History

Martinsville Emporium is a woman-owned, home-based business started in 2002.

I didn’t mean to become a soapmaker, chandler, or all around fragrance fiend. I didn’t start out with fragrance oils in my hair, or soy wax under my nails (which always seems to end up in my mouth). I didn’t even want to be making things when I named my business after the area where I grew up, moved away from, and then moved back to.

But Fate is a tricky mistress, and we don’t always end up where we think we will when we start on the path.  I started out with just a few bars of melt & pour glycerine soaps and a shared stall at the farmer’s market, and have watched myself branch out into cold process soaps, lip balms in a dizzying array of flavors, soy candles in fragrances from Apple Peel to Yuzu Splash, and body frosting that people keep trying to eat. O_o

While the mainstays of my products are made from my own formulas, the demand for scent layering has caused me to source things like lotion, shower gel, and body spray that I’m proud to carry under the Martinsville Emporium label. And even with these, I control each and every fragrance and colorant, allowing me to create items that are customized to what my customers are looking for.

All of my bath and body products are phthalate-free, and the majority of my products are also vegan.

It’s been a great trip so far down this path, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the journey, wherever it takes me.  Join me, won’t you? ^_^