Candice Briggs, a 25-year Black Forest resident, started her business by making a special lotion for a friend who had a skin condition. The lotion worked, and her friend ordered 18 jars to give to other friends as gifts. Today, Briggsí Shabby Sheep Soap includes about 15 soaps and lotions, scrubs and chapsticks.The name ñ Shabby Sheep Soap ñ just popped in her head after she woke up one morning, Briggs said.The creativity involved in making soaps fuels her passion, she said, along with finding natural ways to help others with ailments like bed sores or rashes. Briggs is working on a ìdeep woodsî type soap bar that contains neem oil, a natural deterrent for deer ticks. Another of her passions, which is a direct link to making soap, is her greenhouse. Briggs is writing a book on how to build a greenhouse with mainly found materials. Growing herbs for her soaps, as well as organic greens and vegetables, turned into a greenhouse building project that spanned 10 years.Briggs has Lyme disease, which often dictates her activities.ìI probably could have built it faster, but the Lyme disease leaves me with good days and bad days,î Briggs said, adding that if she could build a greenhouse, others could as well. ìI am not skilled with tools by any means.îBriggs said she doesnít use any fragrances in her soaps ñ only essential oils. Her soaps are infused with lavender sage, and she has a clove soap for men. In her greenhouse, she grows herbs, flowers and mints ñ all organically grown ñ that she uses in lotions and other products.ìI have a soap that I make for dogs as well, which has citronella in it to help keep away fleas and ticks,î Briggs said. Other products include diaper rash cream and lotions for people with bed sores.Before the diagnosis of Lyme disease, Briggs supplied organic micro greens to restaurants, and she owned a natural food store. Today, she likes keeping the business small. She said the disease has made her forgetful and intimidated by new technologies necessary to properly run a business.ìI really just love the creative side of the business, not so much the other sides,î Briggs said. ìThat is why I like the shop that sells my soap, Consign and Design, off Garden of the Gods, because I can stock it and leave it.î†Visit shepardspursegreenhouse13@yahoo.com for product information.
