Meet Tracy, the owner of artemesia

"My name is Tracy Conklin and I am the resident Savonnier for Artemesia Soaps, Salts & Scrubs. I take great care and pride in the making of my soap and body products. My products are made in small earth-friendly batches using plant-based oils, butters, botanicals, essential oils and fragrances for their restorative and nourishing benefits to the skin. Every bar, every batch is an original formulation and a labor of love.

In addition to making soap, I also craft nourishing lotions, body oils, salt/sugar scrubs, and bath salts. All my soap and body products are made in Tucson, Arizona and are inspired by the beautiful Sonoran Desert.

Like a lot of people, I started making soap because commercial soaps were wrecking havoc on my family’s skin. So born from necessity came my passion for soap making. I have been making soap over 13 years and peddling it for more than 10 years. I continue to hone my craft via research and classes.

I love, love to make soap! I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world to be doing what I am passionate about!"

-Tracy

Meet Rania, owner of Omar and Me

"Omar is my loving, funny, outgoing son who is always out and about. From when he was very young, he has always loved playing with soaps and lotions. Being on the autism spectrum, it was his favorite sensory activity, and you’d never find him without a bar of soap in his hand. As he’s grown, he’s become more and more interested in crafting different things, which brought us to starting to make our own homemade soaps. For one, he gets to do an activity which he loves, with an end product that is exactly to his liking, and another is that he gets to have his own business through which he gains more and more independence, both through running the business and getting to interact with people at the local farmer’s market.

We’re dedicated to sharing our love with the community in sharing his passion, as well as being a brand that uses local ingredients, employs refugees, and dedicates a portion of our profits to local efforts supporting other children with autism and at risk youth in need. Southern Arizona is known for its rich diversity in cultures, which show in the unique ingredients we use that are traditionally used for skin care and health. Know that when you use our soaps that each bar is handmade by Omar and I with love, and that you have also spread that love further into the community, too."

-Rania

Meet Tara and Greg, owners of Zaytoon

"We are Tara & Greg of Zaytoon Products. We have merged our Kurdish and American heritages bringing the best of both to our lives and our business. Our bath, body, and skincare products are equally influenced by both these worlds with contemporary and artistic interpretations of time-tested Middle Eastern methods and skin-loving ingredients.

We started this business journey because some of our family and friends were suffering everything from eczema to skin cancer and wanted products that were a comfort instead of an irritant to these conditions. Natural products were the answer and so all our products are hand-crafted with organic and natural ingredients with the mission of providing quality natural products that are safe and healthy yet fun and affordable.

Tara and her family came to America as refugees through Lutheran Social Services and so it is with great excitement that we participate in this year's Christmas Towel Drive as a way to say thank you to the Lutheran organization and to participate in the giving that we were once on the receiving end of."

-Tara & Greg