Meet Emily Spiers of Live.Simple.Soap + Candle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Spiers.

Emily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? 
I have always enjoyed learning new things and was on a mission to create and provide my family with as many items as possible from my own hands. I decided that the best way to learn the chemistry and process of soapmaking was to learn from a master soapmaker. I found one who taught the science behind the creation of the soap as well as how to make it unique and personal. After that first class, I was hooked.

I started making soap for myself and my family and noticed my skin seemed more clear and in less need of lotion. About a year or so later, my friends and neighbors began asking for soap for Christmas gifts and Live.Simple. was born. That first Christmas, we sold 600 bars of soap.

For the first 2 years, at night after my family went to bed, I would bring out all of my ingredients and soap molds and make batches of soap in the kitchen. As time went on, my husband encouraged me to move my operation to our basement. In 2017, we moved all of my equipment and ingredients into our basement and the next stage of Live.Simple. took place. I began making soap for bed & breakfasts, inns, and Airbnbs for their guests. As business grew and I began to outgrow our basement, my husband began the massive task of designing and building a dedicated space for me on our farm.

Over the next of 2 years, while my husband was building new space for me, I was building a business that spanned across the country in the hospitality industry and began adding in retail merchants. The interest in high-quality hand-crafted products and all-natural soaps took the country by storm during the pandemic and our products fit those criteria. In 2020, our daughter expressed an interest in joining the business, and we expanded again to include beeswax candles and additional skin care.

In 2021, we officially moved my business out of our basement and into the new space. We have continued to grow and remain a steady and stable presence in the local market and beyond by adding new hospitality partners to our Live.Simple.Family.

Live.Simple., by nature, is not a fancy product. We use high-quality ingredients to create high-quality products that everyone can use. I started out by making soap for my family, and I guess I still make soap for my family. My family just numbers in the thousands now.

Our farm is the continuing inspiration for this business. I hope that my business and products will encourage and remind others that simple is good. We love to live simple and hope you will too because… it’s a way of life.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think smooth roads are overrated. At the beginning of Live.Simple. I made the conscious decision to do this business for the glory of God. He has used Live.Simple. to help others in ways I can’t describe and in ways I’ll never know.

I read a book years ago called Traction by Gino Wickman and in it, he wrote: “decide which business you want to be in and be in that business.” That one sentence has helped me keep a focus on what Live.Simple. is all about: high-quality ingredients to create high-quality products that everyone can use.

I have struggled with the market changing and the saturation of the industry during the pandemic. There was an influx of people into the hand-crafted product industry, and even though I had been in business since 2014, I felt as though the market might not bear the weight well.

In 2020, 2021, and early 2022, I stayed the course and decided not to let the increase in the industry sway my product offerings. Some might have thought that was foolish, but I knew what business I wanted to be in, and I stayed in that business. That has paid off, and as of 2023, the market has leveled back out, and we are still a solid fixture in the local market and growing.