Archive for Sunday, September 27, 2009

Debbie Dygert is buried in soap - literally. The North Routt County resident makes soaps, lotions and bath fizzes through Steamboat Soap Co. She is in the midst of an expansion and now offers products on her new Web site and at the Clark Store.

Photo by John F. Russell

Debbie Dygert is buried in soap - literally. The North Routt County resident makes soaps, lotions and bath fizzes through Steamboat Soap Co. She is in the midst of an expansion and now offers products on her new Web site and at the Clark Store.

Business bubbling for Steamboat Soap Co.

Debbie Dygert offers products in stores, on Web

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The Steamboat Soap Company offers everything from natural soaps and bath salts to a line specially designed for hunters.

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In addition to soaps, Dygert also makes assorted products such as bath salts.

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Debbie Dygert makes art from a practical product in her many soaps and bath supplies.

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Some of Debbie Dygert's soaps are seen in the shape of cowboy boots.

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Steamboat Soap Co. produces a variety of bath and body products.

— Debbie Dygert seems like the sort of person who would make bubbly stuff for a living.

The blond-pigtailed entrepreneur is effervescent about her products and lovingly displays each one, from creamy goat-milk decorative bars to textured organic soaps. She also makes lotions, bath fizzes and products for men through Steamboat Soap Co., which she runs out of a ranch in North Routt County.

"I want people to feel I'm really approachable, where all they had to do is call me and I'll take care of it," Dygert said.

Dygert has made soaps for four years but is elbow-deep in expansion. She's selling bath products on her new Web site and at the Clark Store. She struck a deal last week to sell at F.M. Light & Sons and has been talking with other Steamboat Springs retailers. Dygert said she would like to move into a retail spot eventually.

"I think my goal is to really keep it personal and be in a few places in town" to start, she said.

But one of Dygert's passions is the custom work she does. She can imprint monograms onto bars and put water-soluble photos inside them, making art from a practical product. She also can customize soaps, lotions, body washes and other products with whatever scent the client wants.

Her friends and customers hope Dygert hits the big time.

Susse Budde and Catherine Finch have used Steamboat Soap Co. products for about six months. Budde swears by the lavender spa massage bars, and Finch said she wouldn't go through winter without Dygert's whipped body cream.

"I think it's wonderful and refreshing and invigorating and all those great adjectives," Budde said.

Budde lives in Steamboat but is from Los Angeles. She said she's picky about her beauty products. When she tested Dygert's brown sugar body scrub and the lavender soap, she was hooked.

"The lavender goat's milk massage bar is great," Budde said. "I love the smell, and it's really soft."

Finch keeps her guest powder room stocked with decorative soaps by Dygert. Her 16-year-old daughter uses Steamboat Soap Co. products - and Finch said she and her daughter were choosy.

She popped into her daughter's bathroom and saw that a bottle of Steamboat Soap lotion was nearly gone after about three weeks. That's a pretty good endorsement, Finch said with a laugh. And she has her personal favorite.

"I don't know if I've literally tried her whole line, but I'm addicted to the whipped body cream," Finch said.

Dygert offers holiday scents such as gingerbread, pumpkin pie spice and peppermint. She also makes seasonal soaps and has pumpkin-shaped bars out now. She's created a pink ribbon soap bar, which she'll offer with other pink products during the Bust of Steamboat late next month. Part of the sales revenue will go to the Yampa Valley Breast Cancer Awareness Project.

But Dygert's company isn't just for women. She wants men to feel comfortable using the products and calling her up for help with gifts. She offers an unscented hunters' soap that "gets you in the game and the game off you," according to the label.

Dygert also sells accessories such as bathrobes and soap-infused pumice stones, and she offers children's products such as bars of soap with rubber ducks imbedded inside.

"There's a soap collection, which is kind of whimsical to make bath time fun," Dygert said.

On the whole, she wants everything that goes out the door to be just right. Budde said she was impressed by Dygert's pursuit of perfectionism.

"I think she's awesome," Budde said. "She puts a lot of heart and soul into it."

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