Chesterfield's Soap Star

Meet Lisa Hutchinson from Elsie Moss Botanical

Words: Paul Chapman

Images: Elsie Moss Botanical

Elsie Moss Botanical is a small local business selling natural handmade, soaps, bath soaks, skincare, shampoo bars and aromatherapy blends. Now based in Brampton on Heaton Street I called in to find out her back story.

Lisa Hutchinson is the owner of Elsie Moss, the name of her grandmother, who was Brampton born and bred, Lisa is clearly proud to take her name for the business. Lisa was a primary school teacher for many years, getting ready for a change she gave up the job and took a 12-month trip, backpacking around the world!

On return, her friend offered her a job opening and running the cafe in the High Peak Bookshop and it was at this time that Lisa’s partner bought her a hand made soap on a trip. Inspired to make some soap she purchased ‘The Handmade Soap’ book. “I've used handmade soaps for years to reduce plastic waste, it all started with the book," she adds.

Lisa walked me through the soap making process. “I start by mixing caustic soda and distilled water to make a lye solution. Adding butters and oils to the lye creates a base, then the essential oils and natural clays for colouring go in and the mixture is poured into a mould. A chemical reaction takes place and the soap starts to set and ‘gel’, it sits in the moulds overnight, then I unmould them the next day. I slice the loaves of soap into bars and stamp them with my logo, they then must sit and cure for four weeks before they can be used.” A five-week process from start to finish, and it felt like Lisa was explaining how to bake a cake slowly!

Lisa’s very first attempts at soap making worked well and she made some perfectly usable soap, she admitted to be good at following a recipe. "Soap making is an age-old process, previously ash was a key ingredient, I love that I’m keeping alive a tradition,” says Lisa.

Today she creates large batches of about 250 bars at a time and loves to create new products adding in natural scents and oils. We did a quick calculation and reckon Lisa has handmade about 25,000 bars of soap to date.

I asked when she started Elsie Moss Botanical full time? “It started as a hobby, but it was

lockdown when I built a website and started selling online. When things opened again, I stood on markets and started supplying businesses wholesale.

Lisa moved house during lockdown and a garage workshop was on the list of requirements so she could step up the business. “It’s very different from my previous jobs which involved people management, today I manage just one person, myself!

“I love the whole creative process, being in control of all the elements, the scents, colours, the branding, labelling and the way the products are presented right through to understanding the profit margin on each product.”

In the interim Lisa has picked up some prestigious resellers, Chatsworth for instance, where her products are available in all outlets.

Taking on the shop on Heaton Street, behind Libby’s has helped Lisa set boundaries and schedule her work, it was 2 November when she opened the door.

“I love to see my regular customers calling in, my best-selling products are still the ‘calm’, ‘breath’ and ‘happy’ originals that I made from the start,” says Lisa.

The bath salts on the shelves are presented so perfectly, tied with a little spoon to dispense them into the bath, she was also excited about her skincare products, the research that has gone into them, understanding the properties the ingredients bring, “complete skin food with nothing that’s not needed” she adds.

Starting in July there will be a series of workshops running at Heaton Street, the first will run in conjunction with a ceramicist to make a wax melt burner and the fragrance to burn. Later, other products will follow so follow Lisa on socials to stay informed of dates.

Lisa’s transition from teacher to maker and business owner has been a slow one, but this has allowed her to get things right and ensure she stays true to her original values, so much so she still has the first bar of soap she made. "Looking back I would never have believed the change was possible," says Lisa.

Call into Elsie Moss Botanical on Heaton Street to buy some soap, say hello to Lisa and enjoy the aroma, She’s open Thu to Sat 10am to 4pm, the other days she’ll be busy making soaps

and products of course!

Elsie Moss Botanical

87 Heaton Street

Chesterfield S40 3AF

IG: elsie.moss.botanical

www.elsiemossbotanical.com