Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Moyer
Hi Jennifer, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been an Ohio girl my whole life. Born and raised in northwest Ohio, with friends who had farms and livestock. I’ve always wanted a little farm of my own and a chance to have my own livestock to care for. It didn’t happen right away though. After college, working as a nurse for a few years, getting married, having our first kiddo, and saving as much money as we could, we took the plunge. Buying our own little farm! Gardening and animal care is my happy place. It was so exciting getting to cultivate our own little farm into what we hoped for. Starting our own garden and adding chickens our first year.
Not wanting to have to work full time as an RN and grow our little farm at the same time led to some creativity and brainstorming. How could we bring in a little money from the farm while doing what we enjoy? Goats were the answer for us, so we bought our first 2 from some high school friends. We now have 8 dairy goats. Goat milk for skin care products made naturally seemed like the right answer. I started learning the how to’s of soapmaking and exploring my ingredient options. There are a handful of different ways to make soap, and I wanted it to be a quality my family could enjoy. Natural ingredients, no fake colors, and essential oils for wonderful scents. I’m so grateful for the people who shared their knowledge, helping me to get started too. Springfield Small business district commission is also an amazing resource for any small business. There are so many important steps in getting a business up and running. All of their help and our family’s hard work led to the start of our business, Made in the Meadows!
I prepped a few months before our launch to design business cards, figure out labeling and packaging, and to build up our soap supply. It takes 3-4 weeks for cold process soaps to fully cure and be ready for use. Its such a relaxing process though, making homemade soap. Our business officially launched in July 2024 with our own website, multiple vendor fairs, and selling as a vendor at a nearby Urbana boutique called Say Grace. Finding new essential oil scents every season has been so fun. I’m always asking friends and family for ideas for new combinations. We havent quite reached a year of business, but it’s been enjoyable and challenging.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For the most part, it’s been pretty smooth. I’m a planner who likes to do her research before jumping into things, so that helps a bit. Every once in a while, I’ll have a batch where the bars just don’t come out as pretty as I’d hoped. Those make great freebies though to give people a chance to try them.
Figuring out what opportunities to take to get our soaps into the hands of people who will really enjoy them can be a little challenging too. There are so many great farmers markets, holiday fairs, and businesses that work with vendors in our area. You could be busy every weekend if you wanted to.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Made in the Meadows was created July 2024. We make goat milk soap bars with simple ingredients and scented with essential oils. Get squeaky clean and smell good. The Goat milk comes from our happy goats on our farm. Our 6 ornery ladies. They are well cared for and happy so they give great milk. We use natural ingredients that anyone can pronounce and don’t add fake colors or dyes. Our other ingredients include coconut oil, olive oil, lard, castor oil, and lye to saponify(convert fats to soap). We use essential oils for scenting the soap as its safer, and have just one variety of soap, berry blossom, that is a fragrance oil. I’m proud of the quality of ingredients we’re able to use and the scent combos I’ve been able to make so far. Each small batch is made in my kitchen by hand and sometimes with the assistance of my 10 year old and husband.
Berry Blossom, Orange and Oat, Forest, 5 Thieves, and Unscented are our year round or staple scents. We have Spiced Orange, Peppermint vanilla, Bergamot Lime, and Tea tree Lavender that are a few of our seasonal soap scents.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Being able to contribute to supporting my family and farm with a product I’m proud of and we can make together.
Pricing:
- Small soaps(3-3.5oz)-5$
- Large soaps(4.5-5 oz)-7$
- Cedar soap dishes-4$
Contact Info:
- Website: https://madeinthemeadows.square.site
- Other: madeinthemeadowsOH@gmail.com
