Woman recovering from life-altering surgery says making soap and lotion for customers brings her joy
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RIGBY
Rigby woman makes soap and lotion out of goat milk
RIGBY – Several months after a life-altering surgery that fused her partially severed skull to the rest of her body, Emily Farmer is back in action making soap and other products through her business venture.
The 33-year-old Rigby woman launched The Blooming Goat in 2023. It provides homemade soap, lotion and lip balm made from goat milk. Farmer makes the products at her home and sells them online, at Broulim’s in Rigby and at the Idaho Falls Farmer’s Market.
EastIdahoNews.com spoke with her at the farmer’s market last Saturday as she touted the benefits of using products made from goat milk.
“It’s very good for your skin, very good for sensitive skin, very good for moisturizing,” Farmer says.
She has 22 different varieties of soap and multiple options for lotion and lip balm. Farmer says her most popular soap variety is black raspberry vanilla. Customers like the shea butter lotion as well.
“It (the lotion) helps with dry and cracked hands or heels. We sell it to a lot of nurses and construction workers,” says Farmer. “People come back for our products because they realize the difference in using good, clean ingredients.”
Farmer took over the business from her aunt, who started it about 12 years ago. Her aunt liked the idea of making soap out of goat milk because its pH acidity level naturally moisturizes the skin.
A car crash in 2019 left Farmer unable to do simple tasks without experiencing a lot of pain. Through a specialist in Maryland, she eventually discovered 50% of her head was not attached to her body.
In March, Farmer had skull-spinal fusion surgery, which has increased her mobility significantly. She’s still got a long road of recovery ahead.
When Farmer’s injury forced her to move back to Rigby, her aunt suggested she learn how to make soap just for something to do.
“I was like, ‘Nah, I’m good, thanks. That’s not my forte,'” Farmer recalls.
Five years later, her aunt has since retired and Farmer owns the business she started.
“It’s her recipes. She (my aunt) comes and helps us make the products,” says Farmer.
Since launching The Blooming Goat brand in 2023, Farmer has added another service. She hosts garden tea parties in the summer, and U-Pick Flowers allows customers to schedule a time to pick dahlias at her farm, make a bouquet and eat cake.
Over the last few months, a GoFundMe and fundraisers from the community have helped pay for the bulk of her medical expenses. Farmer is grateful beyond words for the community’s support.
She also appreciates those who have supported her business during this time and hopes to see the brand continue to grow.
“This business is what gave me a reason to keep going. This is what gave me the hope to hold on, that pain ends. This is what helped me show up every Saturday (at the farmer’s market) and see how something I made during the week brightened someone’s day,” Farmer says.
Farmer would like to make her products available in more stores, and her goal is to eventually open her own storefront.
“It’s hard to keep up. The demand has been amazing. We’re so grateful, and we’re just trying to grow as we can,” says Farmer.
Farmer also plays the piano and recently released a faith-based album featuring her arrangements of well-known hymns. She’s grateful for the ability to sit at a piano again and is working on an original piece about her medical journey.
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