About The Blue Ridge Soap Shed

Questions? Call us toll-free at 877-404-SOAP

The Blue Ridge Soap Shed is a handcrafted soap business started in a backyard shed located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina - and thus the name, the Blue Ridge Soap Shed.

Tim Tyndall is a formerly-retired science professor put back to work by his wife, Karen, a business and training consultant. Tim and Karen began making soap for fun as a hobby in 1997 and selling it in 1998. With more than 130 varieties, The Soap Shed now offers one of the largest varieties of handcrafted soap available in the United States.

Soapmaking comes naturally to Tim. After graduating from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a major in botany and biology, and later with graduate degrees from North Carolina State University, 'Dr. T.' taught chemistry for many years at the high school and community college levels. His last academic position was Director of Engineering and Science Programs at UNC-Charlotte before retiring to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We are proud to have such built-in quality assurance and creativity resident at the Soap Shed.

We make our soap completely from scratch using the cold process method, with raw ingredients and recipes we created. Our soap recipes have been created primarily by Tim, and all fragrance blends and herbal combinations created by Karen. Our soap bars are hand made, hand poured and hand cut by both of us. For a list of all our ingredients used, click the INGREDIENTS link just above.

The range of products we make trace the history of soap as a functional craft, including the Appalachian mountain heritage craft known as 'Grandma's Ole Lye Soap' which was once the only source of hygiene in the region. The majority of Soap Shed soaps reflect more current times, with vegetable oil 'bath and shower' soaps made using imported tropical oils which became available to soapmakers in the last half of the 20th Century.

A very special selection of soaps reflect the mountains of the Blue Ridge where we live, and are created and named with our geographic region in mind, such as 'Blue Ridge Mint', 'Fresh Mountain Air,' 'Carolina Kudzu' or 'Southern Belle'. The Soap Shed's 'Mountain Scents' handmade soaps are unusual aromatic souvenirs of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and can be found at many retail and tourist locations along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.

As professional educators, it has been important to us to create a strong connection between our customers, our craft and ourselves. We have achieved this by pursuing an "educational approach" to our craft and business, which has put our professional training and personal styles to good use. In 2000, we opened our soapmaking operation to the public and opened a shop. In 2005, we will begin our sixth year of being open to the public at our newly remodeled and expanded space in Spruce Pine, just off Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 331.

Visitors to The Soap Shed can view the entire 'process' of soap making, from mixing of oils and lye, to the molds used to make each batch, and the cutters used to prepare each bar they take home. Everyone is welcome to view whatever aspect of the handmade soapmaking operation is being conducted at the time of their visit. Soapmaking demonstrations are scheduled throughout the summer season, at least once daily on Saturdays and Sundays, and anyone wishing to see a batch of soap made from start to finish should visit during this time or call ahead. See soapmaking demonstration schedule.

The shop features a fun and interactive 'country market' atmosphere with all different soap varieties available for purchase at all times. Soap is displayed in handmade baskets, on twig racks skirted with quilts handmade by Karen in the colors of each season. More than 10,000 bars are available daily from logs fresh from the drying racks, with individual bars cut on the premises and placed in the baskets for sale. Photos, antique soap-making equipment and sample raw materials to see, smell and touch are on display to entertain and educate customers. All these materials, along with instruction from resident soapmakers Karen and Tim, help visitors achieve a fuller understanding of the heritage craft of handmade soap making.

The Soap Shed has been recognized by Handmade in America for inclusion in their publications, The Craft Heritage Trails of Western North Carolina and Farms, Gardens, and Countryside Trails, as well as other regional travel and tourism guides and magazines like Our State and Blue Ridge Country. Dr. Tyndall is a faculty member at the John C. Campbell Folk School, teaching handmade soapmaking there since 2002, and is a frequently requested demonstrator of handmade soapmaking at regional and state events such as The Mountain State Fair and North Carolina State Fair.

After many years as a corporate training and development consultant, Dr. Wylie now focuses on entrepreneurship and development of small businesses and rural businesses. Karen also facilitates weekend workshops on the fundamentals of teaching and group dynamics, for artists and crafters who want to share their art or craft with others by providing demonstrations or workshops of their own, or even opening studios to the public.

The Soap Shed is a member of the following business and professional organizations:

The Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce

The McDowell County Chamber of Commerce

The Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce

The Blue Ridge Mountain Host

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation

The North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association

The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild

Karen and Tim can be reached at info@soapshed.com