GoodAlchemyHandmade

It started in an apartment kitchen.

The tale of the Good Alchemy adventure began with a surprise gift from my beloved Aunt Gail. The package was full of beautifully scented soaps of fun shapes and colors. I fell head-over-heels in love with these little bath treats. I was jonesing for more and visited the company's website to make a purchase. To my chagrin, much of what was available contained animal products and several unnecessary synthetic ingredients, including abundant amounts of alcohol under the guise of “preservative free”. And the green-washing? It was THICK. Researching further, I came to realize that this was more the rule then the exception.

::From disappointment springs inspiration::

Why couldn’t we have vegan, natural, earth-friendly, fun and high-quality bath and body products?

Wait. Why couldn’t we? In the 8 years that followed, I researched and formulated, went back to the drawing board time and time again, researched more, tweaked and adjusted until I had created beneficial products that were good for the user and the environment and I was dang proud.

And so, 1121 Apothecary was thrust into existence.

Right now, you might be glancing up at the shop name, wondering if you're in the right place. You are. I promise.

1121 Apothecary was my first brand. It would ultimately evolve into Good Alchemy. in 2024. 1121 was around for a long, long time. It launched in 2007 with my first soap offering: Terra Pharma, a clay face bar for oily skin. Not unlike most folks that start a business in their home, this first product was formulated for me... and my greasy face. After that, came a chocolate orange coco/shea tummy butter for my pregnant cousin. Through the years, the catalog grew with the addition of many more soap varieties, bath soak, body scrub, face oils and clay masks.

The logo and packaging design had many iterations over time, where I endeavored to mirror the natural, organic and vegan goodness therein. My hand drawn graphics and kraft paper texture sold that vibe, if I do say so myself. While I was proud of my packaging and product line, I wasn't exactly happy with my brand overall. The act of creating design and developing products aimed at a specific "demographic" started to feel so limiting and tedious. This is what you're supposed to do, right? That's what Marketing 101 dictates, at least. But, my ADHD brain literally needs to be follow it's creative whims. Feeling barred from developing a certain exciting product idea because it didn't "fit the brand" and forcing myself to try and be creative within narrow parameters did me a tremendous disservice. Procrastinating on work or experiencing complete mental block became more the rule than the exception.

::What's in a name?::

A few years ago, my husband and I moved from Oregon to my home state of Ohio. I came to learn that it’s actually illegal in Ohio to use “apothecary” in a business name if you’re not selling actual prescription pharmaceuticals. SO WEIRD. Oh, well. I don't make the rules. The Ohio General Assembly does.

This seemed the the perfect opportunity to overhaul my entire brand to better enable me to create the kind of designs and products that I most enjoy creating. Seeing as it’s just lil old me (Amy) doing ALL THE THINGS over here, my brand is me and I am my brand. So, I’m embracing that and only doing and making things that I like. Of course, I'm extremely happy if you like them too. I mean, what are we even doing then? 😉