Natural Delight

Three friends’ heartfelt passions result in beauty and home products that are as pretty to look at as they are delectable to use.

By Jamie Matusow, Editor

With a spirit and style of craftsmanship more akin to old-world Venice than modern day New York, a line of handmade products packaged in hand-printed papers from The Soap & Paper Factory’s rustic workshops just outside The Big Apple, engages our senses and encourages us to stop and smell the roses—or, in this case, the rosewood, verbena, orange blossom, green tea, fig and cinnamon clove.

While the six scents offered in items from bar soaps to drawer liners are deliciously fragrant and visually appealing, that’s just half the story. Each fragrance is created with a corresponding image, hand drawn and printed on handmade paper. The vibrantly colored papers wrap the cartons, tubes and canisters of bath salts, body scrubs, beeswax candles and more ($14-$56). The artistic creations are inspired by nature and designed with the environment in mind.

Owned by three close friends, The Soap & Paper Factory originated as two separate ventures: Brickhouse Soap, where Shannon Burch and Lisa Devo began by making all-natural bath and body products by hand, and Dewey Howard, where Elizabeth (Beth) Grubaugh created stationery, journals and gift wrap. The women had admired each other’s work for years and decided to combine their passions to offer a wider range of products that were completely handcrafted. They loved the idea of wrapping Devo and Burch’s handmade products in Grubaugh’s hand-sketched, locally printed, recycled papers.

Their goal was clear from the start. “We wanted to create beautifully packaged, green products that smell great, work amazingly, and are design savvy,” says Grubaugh.

In creating the rosewood fragrance (pictured), for example, Devo developed a scent that all three women loved. Grubaugh worked with the perfume and drew what she smelled. Sometimes the process works in reverse: With the verbena, Grubaugh had a drawing that Burch and Devo wanted to match a fragrance to.

“So much care and attention goes into each item, from sketch to production line, making sure each product is totally unique and great for your home and body,” says Devo. “We use the best oils and go organic whenever possible.”

Since everything is handmade, that became the women’s niche. “Our intentions were and are to satisfy a missing segment—well-designed, green products that are also made with lots of love and laughter because we touch each and every piece,” says Burch.

What’s next? “So many ideas are possible,” says Burch. “Roll-on perfumes, room fragrances, new fragrances, new patterns . . .”

Personally, I enjoy just looking at the exquisite packages displayed prominently on my linen closet shelf—and while recyclable, they’ll most likely never get to that stage; instead, I’ll use them for other purposes long after I’ve enjoyed their original contents.

More info: www.soapandpaperfactory.com –