Our Story

We Didn't Exactly Plan Any of This

First Came the Journey to Motherhood

My road to motherhood wasn't easy.

Infertility. Surrogacy. And ultimately, adoption.

Three words that barely begin to describe the journey that eventually brought our daughter into our lives.

Somewhere along the way, I started paying much closer attention to what I was putting in and on my own body.

I became the woman who read every damn label.

I wanted to know what was in the products I was using, why those ingredients were there, and whether there were simpler, more intentional options.

And after everything it took to finally bring our daughter into our lives, you can bet I was paying attention to what was going in and on her body, too.

I hadn't worked that hard to become a mom just to stop asking questions once she got here.

So I kept reading. Researching. Questioning.

And eventually, I started making some of those products myself.

I wasn't trying to start a business.

I was trying to make thoughtful choices for myself and the little girl I'd worked so hard to have.

Then Came the Soap

Soap was where it started.

Then came tallow, home fragrance, and a whole lot of experimenting, researching, testing, and occasionally making something that absolutely did not turn out the way I planned.

But I kept learning.

Friends and family started asking for the things I was making. Then other people wanted them too.

And somewhere between reading labels and taking over entirely too much of the house with supplies, Suds & Buds Apothecary was born.

We still make our products in small batches. We still pay attention to ingredients. And I'm still the woman who researches something because I want to understand what we're actually using.

But I'm also realistic.

We use essential oils where they make sense and carefully selected fragrance oils when we want something to smell really freaking good.

We make our own soap. We also occasionally eat dinner from a drive-through.

I'm not interested in telling anybody how perfectly they need to live.

I believe in paying attention, asking questions, and making more intentional choices where we can.

That's what #HolisticWithAnAsterisk means to me.

Not perfect. Just intentional.

*Real life exceptions apply.

Then It Became About More Than What We Make

Somewhere along the way, Suds & Buds started changing.

I realized I cared just as much about why someone was buying something as what they were buying.

• A friend having a hard week.
• A teacher who deserves a thank-you.
• Someone celebrating a birthday.
• A family moving into a new home.
• A person who's always taking care of everyone else.
• Or somebody you simply haven't reminded lately that they matter.

We've gotten really good at being connected to everyone all the time while somehow becoming a little less intentional about actually connecting.

I don't want that.

And that's how thoughtful gifting became such an important part of Suds & Buds.

Our gift collections are designed to make it easy to send someone a little:

No giant occasion required.

You choose something that feels right. We package it beautifully and send it on its way.

Because sometimes the best gift isn't really about what's inside the box.

It's knowing someone thought of you in the first place.