Stambry’s Crescent Moon Soap Company

Stambry’s is a cute little place, literally brimming with homemade things, from soap bars to lotions to salves to candles. And they also sell some essential oils and other additives as well as some other things made locally like aprons and jewelery.
But one of the coolest things is that they offer classes that teach you to make your own homemade things! I took the lotion making class there yesterday. When I walked in I was greeted by the typical variety of candles and little bottles of homemade things you’d expect in a store like this, but then toward the back of the little store, there were fold out tables full of supplies and surrounded by a few chairs. It was definitely cramped at first, but the husband and wife owners Pam and Steve (both of whom are extraordinarily nice people) made space for the class of 8 by pushing back shelves. Pam taught most of the class and had a packet for us to follow along (the packet could use a bit of refinement but was generally easy to follow, as were her spoken instructions). The class made it easy to see that lotion is easy to make at home (though I appreciated not having the mess in my kitchen!) and Pam spoke about some of the benefits. I personally had a lot of fun and now have two 4 oz. bottles of lotion of my own chosen scents – I love that she had a how tub of scents for us to choose from! I’m also glad she allowed me to save the extra I had in a plastic bag since I tend to be one of those who likes to scrap everything absolutely clean.
After taking the class, Pam also offers a 15% discount on items in the store purchased that day (and 10% in the future!) and 50% off of future classes purchased that day. I was definitely tempted by the discount and spent an extra probably half hour perusing the store. They have lots of neat little things including very reasonably priced «kits» to make lotion, lip balm, and melt and pour soap at home. I ended up purchasing their sore muscle and joint crème and a lotion bar. This is definitely a cute little place and I hope to support their business in the future.

We found this store when we participated in the Quincy Scavenger Hunt sponsored by Zamforia in Summer 2011. I had walked past the place plenty, but it just says «Stambry’s» on the storefront. What we discovered was an amazing array of natural handmade soaps, lotions, face washes, lip balms, candles (and other random things) etc etc. I believe the story goes that the woman who owns it, has a daughter that is allergic to quite a bit and began making her own soaps and beauty products and turned it into a business. Lucky for the customer as it is all made onsite and they can custom make something for you depending on your skin/​beauty needs! We have purchased gentle face washes for family members with roseacia, acne or dry skin. A few examples of the soaps they offer for $ 5.50 a bar (decent sized rectangles) or 3 for $ 15, Coffee, Angel Dust, milk/​honey/​tea tree oil, beer on tap, chocolate/​peppermint oatmeal, lavender/​oatmeal, hunters, mechanics etc etc… it goes on for shelves! It is a great place to pick up gifts and products for yourself. Prices are reasonable considering it is handmade and a small local business. It is accessible by the T and definitely not pretentious. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable — obviously because they make it all and run the shop! Definitely worth checking out.