March Meet The Maker

Day 1: FAVORITE TO MAKE – If you ask Jonathan you may get a different answer, but my favorite thing to make are our limited edition soaps (even though he’s the one that makes them!) I get to play a part in the design process, and the ideas behind them, and often work to collect the wild seasonal material used.  On this recent limited edition it was inspired by the short 2 day taste of spring here we had in central Texas before it got cold again – and just wanting spring to come. I had been wanting to do a limited edition for a while with the botanical wildflower seed paper, and this seemed like the perfect bar to use it on. Jonathan designed the scent, and he did a great job – it really does smell like a fresh, sweet spring day!  Anyways, our limited editions are special and fun because we can experiment, try new ingredients, use seasonal and local specialties that we couldn’t ever buy/make/gather enough of to actually add to our line. They are just limited editions, so there is no pressure about making it perfect, or keeping it around for a long time. Its just like a sand drawing that washes away.

Day 2: HOW YOU STARTED You can read a full story here on our about-us page but basically it was a little bit of coincidence, a skin allergy, a job with a friends dad and some magic.  I had some extreme skin allergies going on, and couldn’t use any soap I found – Jonathan had a job making soap at a local company and found that he wanted to make a higher quality product. We started Old Factory to create a product for sensitive skin, but also to be creative and add a little bit of artistry into a flat industry. Back when we began there weren’t many soap companies out there, so it was a bit easier. Today there are soap makers all over the place! We still set ourseleves apart by the quantity of ingredients we use, our unique scents, and our original illustrated designs. 

Day 3: FLATLAY I jumped on the bandwagon at about day 8, so I think this is just a photo prompt, so here you go! A flat lay photo of our Storyline Soap Sampler – our all time best seller and a great way to sample our Storyline Soap Collection. Each scent tells a story through original illustration & the magic of perfumery.

DAY 4: TOOLS & MATERIALS Our tools & materials are pretty simple. Tools: ordinary kitchen tools, large stock pots, measuring spoons and cups, industrial size mixer.  Materials: herbs, botanicals, certified organic oils, essential oils and lots more! All natural, 

DAY 5: DETAIL OR CLOSE UP We offer custom white rabbit perfume labels – each one unique, Jonathan draws each one by hand.  The size is 1 oz, so it lasts quite a long time.

DAY 6: FULL TIME OR PART TIME Full time! Jonathan and I both work full time to keep Old Factory running.  We do have a few employees that help out as well in the busier times of the year.  We also have extra-curricular soap company activities such as raising the goats that provide milk for our goats milk soap line!

DAY 7: LESS GLAM SIDE Soapmaking is MESSY, we are constantly cleaning up the shop, cleaning oil spills (the good kind!), sweeping up herbs and botanicals – soap scraps and more.  Its a constant effort to keep things tidy.

DAY 8: PRODUCT RANGE You can easily find our product range on our website! We offer soap, natural perfume, oil based perfume, perfumed mist, kitchen products such as cutting board wax, chef soap and more.  

DAY 9: STORY BEHIND NAME Our name is a play on words “olfactory”  The olfactory system, or sense of smell, is the part of the sensory system used for smelling (olfaction). Our name also represents our love of doing things the old way, before soap was turned into a chemistry lab of unpronounceable ingredients.  The hands in our logo represent handmade of course, the oldest factory we have. Hands set up apart as humans, they allow us to reach out physically and interact with the material world.  The egg represents new beginnings, creation, and the cosmic egg!