Willow Way

Because we both love nature, herbal crafts and of course, health and well being, we were naturally drawn, to this clean art. There were many reasons for creating a soap making business. It is good for the Earth and contributes to humanity in a very positive way. Of course, we would also be helping ourselves, to gain further independence and freedom... from corporate America. It wasn't long until we had out grown the space in our kitchen and moved our soap making operation into the barn. Having 20 years of previous hard won, business experience in construction, retail, and various art forms, we had a knack for finding the "easier way" to work. Finding a way of cutting soap, evenly and consistently, became a crusade. Finding a way to pour more soap efficiently, and meet demand was a constant problem. Since 1996, we have not met a soapmaker yet that ever anticipated their rate of growth and growing need for space. After numerous trials and tribulations, failed experiments and frustrations, we finally came up with a that worked. Our next challenge was developing the perfect soap mold. We knew that a block mold was the way; larger pours, less space, better saponification and conversion, better quality. We tried them all, cardboard boxes, plywood boxes, acrylic, stainless steel, and the molds grew and grew in size. Finally, we reached 95 lb pours, using the ultimate mold material, and found the ideal balance of efficiency, economy, and size. In late 1996, we develop what was to be called the "Air Cutter". As soon as we cut the first 95 lb block of soap, we knew this was something that other soap makers would want, and that this would be a wonderful service", helping others to create and grow their own handcrafted body care business. We have been through a lot of ups and downs in manufacturing soapmaking equipment, and body care manufacturing equipment, sometimes thinking; "Why don't we find something easier to make a living at? but......it always came down to, there is nothing we would rather be doing as this is a ...Read More