We had the good fortune of connecting with Maaike Fettah and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maaike, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
They say “A rising tide lifts all ships.” Around here, we believe that to be true but maybe not in the way it was initially meant. While it is true that financial success for a community means we all rise together, what about ethical and compassionate success? What do I mean by that? I mean that seeing people do things COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY from what corporate capitalism has said are the rules gives others hope and courage to also step away from norms and expectations that are unhealthy and create disconnection.

As a former Financial Planner turned Artisan Soap & Candle Maker (among other things,) I am well aware of the expected course of a business. Write a business and marketing plan. Seek funding. Have goals. Keep normal hours. Focus on profitability. We literally did none of that. As a matter of fact, this business, now in it’s 6th year, was started by accident, morphed into a vehicle to keep me home until my youngest was in full-time school, became a way for a single mom to parent and teach two young people how to hustle and maintain freedom, and just continued to grow.

Our vision for the past several years, which is now coming to fruition, is to employ women coming out of domestic violence. Does that help the community and the world? Yes. That alone helps an underserved segment of the community, but it is also about HOW we operate and HOW we create, that causes a ripple effect that is much greater than simply providing jobs.

Firstly, our products are of the highest quality ingredients we are able to procure. Why does this matter? All of what we make enters the body. Either through the skin, through the lungs, or both. Much of what is mass produced and sold through major outlets is chemical garbage that causes physical damage. We believe that being entrusted with people’s intimate, personal selves is a privilege and we take that seriously. Our base oils, butters, & waxes are organic, food-grade, & ethically sourced. All of our ingredients are phthalate, paraben, sulphate, alcohol, & dye free. Our glitter is BioGlitter – made from eucalyptus cellulose. Our soap packaging (which is also available “Naked,” meaning tissue paper wrapped,) is pre-recycled and biodegrades in 90 days. Our candle tins & jars are re-usable. We’re also figuring out how to work a recycling program for them. This impacts our community by providing body and soul nourishing goodness that is made with intention and love – both of which our world desperately needs more of.

Secondly, we believe that humanity matters. Yours, ours, people across the world, everyone. How does that translate in practical terms? Well, we get to know people! We let our stuff hang out and we make it comfortable for other people to do the same. Having a terrible day and want to come smell yummy things and get a gazillion hugs and be told that you’re all right, and everything else is gonna BE alright? Come on over. Yes, we have had ALL the unorthodox conversations and kept strange shop hours. I’m a mom first, an artist second, and a business owner third. Sometimes that means there’s a sign up that says, Be Right Back, and there have been known to be board games happening in the middle of the shop with a group of kids. Feel free to join in! Here’s why. Not all of the rest of the world is driven by profit at the cost of caring for one another. In retrospect, I don’t know how we pulled it off, but my kids and I were blessed enough to be able to live in Morocco for 5 months in 2019 and we learned SO MUCH about what things can look like when kindness, generosity, and character are put above money. Guess what – bills still get paid, but people are CONNECTED. We like that. We think that is vital and important. We also believe that when we live that out, others around us are also inspired to live this way. Lifting all ships, baby! Yes, we have normal business hours now and we’re growing our squad, but we will remain committed to making space for EVERYONE to be a person first and a producer of something second.

Which brings us to the third point which recaps two previously touched upon topics – “employees” are not servants. One of the fascinating things that COVID has brought to the fore, is that people are sick to death of being treated badly by “employers,” AKA other people with fancier job titles, and rightly so. Treating someone like crap because they have chosen to exchange their time and energy with you for financial gain is NOT OK. I have laughed my butt off (and shared every one that I have seen) at the text exchanges between “bosses” and “employees,” where the “boss” is a complete jerk to the employee and they tell them off and quit. It’s about time, honestly. We believe in open dialogue, respecting varying opinions and methods, allowing flexibility for home life activities, acknowledging that some menstrual days deserve a day off, a living wage, and above all, allowing people to be people, not work machines that shove their real life stuff down and pretend things are ok, when what’s really needed is a listening and understanding ear, a hug, and maybe a cup of tea in the sunshine for 10 minutes before we get back at it.

Our belief is that ALL of this helps our community and the world. We NEED a shift. The more of us that walk over to the other side of the teeter-totter, the closer we are to a majority PRIORITIZING community and reaching to pull each other up when someone stumbles. This is how we help. This is how we ALL win. Rising together. Our tagline is Love + Sunshine in Every Drop. We try to put that shit in everything. Like glitter, It gets everywhere and you can’t get rid of it! Man, I sound like such a hippie. Come on over, the sun is shining on this side of the teeter-totter and we’re probably dancing while we wrap soap.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We create a wide variety of artistic pieces. Paintings, built structures, immersive spaces, and of course soap and candles. What sets us apart is the unique and organic nature of what we do. Color, texture, & scent are deeply important, but underpinning the “fun stuff” is science.

As a recovering type-A personality moving from financial/investment services to a completely creative lifestyle and business was definitely not easy. There were many challenges ranging from financial to personal. At the time that my two kids and I started this endeavor, we had moved cross-country, were in recovery from the trauma of domestic violence, and somewhat reeling from the change in income and status. Changing careers was not so much of a choice as it was a necessity. We needed time, space, and freedom to do things at a pace that worked for us, and I needed to be available to the kids and to process things emotively through creating. There are some “feminist myths” floating around out there that women are on a mission to eliminate the need for partners through becoming fiercely independent. These notions grate on me because they ignore the obvious – moms do what we need to do to have the resources to care for our kids. Period. We dig deeper when we are tired and things need to get done and we just do it. It’s not a feminist plot, it’s simply what is necessary.

We have learned so many lessons about resiliency, persistence, flexibility, love, kindness, and staying centered through this process. Hopefully what we have learned is transferable to others. Our upcoming year should see us on-boarding women who are in the midst of recreating their lives. We intend to create a loving environment to work and learn in, that also has licensed health care workers involved as well as financial and emotional resources through community. Yes, we have big dreams and goals. Anything worth doing is worth going big over.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to big up the rainbow unit ENTIRE, which includes our core fam, our business neighbors at the shop and all of the local markets, our beautiful SunShip and the entire community, without which we wouldn’t exist.

Website: www.SunshineAlchemistsAndSoapCo.com

Instagram: SunshineAlchemistsAndSoapCo

Facebook: SunshineAlchemistsAndSoapCo

Yelp: Sunshine Alchemists And Soap Co

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.