By: Dan Jackson What do you do when the company that sells your wife’s favorite bath bombs suddenly decides to stop making them? Throw in the towel? Tell yourself, “No more bath bombs for us?” Well, if you’re Kip Hammett from Whisper of Essence, you don’t let that get you down. You take matters into your own hands and start making your own! After discovering that their favorite bath bomb products had unfortunately been discontinued, Kip and his wife journeyed to their local library and returned with a mountain of books. They’d decided that they were going to solve their problem by making bath bombs on their own. Like any new venture, there was a learning curve, but through perseverance, determination, and experimentation, Kip began to yield bath bombs of the highest quality. And though the intention of these products was to be used solely by Kip and his wife, their bath bombs drew the attention of friends who soon began asking for some themselves! Realizing that these creative bath time concoctions were in demand, Kip’s vision began to shift away from solely bath bombs and onto a new product. So, back to the library he ventured. This time in order to learn how to make soaps! And here we have the origin story of Whisper of Essence! Through Kip's curiosity and creativity, his efforts dedicated to making soaps have snowballed into a passion-fueled business. Back in 2005, when his commercial venture began, Kip was still working a full-time job while attempting to get this new business off the ground. When asked about these early days of Whisper of Essence, Kip said, “the balance of having a ‘real job’ and making the soap was taxing on me.” But once Kip made the decision to commit more of his energy to Whisper of Essence, a venture he was coming to realize he was far more impassioned by, things began to improve for him. Kip described the benefit of this priority shift by simply stating, “This has taught me to become mellower.” Staying mellow is a great trait to have as a business owner, especially when challenges arise. Kip discussed how vital it was in those early days to learn how to, “break the ice with the customers.” When asked to expand on this Kip explained that, “The scent of the soap needs to pull people in. If they can’t smell it, that’s not good.” Through patience and continued iterations in the soap making process, Whisper of Essence now offers more than 40 different kinds of “ice breaking” soaps, all constructed using the finest goat’s milk recipes, which are sure to grab your nose and yank you towards the booth whenever you walk by! Kip reflected upon his journey as a business owner and found that 2019 was quite a triumphant year for his business. During 2019, Whisper of Essence participated in 40 different markets and sold 1900 bars of fragrant soaps, exposing the quality and variety of these products to a vast audience. Kip and Whisper of Essence were also one of the first businesses to participate in the Rocky Butte Farmers Market pop-ups. Ever since then, he has desired to be continually involved in this exceptional community. Kip loves that the market is “clean and tidy, and among all else, professional!” Kip wants to continue his involvement with RBFM, growing his customer base and increasing the number of soaps making their way into people’s homes! Having such a determined and enthusiastic vendor such as Whisper of Essence is what helps expose this community to unique products and keeps our market fresh and exciting! Come see Kip Hammett of Whisper of Essence on Saturdays from 9AM – 1PM at the corner of NE 80th Avenue and NE Siskiyou street and put your nose to the test! We dare you to try to walk by Whisper of Essence without being pulled in to take a whiff of their delightfully aromatic soaps!
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