Welcome to another weekly blog post! Would you prefer to watch this blog as a video? You can find it on Elsan Ekopaja's YouTube channel:
Autumn is slowly making its appearance, and the cooler weather is already felt on the shoulders of one of the soap sisters. Jenni, however, is still walking around without socks, wearing flip-flops.
Elsan Ekopaja's female entrepreneurs Mari Tiira and Jenni Äijälä
September 5th is National Entrepreneurs' Day!
Today, we'll be talking a lot about entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a big rollercoaster of life, where you get to experience all kinds of emotions and gain wonderful life experiences. Perhaps that's why Mari has been an entrepreneur for 16 years! The first years of entrepreneurship were part-time, but in 2015, Mari jumped from her nursing career and found herself in the inspiring world of network marketing. Jenni has only been an entrepreneur for two years, so this is her third Entrepreneurs' Day.
But let's talk for a moment about how Elsan Ekopaja got started.
Elsa Ilona Tiira October 9, 2018 - February 18, 2019
Mari and Pekka had a beautiful late-born daughter named Elsa, on October 9, 2018. Elsa was born with severe cardiopulmonary syndrome, but we had wonderful baby months at home completely unaware of this. At three months old, Elsa's condition worsened, and her care moved to the Children's Hospital. Despite all effective treatments, Elsa's heart couldn't cope, and she became a butterfly at four months and nine days old. That's why Elsan Ekopaja's logo features a small child and a butterfly.
Grief consumed Mari's ability to work for a couple of years, and after trying a few different jobs, she concluded that retirement might be the best option. Mari settled onto the couch and watched all of Netflix.
Then she got bored...
The only laundry detergent that suited her daughter Anna's skin had run out in stores. Apparently, due to the pandemic, as the product has since returned to stores. Mari had to solve the problem, as supplies were depleted, and laundry needed to be done with something. She found a DIY laundry powder recipe online and eagerly prepared it. However, the beautiful glass jar exploded on the floor just before the first wash. The shards brought good luck, as after recovering from the shock, Mari realized she had used the wrong soap in the recipe! Marseille soap, which is available in stores, is excellent for handwashing wool and silk clothes, for example, but it's too greasy for a washing machine, as it can clog the machine's pipes and eventually break the entire washing machine!
Mari couldn't find cleaning soap in stores, so she decided to make it herself. This resulted in the best laundry powder for her atopic daughter, and from the very first soap, Mari's mind had experienced a new awakening!
A completely new soap collection was born, into which Mari wanted to incorporate her grandmothers' traditional knowledge and the wonderful Finnish nature.
Elsan Ekopaja was officially founded on December 22, 2020. The first shop opened on Siltakatu in Heinola in March 2021, and from there, we moved to run a café in Saippuakahvila. A year of café life was enough, and we found suitable premises for manufacturing in the Vuohkallio industrial area. In the midst of change, Mari realized that the company needed more hands, and that's when Jenni's cheerful personality received a call from Mari.
Jenni and little Juho.
At that time, Jenni was enjoying a relaxed home life with her little son, Juho. However, she bravely pursued her entrepreneurial dreams and has stuck to her decision for 2.5 years now. Mari and Jenni have evolved into an inseparable pair, the Soap Sisters.
Both of them have grandmothers named Eeva.
Sometimes the grandmothers manifest themselves in various quips and old-fashioned ways of doing things. From our grandmothers, we also inherited the ideology that "nothing goes to waste," and precisely for that reason, in honor of this entrepreneurial week, we're launching a fantastic:
SECOND-QUALITY OUTLET!!!!
We produce about 1500 bars of soap a week, and the pace is accelerating. A portion of each batch is already produced as second quality. In addition, end pieces are created when cutting soap. Sometimes we experiment with different recipes and new molds. This results in a lot of soap that we could also use ourselves and give to relatives, but... everything has its limits.
The Outlet starts on Friday, September 6th, at 9:00 AM and ends on Sunday at 24:00.
But... we have customers whom we want to treat with the utmost care, and they are very important persons to us, i.e., VIP customers!
For them, the benefits start earlier and are greater, as is customary to remember especially important people!
Do you also want to receive VIP treatment in this outlet? You have every opportunity to do so when you join Elsan Soap Club!
OUTLET at the factory store in Heinola
You can also enjoy amazing Outlet deals in person at our renovated factory store in Vuohkallio, Heinola. We're offering all outlet products on Thursday, September 5th, and Friday, September 6th. We've extended our opening hours so you can still make it to the outlet even after work. We'll be open Thursdays and Fridays from 10 AM to 5 PM. Welcome to the factory for affordable finds at:
Vuohkalliontie 9, 18200 Heinola.
Happy Entrepreneur's Day to all our important colleagues.
And wonderful, affordable finds to you, our customer!
Best regards from the Soap Sisters:
Mari and Jenni
