Misch Masch Soaps, a local business started by Lyndsay Fukai, sells handmade bars of soap in an abundance of different flavors.
The name developed from her love for Lewis Carroll, the author of "Alice in Wonderland."
"My niece calls me Mimsy, and I looked up the name and it's a Lewis Carroll name," Fukai said. "Then I started looking at a bunch of Lewis Carroll stuff, and Misch Masch was the title of one of his books and I just thought, 'wow. That would be an awesome name for my business,' mostly because I don't know what I want to do with it. I love vintage, I love sewing and making clothes and I love interior design, so I didn't really know what I wanted to do in the future. I figured Misch Masch would be a good brand because it kind of accommodates everything."
Fukai's love for making soap started when she received a bundle of them from a friend and her friend's daughter for Christmas.
"Her daughter is only 4, and I was kind of like, 'if you guys can make soap, I'm so gonna make soap,'" Fukai said.
"I've always wanted to, and I maybe want to open a bed and breakfast someday, so I thought it would be really cool to have handmade soap for guests. So, I just set out to make it one day. Just researched it and learned how to do it all. I gave the friend who I mentioned earlier one of my bars of soap and she was like, 'did you make this?' and I was like 'yeah, didn't you?' She had bought them all at Hobby Lobby. But that's how I learned; I just kind of taught myself."
The soaps are made with all-natural ingredients without any artificial dyes.
Everything is handmade, and the scents are inspired by a multitude of things.
"I love to cook, so I read cookbooks all the time and just kind of get different flavors off of that," Fukai said.
"I also love anything fantasy book, so I make goblin soap and witch soap and then of course I get inspiration from Harry Potter. I love all that."
While there aren't any Butterbeer-flavored soaps (yet), there are still many to choose from, and Fukai is open to any flavor suggestions.
"I made one soap called 'Witchy,' and it has like wormwood and witch hazel and all kinds of stuff like that in it," she said. "I just made a Jack Frost one for Christmas, so I used coconut shavings and made it white and added peppermint to it, which is cool."
Fukai has also been a huge supporter of local businesses, buying coffee beans from Mama Mocha's and grease from The Hound.
"I definitely believe in supporting local because that keeps everything in your town and provides a creative support for other artist types," Fukai said. "I really think that most coffee shops, and even grocery stores, should definitely buy local. I have a passion for food, and I also think that local farmers are a dying breed. If we don't start supporting them more, then places like Wal-Mart will take over the world and we're gonna have, like, mass produced weird tomatoes that are overly perfect. I don't know; I just really support local, plus I want my environment around me to be people that I respect and enjoy, and I know where my stuff comes from."
Misch Masch Soaps are sold at The Overall Company in Opelika or MischMaschVintaggio.blogspot.com.
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