If you had told me that I would be a goat farmer 10 years ago, I would have laughed.

My roots are punk, and I identified primarily as an oil painter until 7 years ago. My husband and I found our dream house before we'd discussed buying a home together. When we walked onto the property we saw a small barn and an expansive view of the Berkshire Mountains. My husband said he was going to sleep out there on summer nights, and I thought, "I'm going to put goats in that barn..."

Less than a year later, I brought home two pregnant does. Within two days they had both had their kids, and I was milking them. That was the beginning!

We live in a 210 year old farmhouse in the hilltowns of the Helderberg mountains (on the edge of the Catskills). We raise Oberhasli dairy goats on hay from unsprayed fields, forage, and organic grain in the sunshine. Our happy goats love to be hugged, give kisses freely, and enjoy being milked.

Learning how to farm and becoming stewards of our own historic home and land brought us to a more seasonal way of living. We are outside with the animals every day, in all weather, and have come to appreciate eating and caring for ourselves according to the seasons. I love milking my goats while watching the sun rise and set each day. From my milking stand I have a view of our tree-lined hill and can watch the rabbits, deer and birds pass by.

During our first milking season, we found we had far more milk than we could consume. Making soap was a way to use what we didn't cook with. We quickly realized that the goat milk soap we were giving away to our friends and family was in demand. Once they tried it, they had a hard time returning to their old product.

All of the Skipping Goat Farm products are inspired by nature and a healthy lifestyle. We are principled in our approach to formulation and consider even the packaging- all materials are recycled, recyclable, tree-free, or fully compostable. Our belief is that we don't need to harm the earth or our health to have a luxurious, useful product.