By: Abbi Heckel

Every town has a beating heart that continues to spread joy and light throughout the community. This year Living Simply Soap is that heart. Whether you’re a fan of earthy scents or bubbly fun scents Living Simply has a scent for everyone and they are always working diligently to create more one-of-a-kind smells that you can’t resist. But Living Simply had to start somewhere and with a special mind behind the brand.

Tanya Brown first concocted the idea for soap-making when she stumbled across a half-priced book that entailed how to create soap. At first this book was collecting dust until one day while Tanya’s ill brother was staying with her she had the idea to try making soap as a fun activity. To her surprise it worked. In fact, she loved the experience and wanted to make more. Tanya gathered more supplies and got to work. She debuted her soaps at the Tipp City Farmers Market and she was a hit! This prompted her to visit the Farmers Market regularly and she kept growing her business until she decided a store front was the next step.

She managed to grab one of the beautiful downtown business fronts and she and her husband got to work. They have now been in business for fifteen years and are going strong. But they needed a little extra help because carrying barrels of product upstairs was no easy feat.

In 2018 Tanya was able to purchase a manufacturing location on North Fourth Street in Tipp to help the soap making process smoother for herself as well as her workers. This was going very well until a sudden fire broke out in the main building and all of her inventory was lost.

Thanks to the Watsons, Tanya was able to take time to rebuild their storefront property while selling soaps out of the hotel gallery in order to keep the business flowing. Tanya and her employees worked tirelessly remodeling the building. The rebuild wasn’t an easy process but when all was said and done Living Simply Soap was even better than before and re-opened at the end of the year right before Winter’s Gathering.

Living Simply Soap has earned their place in the community as well as our hearts. Tanya Brown considers herself a “maker” and we believe she truly lives up to that name. Most of the items you will find in Living Simply are hand made with the exception of only a few products. Tanya is also very keen on getting suggestions and input from customers and making their ideas come to fruition.

Tipp City is proud to have Living Simply Soap in their community and even more so proud to have Tanya Brown and her family. If you’re interested in checking out everything Living Simply Soap has to offer you can visit the storefront at 112 E Main St, Tipp City, OH 45371 or checking out their online shop at https://www.livingsimplysoap.com