We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristi Young. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristi below.
Alright, Kristi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Taking a risk is often an uncomfortable endeavor for most individuals. The looming fear of failure can encompass you. A large majority of my life was lived in the shadow of the fear of failing. Regardless of affirmations of family, friends, and those who had an immense impact on me, I was too afraid to take a big risk with most things in my life. When I entered the craft of soap making, I found the process came natural to me; it combined my creative and artistic abilities with my love of science. While the creation and processes came easily, I was still gripped by the apprehension of sharing with others and turning my craft into a small business. My turning point came when I made the choice to adopt the motto: Better an “oops” than a “what if?”. I realized it was better to try and fail than have a dream or ambition that never came to fruition. I took the risk of putting myself out there and while I am not as well known as some larger soap artisans, I am getting my name out there and the greatest joy is having others love what I have created. That is how I measure my success and know that the risk was worth taking. I continue to take small risks to increase my business and brand and some risks still make me feel uneasy, but through the failures and successes are opportunities to grow and learn and these will ultimately lead to great changes within my business, craft, and personal self.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Kristi Young and I am the owner and artisan of Briarwood Soap Co in Massillon, OH. I am an 8th grade science teacher who discovered soap-making as a passion. Making and creating soap combines my love and knowledge of science with my creative and artistic side. From this blossomed Briarwood Soap Co. My husband has not only lovingly supported this passion turned business, but he has also jumped in to help create products and run the business. I think what sets BSC apart from other soap artisans is that we don’t necessarily fit within a particular niche market. We don’t use goats milk in our soaps nor do we use essential oils. All of our ingredients have been selected with purpose and that is to make a lovely, elegant bar of soap. We pride ourselves on making beautiful soaps using different color and swirling techniques combined with some unique fragrance options. The pretty soap is meant to be used and we believe that our customers deserve to use the pretty soap (because we can always make more!).
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
When BSC was starting to branch out and participate in local events, we ran into situations where there were other “soapers” selling at the same events we were attending. At first, this caused me to question a lot of different things: Was my soap good enough to sell here, too? Is the other soaper upset/angry that I am here? Are my designs going to be received well? Should I be using goat’s milk and essential oils in my soap? Am I doing this all wrong? I had to unlearn a lot about competition. At first, it affected how I viewed myself as an artisan. I think most of us are programmed that competition is bad and we need to surpass and eliminate competitors. I realized that we artisans all have our own niche and most of us are content staying in our own lane. When you examine it closely, I have a very different product than the artisan who promotes their use of goat milk in their soap. Each of our product appeals to a different dynamic of customer. Ultimately, we all enjoy our craft and what we do and create. Now when there are other soapers at events, I don’t view them as competition. I hope that each of us can be successful and share our unique products with a variety of people that day.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
A lot of my joy comes from creating different soaps with new fragrances and designs. Making soap is calming and therapeutic for me. Each cut of a new loaf of soap reveals unique designs and surprises. The most rewarding aspect of being a soap artisan is sparking joy in others. Can you even imagine watching someone get excited over soap? Soap! Its absolutely amazing and intoxicating to watch someone pick up a bar of soap because they think its pretty, then- wham! The elation that washes over their face as they smell something they love! I love that scent can be so emotionally powerful for some. The best moments are when smell sparks a memory that leads to the individual sharing a personal story. This really lets me feel connected to that person and I think it is so heartwarming that people will share and connect over a simple bar of soap. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.briarwoodsoapco.com
- Instagram: @briarwoodsoapco
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/briarwoodsoapco