INTERVIEW: Southampton Soap Company Owner, Deborah O’Shaughnessy, Talks About the Brand, the Holiday Season, and Craft Markets

The Southampton Soap Company has several days of exciting holiday events happening in the Hamptons this season!

Southampton Soap Company & Friends 10^th Annual Holiday Gift Show kicked off last weekend. It will be taking place again on Thursday and Friday 12/16 and 12/17 for a Holiday Sip n Shop. The gift show will continue Saturday and Sunday 12/18 and 12/19, and for some last-minute gift shopping on 12/21, 12/22, and 12/23 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. The event will take place in Southampton Soap Company’s newly launched 1975 Vintage Step Van: The Bubble Mobile! This will be at 832 Scuttle Hole Road in Water Mill.

They will also be at the Holiday Makers Market event at Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton on Saturday, December 18^th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

These events will showcase some of the east end’s most talented artisans. There will be many different vendors at the markets, so you can find a gift for everyone! Shopping small and local is a great way to spread holiday cheer!

Deborah Lukasik O’Shaughnessy, owner of the Southampton Soap Company spoke about what the brand is all about, the holiday season and craft market events, and what it means to have a small business on the east end of Long Island.

What is the Southampton Soap Company brand all about?

Deborah: Our products are food for the skin. We use honest and transparent ingredients: natural ingredients are natural medicine. People think you have to spend hundreds on skincare because of luxury marketing. We have forgotten that we come from the earth and that natural ingredients have been used for centuries. Our very first concept was to make good soaps and skincare accessible for everyone—to be the generous brand and to always make our bars large and long-lasting. People realize that they are worth every penny and thus we have developed an incredibly loyal following. Product integrity.  

Most people know us for our bar soaps. The image we use on our bar soaps, which then was modified to create our logo, is a woman gathering cockles into a basket at the shore. Barefoot in her plaid with her dress tied up, she is clearly hardworking but finds pleasure in the task at hand. Her face reflects contentment in her surroundings and satisfaction in being part of her seaside community. She looks dreamily at the gentle waves, and perhaps others working beside her. She feels the ground under her feet, and deeply breathes in the salt air. There is a peace in her work, as it is part ritual. All work is. Bathing, too, is ritual in nature and is the one shimmer in the day we get to cleanse our mind, bodies, and spirit with the powers of water. Our products make that moment a bit more enjoyable and allow an escape, letting the scents of the essential oils transport us to another place or time, a respite from our daily tasks, restoring and renewing us for what the day will bring. Our brand is about so much more than just soap, we strive to encourage people to create an experience—and you can feel that power in each one of our products.

How do the holidays impact your products?

Deborah: The holidays absolutely impact our work as our products make perfect gifts: clean, green, natural, and handcrafted. They are practical and useful and make people feel wonderful!  We also run our clean green fundraisers for schools and non-profits, which are a huge success during the holiday season.

How did you get started with your business? When did you decide to start it?

Deborah: Necessity is the mother of invention! As a person with highly sensitive skin and eczema my entire life, I was fortunate enough to be gifted an opportunity to learn how to make soap with friends about 20 years ago and haven’t used a single store-bought bar since! I thought that if I could share this newfound miracle with others that they too could feel good about what they put on their skin. When we moved back here in 2009, I hosted our very FIRST holiday gift show, and made a batch of soap to sell. People said, “This is the best soap I have ever used. Why don’t you do this all the time?” One conversation and a bit of time at the computer and our brand was born. Before long, we were fortunate enough to have our soaps carried at The Green Thumb, North Sea Farms, and Hildreth’s. It has been growing ever since.   

Does the east end of Long Island play a role in the company? 

Deborah: It absolutely does. Our signature bar is called SEASIDE SPA. It contains water from the ocean, sea clay, kelp, and essential oils. Our seaside locale definitely plays a part in our aesthetic and branding as well as the overall vibe we strive to create.

Are the ingredients in the soaps and products locally sourced?

Deborah: We grow our own arnica, calendula, comfrey, echinacea, St. John’s wort, nettles, lavender, as well as other botanicals to be used in our infusions and as garnish to pretty up some of our products.   
 

What’s unique about craft show events that you don’t otherwise get to experience in your business? And how do the events on the east end and Hamptons differ from other market events?

Deborah: That is a great question and frankly, we make a choice to participate in our local farmers markets and craft shows because I just love it. Not the moving of products and the tent—I love the people. I love the conversations and the connections. I like them to know the face of the couple whose heart and hands are creating the bath and body care they choose. I like how it feels to be a part of a community of makers who put every ounce of themselves into their product because they believe in what they do. I enjoy talking to people about their skin, about their lives, about the richness of the culture out here. Ultimately, I hope that I might leave them with a tiny pearl of wisdom, or a giggle that might make their life a little brighter, more joyous, more pleasurable, and might even encourage them to take some much needed and well deserved time out for themselves each day. Taking that first step with a simple bar of soap is the start of something very, very, good.

What else do you want people to know about Southampton Soap Company?

Deborah: Come visit us at the SOAP BAR where we can have a chat over a cuppa. Let’s make an essential oil blend roller together. Something that sets your heart on fire. Keep an eye out for our upcoming BUBBLE MOBILE events or call us with an idea. We would love to hear from you.

Check out Southampton Soap Company at www.southamptonsoapcompany.com and visit them on Instagram at @southamptonsoapco. They’re looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing their amazing products with the community at the upcoming holiday markets!