For every handmade soap, there is a story behind it – a story of the person who put their own sweat and blood into providing you with the most awesome soaps and beauty products in the world. Behind the Soap is a column where I talk about the behind the scenes part that shapes the scents, shapes, and passion that goes into the products that the soap maker puts out.

The first profile that I would like to present to you is of Coquette Bath and Home, formerly known as Good Scents Bath Company. This is a one woman business ran by Cari Shannon. Cari graduated with a BS in Management from Purdue University. 2001 is when she opened a gift store, which was a childhood dream. Sadly it was claimed by the economic strife that has been running rampant, in the winter of 2006. However, the store opened her up to the wonderful candle making world. Cari had found a candle that suited her needs – not perfectly, but well enough – however the day after she placed a large order for her shop, she found the exact same candles at JCPenny – for only 25 cents more than her wholesale price.

That’s when it clicked – it was time for her to make her own candles. She set to work, learning through trial and error, and made a stellar product that knocked the socks off of anything she could pick up from distributors. Cari started with votives, but soon found herself going into jar candles, bead sachets, melts, and travel candles. And of course, when you start making candles by hand, most of the time you find yourself gripped by the hand that is handmade soap.

Two years after the candle epiphany, Cari got into handmade soap making, and made the magic happen again. You’re probably wondering why she’s Coquette Bath and Home instead of Good Scents Bath Company. In November 2008, her customers started asking if her shop had moved. Another person in Texas was using the name, and instead of fighting out a costly court battle that might ultimately achieve nothing but headaches, Cari rebranded as Coquette Bath and Home, which represented who she is today.

Now on to Cari herself – along with being a wonderful woman, it’s a wonder that she’s even here with us. In 1994, she was hit head on by a drunk driver, and wasn’t supposed to walk, along with them assuming she had been brain damaged. She recovered, there was no brain damage, and the doctors call her recovery miraculous. Cari is a single mother of two teenagers, with her son about to enroll in a local community college, and her daughter is hitting her sophmore year of high school. I certainly wish her all the patience in the world with that.

Cari is the type of person that I love to see running a small business – not only does she want her business to be profitable, she also wants to grow something that means much more than mere profits. This is her love, her dream, and that passion is passed on in every soap, candle, and beauty product that you’ll find.

You can find Coquette Bath and Home products at Etsy, Artfire, and at her own wonderfully designed site. I received a sample package from Cari, filled with the most marvelous of products that I’ll be reviewing in the weeks to come.