in Commerce. Loeffler explains that she doesn’t want to grow too big. “I like being able to put the special touches on all our soaps. We tie all the ribbons on each bar of soap and sponge paint coordinating colors on the label.” Loeffler changed the label 3 times until she was happy with the result.
With Father’s Day just around the corner, her line of shave soaps is a perfect gift. Popular with Military members, Loeffler notes, “they like the slickness” of the soap that gives them a close shave without drying the skin. At the market, a shaving brush and soap container make a perfect gift set.
To learn more about Pure and Simple soaps visit www.pureandsimplesoap.com
