Entrepreneur leaves corporate world to open Anthologie Soap Co.

WAHOO – After life in the corporate world took a downturn, Dana Jordan stepped into the world of entrepreneurship.

She left her job as director of claims for a small insurance company to open a bath boutique in downtown Wahoo last November.

Anthologie Soap Co. is located at 417 North Linden Street, in a small strip mall tucked next to the former Wahoo Super grocery store and FirstBank Nebraska.

The small shop features handmade soaps and other products created by Jordan at her rural home five miles south of Wahoo. A native of Brainard, Jordan and her family moved to Wahoo from Lincoln eight years ago, seeking a more rustic lifestyle.

Jordan began making soap about seven years ago, and started selling her products at shows in 2019, including events in Wahoo.

Initially, she made her own soap because she had developed very sensitive skin in her 30s. But eventually, the soap making also became a way to bring some creativity into her life.

"Making soap and going to craft shows on the weekends was king of my outlet," Jordan said.

Soap went from a part-time hobby to a full-time job after the atmosphere at her insurance job became "ugly, toxic and borderline abusive," Jordan said.

"I loved my job, but things took a drastic turn last summer," she said.

Now, Jordan couldn't be happier making soap and selling her wares in her cozy boutique, which opened on Nov. 1.

"I knew if I didn't take a chance on myself, I'd regret it," she said.

The store is open Wednesday through Friday, 12 to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"It's been very well received by the community," she said. "The support has been absolutely wonderful."

She was recently celebrated by the local business community. The Wahoo Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 27. After she cut the ribbon, she was gifted a framed $1 bill to symbolize the first dollar she made in her boutique.

Jordan creates "soap collections" that are based on a theme or an artistic idea.

"My designs come from everyday life experience," she said.

For example, her collections are named cottage, prairie, sod and homesteaders.

It is a tie in to her home life, where she and her husband have a goal to live a self-sustainable lifestyle.

They raise their own chickens, ducks and hogs and have two big gardens they share with a neighbor. Jordan cans and freezes the fruits and vegetables. They also reuse, repurpose or recycle as much as possible.

"We don't call it farming because it's not grand scale," she said. "We call it homesteading, like traditional pioneers."

She uses natural ingredients like essential oils and soap-safe fragrance oils to add scent to her soaps. But the process of making soap is not only time consuming, it is also a little dangerous because it includes lye, or sodium hydroxide.

"Soap is a chemical process," Jordan said. "Sometimes it can go off the rails."

On her website, anthologiesoap.com, Jordan describes the process of making soap.

"The science of alchemy of soap making turns lye, liquids, fats and oils into soap through a process known as saponification," she wrote.

The lye is not present in the finished soap, Jordan also wrote. Just pure ingredients for a natural clean.

"Handmade soap in general is just simply a better alternative for all skin types," she said.

These handmade soaps are created in Jordan's studio. Her husband remodeled half of their home's basement to serve as a dedicated place where she can create her soaps and other products.

She also makes shower steamers, bath milk, shampoo bars, body butter and beard products like oils and balms.

The name Anthologie Soap Co. marries the artistic ideas she uses to create her soaps and her love of storytelling.

"My product is unique because it tells a story," she said.

Jordan considers her soap as art, and an anthology is a collection of art. She chose the French spelling to set her boutique apart.

She sees the relationship between herself – as the creator – and the consumer as symbiotic.

"My designs come from life, and we're doing life together," she said.

Jordan said she feels art is not complete until the user finishes the story. Storytelling has been a part of Jordan's life since her childhood.

"I was a kid who liked to write," she said.

Now, she uses her storytelling skills in her blog, where she writes about soap (of course) and its ingredients, as well as her lifestyle, entrepreneurship and leaving the corporate world.

"I really like to write about anything and everything," she said.