Tuesday June 13, 2006

GOOD CLEAN FUN

Griffin soap business makes a name for itself around the world

By ANNA BOYLE
Staff Writer
annabov1e@grffIndai1ynews. coin

Dawn Dallaire has a thing for soap.

Not for the average, run‑of‑the­-mill bar of soap, but for truly unusual soap items. And apparently, so do a lot of other people.
   
Dallaire is the proud owner of unusual soap items. And apparently so do a lot of other people.
  
Dallaire is the proud owner of Clearly Fun Soap Inc., a wholesale manufacturing company that produces uniquely crafted soaps.
  
Dallaire embarked on her business adventure when she began creating soap about three years ago, a production that was initially operated out of her kitchen. Her business slowly grew, at which time she moved to the garage, and now Clearly Fun Soap has moved on to a 5,000‑square‑foot manufacturing facility.

And it all began in the unlikeliest of ways.

"Our best‑seller is our goldfish in a bag," Dallaire said. "A few years ago I had been out shopping and saw this soap (that looked like) goldfish in a bag. It was the cutest thing I'd ever seen, but so expensive. So I thought for the kids, for Christmas, I'll make some. They were horrible for a while, but they started to get better"

After the soaps improved, Dallaire's friend signed her up for a craft show. Dallaire went into the show without any expectations but outsold every other vendor, a feat she soon repeated at a local antiques show. That's when Dallaire realized she was not the only person to appreciate a good piece of soap.

"I came up with a line, with maybe 10 soaps to choose from," she said. "I decided I would try to sell it on my own, and I did the Orlando (Mart) show, and it just took off."

In the past three years, Clearly Fun Soap has grown from a small business, which operated on a regional trade show basis, to a substantial manufacturing company that caters to big‑name clients. Dallaire currently works with Bath & Body Works, Parisian, the Georgia Aquarium and Callaway Gardens, just to name a few customers. She is also in talks with the

Coca‑Cola Co. and Victoria's Secret.

"Right now we have (more than) 3,000 customers across the U.S. and eight different countries," Dallaire said. "We actually had (a new soap) made for Bath & Body Works they're spa ducks --- but we have a core curriculum with probably (more than) 100 different styles."

Those styles include bar soaps with varying objects inside, such as a flip‑flop that becomes a magnet, a bendable ballerina and SpongeBob SquarePants. Clearly Fun Soap also produces round soaps, which are molded to become ducks, frogs, pigs and more. The duck-shaped soaps are the most frequently seen, but they exhibit many variations. For example, customers can purchase spa ducks, graduation ducks, marriage ducks and Halloween ducks.

"It's just taken off like the wind," Dallaire said. "The first year I did everything, and then my husband (John) started to help me. Now I have 10 full‑time employees and a whole bunch of temporary workers when we get busy."

Dallaire won't go into detail about the actual soap‑making process that remains Clearly Fun Soap's secret: But she did say the materials come from a business partner.

"We actually don't make the soap," Dallaire said. "We have a company that makes it for us, and we re­melt it. And it's the clearest soap on the market. It's good for your skin ‑and has a lot of moisturizers."

Presently, consumers can only purchase Dallaire's soap products at other retail locations. She eventually hopes to add a retail shop to her local office, located at 151 N. Expressway, so that local residents can have easy access to Clearly Fun Soap merchandise. But Dallaire is not sure if or when that will happen.

"My goal when we moved in here was to have a little factory store in the front," she said. "But we haven't slowed down enough to even think about it. At this point, we're about to outgrow this building."

In the near future, Dallaire will continue to take her products to national trade shows in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and New York. She will also put the finishing touches on her first book, tentatively titled "Woman Owned Business: The Trials and Triumphs of Being a Woman in Business in a Man's World ‑ And How I lost 130 Pounds in the Process."

Dallaire's book will detail her personal experiences as an entrepreneur and dieter, but she doesn't mince words when it comes to the secret of her success.

"I work hard at it," she said. "I was relentless and did not give up."