Olivia Jones spent three years searching for products to alleviate her daughter’s skin rashes, which even dermatologist creams couldn’t remedy. With no luck, she decided to make her own recipe: cleansers, scrubs and natural soaps infused with herbs and moisturizing oils. The soaps were successful on her daughter, she said.

Jones set up shop in Evanston in May with her business Shower Blooms after starting her soap-making journey in summer 2019. Before then, she operated a small suite in Ravenswood where she sold her products.

“I read other people’s stories, that they were making their own soap,” Jones said. “So, I made some lavender soaps, I made chia butter soaps, cocoa butter soaps, and I tried it on my daughter and I saw a big difference within like a three-month period.” 

Jones said she researched holistic herbs that moisturize dry skin and treat skin ailments like eczema, which her daughter has, and psoriasis. She focused on natural products because she said nature heals, and remedies from plants like aloe vera have been around for centuries. 

The Shower Blooms shop, located at 1917 Central St., is decorated with bright chromatic colors from the soaps to the paintings on the walls; it’s filled with scents like citrus, coconut and lavender. Jones said she gifted her first products to friends and family for free, who gave her great feedback on the products’ soothing properties and encouraged her to open a business. 

Angella March, Jones’ mother, said she is elated to see how far her daughter’s business has come. March runs a juice business called Angie’s Seamoss Infusion and this summer she and her daughter signed up for a local market to sell their products together, which she said was a wonderful mother-daughter experience. 

“When she showed me (the first soaps), I was so ecstatic … I said to her ‘Go ahead because you’re going to make it,’” March said. “(The market) was so fun, we worked right next to each other — I’m selling my juice and she’s selling her skincare products.”

Jones uses molds to design all of her soaps in a range of shapes like donuts, butterflies and stars. She also cuts soaps from a larger mold in which she pours in different colors and creates unique swirl patterns. 

Jones said the customers’ favorite soaps are the Oats & Honey Bar and Turmeric Glow Bar. She said she takes inspiration from Pinterest and other social media platforms to create her recipes, often soliciting shopper recommendations to come up with her soap creations.

“I actually personalize and create my own scents just for it to be unique and for people to say ‘Oh, I’ve never smelled this before,’” Jones said. “Some of the scents are essential oils and fragrance oils that people are familiar with, like Love Spell from Victoria’s Secret.”

Jones organizes and joins various events to promote her products and techniques with others — her most recent being a soap-making class for children. 

She said she had 20 fun soap molds for them to choose from — the massage mold being a favorite — and they created their own scents.

Regular customer Shyree Miles said she appreciated Jones’ advice on which products would help her with her eczema when she visited the shop. 

“Just seeing her online and her presence, seeing how consistent she is in promoting her product (drew me to her shop),” Miles said. “I like to support other Black-owned businesses, especially Black-owned businesses that are owned by women.”

Jones said she would love to teach a soap-making course in schools and continue doing interactive activities to share her craft with the community. 

She also said she likes to feature small businesses’ pop-ups in her store to help out other business owners and promote their products, because that is how she started out.

“I want people to see who I am (and) what my products bring for everyone to heal their bodies,” Jones said. “I love what I do, it started off as a hobby and now it’s my passion.”

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @Astry_tpwk

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