Discovering Fountain Alley BodyCare

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

It all started when Sonia Folkner was a homeschooling mom. She and her homeschooling friends all made homemade bread. But Sonia also had a strong interest in essential oils. It wasn’t long until she made the jump from baking bread to making soap. That was in 2003.

But it took the business sense of her husband, Larry Folkner, to figure out what to do with all the wonderful smelling soaps that started piling up around their Canaan-area farmhouse. He obtained a few wholesale orders from local stores like Wanda’s Gifts. A direct-order website followed. Just like that, the business that became Fountain Alley Body Care was off and running.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

Sonia’s passion project has become the favorite of many who value natural ingredients in their products. “Everything we make starts with natural products,” said Sonia. Every ingredient begins as food grade and many are organic. No fragrances are added, only essential oils.

For example, her very popular Yarrow Shampoo Bar is made from yarrow grown on their own farm. The bar has biodegradable packaging, with no plastic bottle to discard. There are three varieties – lavender, cedarwood and sage – with the scent coming from essential oils that also stimulate hair growth and oil balance. Following the popularity of the shampoo bars, Sonia has also created a pre-shampoo treatment called Grow-It Oils Hair Elixir. Details about all Fountain Alley products and ingredients are found on the website, www.fountainalleybc.com.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

Fountain Alley Body Care has been located at 318 W. Main St. since 2009. “It’s pretty much a family business,” Sonia said. “Larry is the businessman, I am the maker.” The couple’s two sons, Luke and Clay, have worked alongside them, although Clay recently moved to Florida. Rachel Trice is an 11-year-employee who makes soap and can often be found helping customers. In addition, the Folkners employ Riley in the kitchen making body care products; Alexa, a college student; and Sydnee, a student at Hanover College.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

Most customers never get farther than the front retail space, attractively arranged to show off the many soaps, gift baskets and other products. The magic is happening in the back of the building, however, where Sonia or Rachel work among racks holding dozens of essential oils and barrels of coconut oil and palm oil. After mixing from Sonia’s recipes, batches of soap are poured into large trays. Each slab is later cut into 90 individual bars that are dried and packaged by hand.

Other popular products made in-house include lip scrubbers, Bug Go Away Soap, and moisturizer. The store offers products from others too, such as local honey from the Bohman Bee Company. Pre-packed gift baskets are available in the store or on the website, and Fountain Alley will ship them for you. One popular item is a baby gift basket that

includes an all-cotton baby blanket. Some customers prefer to create their own assortment. Various containers are provided for that purpose.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

This summer, Sonia is hoping to be able to invite customers to the garden behind her store, where she grows native plants and tells the story of the Monarch Butterfly. She is fascinated by the life cycle of that insect, whose caterpillars eat only milkweed. She has personally raised hundreds of the butterflies and released them into the wild. A hand-painted mural in the garden tells the Monarch’s unique story.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

Meanwhile, Sonia will be trying to find more time to “get into the kitchen” to create new products. “That’s where my passion is,” she said. “We can’t just pop something out, because we’re really high on natural. I have people tell me, ‘I trust you,’ and I think that’s kept us going so long.”

She summed up: “It’s a lifestyle to use natural.”

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