Meet Christine and Kevin | Soap makers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christine and Kevin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christine and Kevin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I would say the business developed because of a supply demand, we ourselves begin the demand! We needed good skincare products to use personally and we learned how to make them. We also wanted to create a business model and promote products that were better for the environment than what many mainstream skincare products were offering.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Pustejovksy Soap seeks to make great artisanal small batch soaps available at an accessible cost. The business is named after Kevin’s grandfather, a man who lived during the depression and was not fond of wasteful behavior. In that same spirit, we want to promote lower impact alternatives to skincare routines that are better for the environment and less wasteful. For instance, the safety razors we offer are built to last a lifetime, and replacing a blade doesn’t mean tossing a plastic cartridge in the trash. Our shaving soaps are specifically designed to create a dense stable lather and are long lasting to replace those disposable cans of aerosol cream. on top of that all of our online sales are packaged and mailed using recycled materials.

Because we use our own soaps, we literally have skin in the game! Building this business hasn’t been easy, it takes time to find the right market and we very much are still working on finding a sweet spot. It is however very encouraging when we see how we’ve evolved our brand, and how much things can change year to year. We look forward to the future, because we are constantly getting better and perfecting our craft.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Food is on top is the list, and we’d want to share something distinctly “Houston” so lets say Goode Company for BBQ or even Houston Sauce Pit for some southern vegan cuisine. Of course, the restaurant landscape in Houston is always changing, so your gonna wanna go to whatever is looking good at the moment! We’d grab a beer at Axel Rad and order a slice from Luigi’s while we sat in the beer garden or we could order a cold Lonestar at Alabama Ice house and some tacos from the truck across the street. We would be going to La Carafe to sip some wine and bar hop around market square park and main street. You’d have to take them to see the new general exhibitions at the MFA, the Cockrell Butterfly exhibit, and stroll through Herman Park. Oh, and you have to hit up the Menil too, of course! At some point you should to take a walk along Buffalo Bayou and maybe even check out the underground cistern. I think we would have to take them on a day trip down to Galveston as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We are inspired by all the creators and entrepreneurs that put themselves out there. We have met a lot of folks at small pop-up markets selling their creations, and many of them are not making hardly a dime of profit. They practice their craft because they love doing it and it’s in their blood. When a product is crafted personally out of love like that, it really shows. It takes a lot of courage to take those first steps into starting a business and it helps to have a supportive network of like-minded entrepreneurs that are in similar situations.

Website: www.PustejovskySoap.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pustejovsky_soap/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PustejovskySoap/