Today we’d like to introduce you to Darcy Geho
Hi Darcy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Since 2018, I have owned “Preserving My Sanity,” a lifestyle blog focused on food preservation, natural living, and the importance of knowing where your food and other products come from. An ongoing message to my readers when sharing about various projects has always been, “You can do it too.”
I love learning new things, and although making soap had been on my “to learn” list for a while, I was intimidated by it and hadn’t explored it much.
As an avid goat milk soap user with sensitive skin, I met a vendor at a craft show in 2022. While chatting with her about soap, I discovered that she teaches online soapmaking classes. Following my own advice about not being afraid to learn new things, I signed up for the class.
I made my first few batches of goat milk soap, and then I made a few more. A few months later, I gifted everything I had made to clients, family members, and friends for Christmas.
At that point, I was just having fun making soap and hadn’t thought much about selling it. But early in 2023, I started hearing from gift recipients with comments like, “I loved that soap, how can I get more?” and “That soap was amazing, when are you going to open a shop?”
So, I kept making more soap and in September 2023, I opened my online shop as part of Preserving My Sanity. I source my goat milk from local farmers in Minnesota whenever possible, which is almost always as long as I plan ahead during their dry season to get enough stored up in my freezer! This fall, I felt a bit like a squirrel storing nuts for winter as I packed half of one of our freezers full of local goat milk. For a few of my extra products like lotion bars and dog paw balm, I also source beeswax locally. I make a variety of scented, unscented, and essential oil soaps, and I am enjoying seasonal releases and learning new things along the way. My primary sales outlet is my online shop, but I also attend some vendor shows and currently have products in two retail stores.
As a marketing strategist for the vacation rental industry, I have also made location-themed guest soaps for a few of my clients and am excited to grow this part of my business in 2025.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think owning a business is ever really a “smooth” road, but it has been fun and at times, challenging. Because I also own a marketing business, I’m lucky in that I was able to do all of the online setup myself without having to hire out that work, which can get expensive for a new business. I also have professional experience with social media marketing, email marketing, and public relations, which saved me from a learning curve for any of those pieces.
I would say one challenge has been just reminding myself to stay patient during the “growing pains” part of running a business. I have sold my soap and other products to so many amazing customers so far, and it’s so much fun to recognize customer names as they come back for return orders. But, this year has been a bit of a slow year I think for everyone, so I’m just working on making my products the best I can for the customers I have while marketing and reminding myself that the journey isn’t a race.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When I decided to open a goat milk soap shop, I knew I wanted to highlight quality ingredients and local goat milk. Because one of the ongoing content messages of my blog has always been to shop local (for food and otherwise), I really wanted to make sure I was incorporating local ingredients into my products whenever possible. There’s just something so cool about driving out to a local farm with my empty mason jars, and then leaving with them full of fresh milk.
Because I personally have sensitive skin, I’m extremely conscious about the other soap ingredients I buy. The fragrance oils I use are paraben and phthalate-free and purchased from reputable sources. I pay close attention to usage rates of both fragrance oils and essential oils, and in most cases use quite a bit less than the maximum allowed amount. For products I make that aren’t wash-off products (like body butter), I only use essential oils or plant-based natural fragrances. I also make several options of unscented soap, because those of us with sensitivities and allergies should have choices too! I have dedicated soap molds for any of my unscented soaps as well, to be sure no fragrance or essential oil remnants find their way into those.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
When I was a little girl, my grandparents spent their summers on my grandpa’s childhood farm. My parents ran a bakery which meant lots of early mornings, many of which I got to spend with Grandma and Grandpa. I have memories like picking apples out of my grandpa’s tractor’s loader bucket, going on wildflower walks with my grandma, bottle-feeding calves, eating strawberries right out of the garden, picking rhubarb, and more. It makes me smile to think about, because I feel like these things in some way are what inspired me to do all the things I do now, many of which I write about on my blog.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.preservingmysanity.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preservingmysanity
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preservingmysanity/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@preservingmysanity
