What began as a hobby and online shop for Kevin and Michael Douglas-Smith has blossomed into a boutique business on The Square that they say allows them to be the “village soapmakers.”

How it started

The Douglas-Smiths began their soap-making journey in 2020 when they bought a kit from Michaels. They had gone for puzzles to occupy their quarantine boredom but the store was sold out.

Kevin Douglas-Smith said they had also been searching for a chemical-free soap product that wouldn’t be harsh on dry skin. After researching, they realized natural ingredients were their solution.

They got into the hobby and started gifting handmade soap to friends who would open them on Zoom calls. With a positive reception from their friends, the couple set up an Etsy shop and sold out of everything overnight.


They shipped orders nationally and internationally and sold products at local markets before they opened the brick-and-mortar Douglas-Smith Artisan Soap Co. on North LBJ Drive last summer.
Kevin and Michael Douglas-Smith handmake all of the products sold in their store. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
Kevin and Michael Douglas-Smith handmake all of the products sold in their store. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
"We did a little bit of wholesale, and then we realized that what we were doing, we could probably sustain a store, and we just kept putting money back into it," Michael Douglas-Smith said.

Respecting the craft

Michael Douglas-Smith said a lot of research and experimentation went into perfecting the two soap recipes they use to make their products.

“The idea is to find something that's moisturizing, that lathers, that cleans and lasts a long time, [and smells good,]” Michael Douglas-Smith said.


He said soap is made of two ingredients: alkali, or sodium hydroxide also known as lye, and some kind of fat. Douglas-Smith Artisan Soap contains plant fats and other natural ingredients like beeswax, honey, lavender, aloe, pure olive oil and more.
Before soaps go on the shelf for sale, they sit in the back of the store for up to six weeks to cure and harden. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
Before soaps go on the shelf for sale, they sit in the back of the store for up to six weeks to cure and harden. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
After the soap is mixed, poured and cut, it sits in the back of the store for four to six weeks to cure and harden. After that, it gets put out on the shelves for sale.

“A lot of people come in and they'll [say,] ‘The colors are off on this [soap],’” Kevin Douglas-Smith said. “The way I describe it is these are like grandma's chocolate chip cookies. They don't look the same, but they shouldn’t look the same because they're not processed in a machine. We make each one of these individually by hand, so they're each unique.”

Besides soap, the store also offers bath bombs; lotion bars; tattoo, beard and lip balms; and shave kits. From the product composition to their color and smell, everything is responsibly sourced and sustainable.

In a city that emphasizes environmental protection like San Marcos, they said it’s important to run an eco-friendly business.
Douglas-Smith artisan soaps are plant-based and contain sustainably sourced ingredients. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
Douglas-Smith artisan soaps are plant-based and contain sustainably sourced ingredients. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
For products that contain palm oil, Douglas-Smith Artisan Soap Co. has partnered with Palm Done Right, a sustainability initiative that promotes the ingredient’s ethical production. They also donate soap scraps to Eco-Soap Bank, a nonprofit organization that recycles the scraps to send to developing countries along with hygiene education.


What else?

Douglas-Smith Artisan Soap Co. hosts soap-making classes where guests can learn the in-depth process of the craft and take home their handmade creations.

The Douglas-Smiths said the community they have built with customers, other business owners and the city of San Marcos has been special. With excitement for what’s to come in the new year, they’re also looking forward to more organic growth as a boutique business.

“Before we got in here, we were like, ‘Wouldn't it be cool if we were just the village soap makers?” Kevin Douglas-Smith said. “We keep that energy of that lowkey, free-spirited, ‘come-in-and-enjoy’ [environment.] We make soap. It's great soap, and there's no pressure. It's a really relaxed environment.”