Lathermore Soap Co. rises from basement to brick and mortar

Four years after starting a small-batch soap shop in the basement of her Creston home, Chelcee Cheers, 31, of Creston, is opening a brick and mortar location in the West Des Moines suburb of Historic Valley Junction.

Lathermore Soap Company, which Cheers started in August 2015, will become the first 100% handmade, vegan and cruelty-free bath and body product shop in the state when it opens this fall.

Cheers describes her hand-crafted vegan bath products as plant-based – void of any animal products or bi-products.

"So, we don't use goat's milk ... honey ... lanolin, which would be from wool," said Cheers. "We're very conscientiousness, even in our candles, which are soy wax, and I use a hemp wick in some of them that's dipped in flax oil instead of being dipped in bee's wax."

To secure the space in one of Des Moines' most coveted retail locations, Cheers began scouting for a retail space at the end of 2018. During her search, Cheers said Jim Miller, former executive director of the Historic Valley Junction Foundation, was instrumental in helping her find the small store front. After submitting a proposal with the city of West Des Moines, the city awarded the use of the space to Cheers and they then entered into an agreement for the 480 square foot space.

"Which is perfect for us. We have small products," said Cheers, of Lathermore's bath and body products.

Cheers said the opportunity was a good way to get in to Valley Junction storefront on the often bustling 5th Street and she's appreciative of the support she's recieved from the city.

"We have their back and they have ours. This was just an opportunity that presented itself and it was just like, 'Yeah, let's do it,'" she said.

Part of the agreement Cheers proposed for use of the city-owned space included modest renovations to the building, such as the istallation of new flooring and ceiling tiles, the addition of custom built counters, a new awning and fresh coat of paint. Much of the work Cheers sourced from childhood friends from the Creston area.

"Here in Creston, we have a very girly shop. It used to be our flower shop and now it's our soap shop. We lovingly refer to it as our little she-shack, and that's what it is," said Cheers. "With West Des Moines, we really wanted it to be a space that was kind of Old World, apothecary, almost General Store-ish in a way."

Cheers said her first call was to Brandon Vonk of Creston for custom flooring.

"It's good to have people you've grown up with to help you out when you need a custom counter top or something of that nature," said Cheers.

Lathermore Soap Company will continue to manufacture its vegan soap and other small batch bath and body products at its Creston location, 615 S. Chestnut St., where it hosts weekly pop-up shops.

"We will not be doing production in Des Moines. It's just too small of a space, so that will just be our store front," said Cheers.

Lathermore Soap Company will be located at 217 1/2 5th St. in West Des Moines. Cheers' opening date is still dependant on the renovation schedule. For more information, visit www.lathermore.com or follow @lathermoresoap on Facebook.