We recently connected with Jolene Kuehn and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jolene thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

One challenge that I’ve encountered is finding a consistent pattern for my soap sales. Keen Soaps carries a variety of soaps and personal care products, but you can’t always tell ahead of time what items might sell well at a vendor or craft show. One year everyone wants bath scrubs, and the following year at the same show they don’t sell at all. The key, I have found, is to be flexible and adaptive. And you can’t be afraid to try new things, to test the waters.

For example, most soap sellers tend to sell at craft shows, bazaars, and farmers markets. These have all been good markets for me. While attending a comic book convention several years ago, I noticed a number of people selling crafty items with superhero themes or anime characters. So, I decided to create some superhero and sci-fi themed soaps and bath bombs and attend one show. It was during Covid, so there weren’t too many shows active at the time. Well, the comic convention turned out to be one of my best-selling shows ever! Even after several years, comic and pop culture conventions are some of my best-selling shows. I think the lesson is to be flexible but to also not be afraid to try new things!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Keen Soaps & Personal Care Products are a result of my need to create fun soaps, lotions and body products. It all started about twenty years ago. I bought a book on soap making, rendered my own tallow, and used it to make a big batch of plain white soap. I then hand milled the soap, added fragrances, essential oils, and other additives. I loved doing it, but got busy with life and didn’t make it again for awhile.

Then, about 5 years ago, I read a soap recipe that I thought sounded interesting. I recreated it and added my own touches. That was the start of one of my best sellers, a face soap called Witchy Woman. It is a charcoal based soap with a variety of essential oils that are good for the skin. After that, I started to make other kinds of soaps. All kinds. I now make soap using a variety of methods including cold and hot process, and melt and pour. I also began to make face and body lotions, body butters, lip balms, bath bombs and salves. It is so much fun and kind of addicting.

Life it too short to use boring soap and bath products. I want my creations to make people feel that they are being pampered and make them happy. Because of this, I try to keep the costs down as much as possible. All of my soap and personal care products are less than $10.

I make a lot of products with oils that are infused with herb or flowers. For example, I have a dandelion body butter. I made the body butter out of dandelion infused olive oil, which adds vitamins and minerals to the skin. I used bee pollen to color the butter.

I have an active social media presences and am working on a web site. Most of my products are available at various vendor shows in central Illinois. I also have some of my products available at Winderson’s Creations in the Sangamon on Main building in downtown Mahomet, Illinois. I am working on getting my products into other shops in the Champaign-Urbana area.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I don’t have a business partner, per se., but my husband and son help out a lot. They help set up at shows, move supplies, construct displays, and pitch in where ever I need them. They also help when I am brainstorming new ideas or modifications for existing products. I can always count on them!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

There are many resources available, and it is easy to learn something new or pick up a new skill every day. I try to take as many “free” classes as I can to discover more about herbs, essential oils, aromatherapy, and products in general. I also study what I can on business management and marketing. I have taken the Mini Botanical Formulation course at Formula Botanica, an online school for making botanical skin and hair care, which was very informative.

My soap library is small but growing, and I am always on the lookout for informative books on soaps, lotions, scrubs, and body products.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jolenekuehn
• Facebook: Keen Soaps
• Other: Tik Tok: jolenekuehn

Image Credits
I took all of these photos. I will also send in a photo of myself at a Comic Book convention, dressed in character. The Comic Convention will take place in Kansas City, MO and will be the 16th-19th. Thanks!