Handmade soap and candle studio

Handmade with heart

Our Story

Every bar, every candle, every melt — made by hand in small batches, with ingredients we'd use in our own home.

Teresa making handmade soap and candles

Where it all began

Soap & Candle Place began 18 years ago in a craft mall in Branson, Missouri. Teri taught herself the art of carving cut and curl candles — no classes, no instructor, just determination and a whole lot of trial and error. What started with a single craft quickly grew as customers kept coming back asking for more, and those requests led her into pillar candles, wax melts, and hand-poured jar candles.

Along the way, Teri discovered a passion for handmade soap — frustrated by store-bought bars filled with synthetic fragrances and harsh detergents, she taught herself that too. Salt scrubs, sugar scrubs, and lotions followed naturally, each one crafted with the same care and attention she brought to her candles. That kitchen-table experiment became a natural addition to the products she offered in her store. Now Teri and her husband Sam are retired and settled into a smaller community, and this little corner of the internet is how they continue sharing all these handmade treasures with you.

How we make everything

We don't cut corners. Every product is made in small batches so we can give each one the attention it deserves.

  1. We source with intention

    Skin-safe fragrance oils, natural botanicals, pure essential oils, and cosmetic-grade colorants — nothing we wouldn't put on our own skin.

  2. We make by hand

    No machines, no shortcuts. Every candle is carved or poured, every soap batch weighed and blended by hand.

  3. We let things cure

    Our cold-process soaps cure for a full four to six weeks. Each bar is stamped with the date it was unmolded and cut, so you always know exactly how fresh it is.

  4. We test everything

    Before anything reaches our shelves or your door, we use it ourselves. If we wouldn't gift it, we don't sell it.

Handmade soap ingredients and botanicals laid out on a rustic wood surface

What we believe in

  • Small batch, always

    We'll never scale so fast that quality suffers. Small batches mean fresher products and more care in every pour.

  • Honest ingredients

    We list every ingredient, full stop. No mystery blends, no greenwashing — just transparency you can read on the label.

  • Community first

    We started at craft fairs and we still love them. Meeting customers face to face keeps us grounded in why we do this.

  • Made to be used

    Our products aren't meant to sit on a shelf and look pretty. Light the candle. Use the soap. That's what they're for.

Find us in person

We love meeting our customers at local craft fairs and markets. Come say hello, smell everything, and take home something handmade.