ARCADIA -- For those who enjoy being pampered or pampering others, there's a source here in DeSoto County that will do the trick.
It's called Soap Crop for Bath and Body, and offers enough original products to tickle anyone's fancy.
Gail Hall is the owner of Soap Crop and primarily serves the Arcadia-Bradenton area, creating bath and body products with her own unique touch. She's lived in the area since 1992, coming to Florida from Vermont at the beckoning of a younger sibling, who had promised her warmer winters and friendly natives.
"My baby sister said there was great weather here and good folks, so I had to come see for myself," she said. She worked for the state and county for several years before becoming self-employed.
When she took an interest in making and selling bath and body products, she and her daughter, Leslie, attended Soapmakers Guild, an annual convention, to see what they had to offer. It so happened that it was in Vermont, so she was able to visit relatives as a bonus.
Hall decided to take the plunge and got into the business in 2007, purchasing ingredients and supplies and then began concocting her own soaps, bath beads, moisturizers, conditioners, balms, shampoos, massage and foot creams, lotions and perfumes, among many other products. A large building near her home serves as her shop, where she produces her unique bath and body wares.
The name of her business reflects its quality.
"Soap Crop means there is always something fresh being created or produced," Hall says.
She purchases soap in large blocks and melts it down, blending it with fragrances, color, vitamins and other ingredients. It is then poured into a variety of decorative molds such as hearts, ducks and footballs. After standing a couple of days, the soaps are packaged for mailing to her customers. Her business offers shrink-wrapped soap sets and gift baskets, each of which includes a complimentary package of flower seeds that can be planted in the soap container that her products arrive in.
Soap Crop also caters to those with sensitive skin and consumers who prefer fragrance- and color-free products. She even offers something men may enjoy called "Oil Can Hands," created for those whose hands encounter lots of dirt and grime.
Hall's shop resembles a laboratory -- clean white countertops lined with tools of her trade, and numerous shelves and cabinets filled with ingredients, color and other special additives.
Photographs on the wall show a number of her wares displayed for sale at an outdoor event. She has sold her products at festivals in Arcadia before and most recently, Lake Placid, this past weekend.
A Web site for Soap Crop, soapcrop.com, lists the many products Hall produces, as well as photographs and information about purchasing. Brochures may be downloaded also.
For more information, you may call 863-558-0641.
E-mail: troubador55@embarqmail.com.
By LUKE WILSON
Sun Correspondent