I was getting married and wanted to make little soaps for wedding favors. I got this brilliant idea to buy small fortune cookie shaped soap molds, make purple and brown fortune cookie soaps (my wedding colors), and put them in these cute purple takeout boxes. I think three people at the reception thought they were candy and tried to eat them. But the rest of our guests thought they were great, and
before I knew it people were placing orders for them. In 2007 I was laid off from my boring government job and decided that I was going to open a store in downtown Maplewood. I wasn’t convinced that I could float the store solely on soaps, so it was more of a home decor/ gift shop than anything. But the soaps sold well– in fact better than anything else. I then expanded to candles, bath bombs, lotion, etc. Fast forward to present day: Maven is now predominantly our handmade bath, body and candle goods. In addition, we also sell our products wholesale to breweries, doctor’s offices, tattoo parlors, hotels, resorts and other small businesses all over the country. We pride ourselves as alchemists and artisans, working in small batches, using only the finest ingredients. We test on ourselves, not on animals. We use environmentally-friendly components and all of our products are paraben free.
