We made our first soap in May 2012. LeeAnn had been reading about soap-making online and wanted to try something other than the photography and painting that she had been doing for years. She had just had a disappointing loss of a job opportunity and it seemed like the right time to start something new. She asked Trisha if she wanted to help. Not knowing anything about soap making, Trisha said sure and they made their first bar of unscented goat’s milk in the kitchen. It took three hours to thicken and required an emergency trip to the local CVS to pick up a hand mixer – mixing with a spoon by hand wasn’t cutting it.

At first, we handed out stuff to our friends and family. Eventually, we wanted to start selling. The business got its official start in California in September 2013, however, starting a business in California is daunting and we wanted to be closer to family. Being from the Wisconsin area, it was a no-brainer to move back to the Midwest. We did research to find the area of Wisconsin that fit our style and brand. We decided on the Madison area because of the vibe and the ease of resources for local ingredients.

The move to Wisconsin happened in 2014. Shortly after landing, we started to branch out into skincare, which we are still growing. We pride ourselves on growing slowly. We do a lot of research and testing to make sure we have a worthy product and something to be proud of before launching it to the public. We have many friends and family members that are willing testers for all our new creations. Currently, we are working on facial serums and cleansing oils, lip balms, and make-up. We are looking to create a men’s product line that includes beard care. We also want to branch out into home products including laundry soap, spot laundry cleaner, and toilet tabs.

We are currently transitioning away from manufactured fragrances to essential oils in all our products. We try to local source when we can, right now we use Sassy Cow whole milk in the soap contained in the Wisconsin boxes, and beeswax and honey from Gentle Breeze in Mt. Horeb. We are starting to investigate locally sourcing our goat’s milk and sunflower oil as well. After the refining phase of development, we will be using local botanicals grown in our garden, or that of our families, in our infusions for lip balms.

Rowan Tree Bath Works is an ever-changing company as we create new products and refine old ones. By the way, we still have some of those original goat’s milk bars!

Soap – All Rowan Tree Bath Works soap have the primary ingredient of olive oil. We use a variety of other oils as well, depending on the recipe, but we feel that olive oil has amazing benefits for the skin. We use goat’s milk in some of our soap for its moisturizing and soothing properties, it gives a creaminess that many people like. We also make a vegan line that has specialty oils of avocado and shea butter along with the traditional olive and coconut oils.

We are going palm free in all of our recipes. We believe in being as sustainable as possible and feel that we do not need to use oils that create a habitat problem for other inhabitants of this planet to get a good product. We research, and source only sustainably obtained essential oils for all our products. We never test on animals and do not use animal fats in anything.

Wisconsin Box – Our Wisconsin box of soap is our goat’s milk recipe. We substitute Sassy Cow whole milk for the goat’s milk, theme each bar after an area in Wisconsin (Northwoods, Lakeshore, Driftless) and package them together in a gift box with the Something Special from Wisconsin label.

Lotion, Body Butter, and Lotion Bars – We do not believe in over-scenting. All our lotions and body butter are lightly scented so as not to be too overwhelming or harsh. The lotion is non-greasy and soaks into the skin quickly. The body butter melts with your body temperature. It can be used for deep moisturizing or even as a facial cream at night. The lotion bar is a solid lotion that creates a barrier to protect the skin as well as moisturizing. It is unscented and naturally smells of the beeswax and cocoa butter in the recipe.

Linen Sprays – Made from simple ingredients, the linen sprays can be used on fabrics or as room sprays. They are made from therapeutic essential oils in a variety of blends.

Essential Oils – Rowan Tree Bath Works currently sells undiluted essential oils at the Farmer’s Market and craft shows only. These oils are therapeutic grade and can be used in diffusers or blended with a carrier oil to use on the skin. We do sell both carrier oil to mix with as well as the roller ball bottles to put the final blend in.

You can contact us by calling (608) 318-2164 or by email at rtbw@rowantreebathworks.com