Soap maker Ann Clement-Kirton keeps it all natural

CHERYL METIVIER

Ann Clement-Kirton is already planning her exit strategy from 30-plus years of the nine-to-five life.

Having given over three decades of dedicated service as an administrative assistant at the UWI, Clement-Kirton has found something that will consume her attention right into retirement – soap making.

She told WMN the two years of confinement during the covid19 pandemic has birthed numerous creatives and entrepreneurs, and she is one of them.

"Nedco had advertised some soap- and candle-making courses. I played with the idea of trying it, weighing the pros and cons, and eventually decided that I would take the course."

The reasons? "It was free, I was working from home and I had the time, so I said 'why not?'"

She said she never intended to transform what she learned into a business; it was just a way to keep herself occupied. But she was pleasantly surprised to find that she immediately took a liking to the activities, particularly the soap making.

“It was really interesting and, I fell in love with it.”

Family members became her biggest supporters and "guinea pigs," as she would offer them samples from each batch to try, seeking their honest feedback so she could improve where she needed to. She has made lavender, oatmeal, moringa, turmeric, and a moringa and turmeric blend. Her husband, son, sister and mother looked on as she developed what was meant to be a hobby. Almost from the beginning, she said, her sister began prodding and encouraging her to monetise her new skill because she was so good at it.

"But even up to this time I have not been fully marketing and selling because it’s a lot of work and very time consuming.”

But she also finds soap making to be relaxing and almost therapeutic, especially the process of “formulating the recipes and making the soaps, smelling the different fragrances and essential oils”

Her customer base has been expanding due to the intense and persistent support of her family members, getting orders from friends of friends, their relatives, neighbours, and through the social media presence of Ann's Natural Soaps on Instagram and Facebook.

Buoyed by the positive feedback that she was receiving and armed with a new understanding about the number of unknown chemicals (to the average person) and the possible harmful side effects of buying and using many beauty products on the market, Clement-Kirton said this has inspired her to expand into body butters, body scrubs and lotions. She said she will utilise her ever expanding network to source the knowledge on how to manufacture these new items.

Other resources such as her Facebook groups have also been quite helpful, as most members are open and willing to share information about things like new techniques, suppliers etc. It has been almost one year since she has been advertising on social media, and she is quite pleased with the response she has been receiving.

“The feedback has been wonderful. I have always asked for honest reviews, and the response has almost always been, ‘Ann, its good.’”

She even offered it to her aesthetician who is not into soaps, but agreed to try them as a show of support.

"And she gave the nod of approval."

Clement-Kirton insists on producing blends that are healthy and beneficial, and spends time researching which products are likely to add value. Her lavender fragrance has been one of the most popular, which she said relaxes and helps her to sleep well. At the moment she is working on refining the quality of the moringa and turmeric blends. Already, she has had a testimonial from one friend whose daughter suffers from severe acne and said she has seen improvement since using the turmeric blend.

Looking back, Clement-Kirton recalls how difficult it was for her to step out of her comfort zone and share samples with people outside of her immediate family.

“It was scary and intimidating,” but after much self-cajoling, she said, “I told myself, 'look, you wouldn’t know until you try!'”

Supported by her sister, who she describes as “bolder and outgoing,” she began to step out gradually.

Being a regular participant at craft markets and pop-up shops, her sister urged her to do the same.

"She encouraged me to participate in my first pop-up shop hosted by Eastern Credit Union. Once again, the response was good."

She fondly remembers when her husband’s friend travelled to England and took a few bars with him as a gift to his friend there.

Her response was, “Why didn’t you bring more?”

Clement-Kirton has concluded that when she retires, soap making will be her new career, and tells people to refrain from describing ventures such as these as a "side hustle."

"This was advice I received from my tutor. This is more of a parallel income stream and I am excited about expanding into the areas I mentioned earlier."

Fortunately, she has been able to source her raw materials from friends and relatives, and generally uses the heat and pour method in which the soap base is melted in a vessel using direct heat and re-solidifies as it cools, or the cold press method – combining fat or oil with sodium hydroxide lye then blending in essential oils and colourants as required.

She said prior to this venture, her closest encounter with any other creative undertaking was cake making and decorating, and while she enjoyed those, they were in no way as gratifying as this has been.

She has already identified what area of the family home in Arima will be used to facilitate the expansion when the time comes. She said the entire thing has been and continues to be a learning experience, and expects that by the time she retires she will have the requisite skill-set, confidence and experience to properly market her soaps and achieve the brand recognition that Ann’s Natural Soaps deserves.

She is still learning to embrace all the aspects of the social media space, and is frequently reminded by her sister and nieces about the importance of all aspects of marketing. For as good as a product may be, if not properly marketed people may never know it's out there.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, Clement-Kirton said products from Ann’s Natural Soaps is a great choice for anyone looking for healthy, aesthetically packaged and wholesome gifts for their loved ones.

She can be reached at annclement1000@gmail.com or annclement@yahoo.com or 1-868-747-1472.