From Bathtub Potions to Soap Manufacturing
By Trevor Vienneau
My first experience with soap wasn't in a factory, laboratory, or manufacturing plant.
It was in my mother's bathtub.
As a little boy, I spent countless hours creating what I believed were magical potions by mixing together soap, shampoo, conditioner, and whatever else I could get my hands on. My mother probably wasn't thrilled about seeing her products disappear so quickly, but looking back now, those experiments were creating something much more valuable than bubbles.
They were creating a scientist.
Discovering Manufacturing
As a young man, I headed west and worked in the Alberta oil patch. It was there that I discovered another kind of soap.
In the drilling industry, specialized "soaps" are used as part of drilling fluids to help stabilize wells, carry cuttings to the surface, and keep the black gold safely in the ground as drills travel thousands of feet below the earth's surface.
I was fascinated by how chemistry could solve practical problems.
That curiosity eventually led me to pursue an engineering degree at Carleton University.
After graduation, I accepted a position with a multinational mining equipment manufacturer. It was there that I received my real education in manufacturing.
I learned about ISO standards, quality systems, process control, inventory management, and continuous improvement.
But perhaps the most important lesson I learned wasn't found in a textbook.
I learned to talk to the people building the products.
The welders, assemblers, machinists, and technicians understood the operation better than anyone. They knew which problems needed solving and which processes were best left alone. If you wanted to improve something, you started by listening.
That lesson has stayed with me throughout my entire career.
Lessons From Mining
Over the next several years, I worked in mining and manufacturing environments where inventory management, safety, regulatory compliance, process flow, and human factors directly impacted operational success.
I learned that efficiency isn't about making people work harder.
It's about making work flow better.
A misplaced tool, an unnecessary trip across a building, poor storage practices, or unclear processes can quietly cost a business thousands of dollars over time.
Good manufacturing isn't complicated.
It's about eliminating waste and making it easy for people to succeed.
At the time, I had no idea those lessons would eventually shape a soap company.
Building the First Soap Kitchen
As Robin began making soap in our basement, I helped her build the first soap kitchen.
At first, it seemed like more than enough space.
It wasn't.
Within eight months, we had completely outgrown it.
My wine-making hobby was evicted, walls were moved, storage was expanded, and the soap operation gradually took over more and more of the basement.
Every year after Christmas we would redesign the space again.
Move this.
Add that.
Build another rack.
Find more storage.
Improve the workflow.
Looking back now, we were unknowingly process-mapping a manufacturing operation before we even realized we had one.
Eventually we outgrew the basement entirely and moved into our first commercial space.
Running Out of Room Again
As Old Soul Soap Company continued to grow, so did the challenges.
After leaving my mining career to join Robin full-time, we once again found ourselves running out of space.
We rented additional storage to help with logistics, but there was one major problem.
The operation was split between locations.
Products, ingredients, packaging, and equipment were constantly being moved back and forth. What seemed like a solution quickly became a bottleneck.
The extra handling reduced efficiency and increased costs.
Every unnecessary step impacts profitability.
Every unnecessary movement wastes time.
We knew there had to be a better way.
The Manufacturing Facility We Always Wanted
Then an opportunity appeared.
A vacancy opened up in the same strip mall as our retail storefront.
We jumped at the chance.
Finally, we had a blank slate.
More importantly, we had nearly seven years of soap kitchen construction, expansion, remodeling, and problem-solving experience to guide us.
This time, we weren't guessing.
We carefully process-mapped the entire operation.
Ingredients and packaging enter through warehouse storage.
Materials move to production.
Finished soap moves onto curing racks.
Products move to labeling.
Completed inventory moves to shipping racks.
Everything follows a logical flow.
No one spends valuable time wandering around looking for supplies.
No one wastes energy moving products multiple times.
The system works because it was intentionally designed to work.
The 5S Philosophy
One of the principles we rely on is the Japanese 5S system.
At its core, 5S is about organization, efficiency, cleanliness, and standardization.
Everything has a place.
Everything is returned to its place.
Workspaces remain clean and organized.
Problems become visible before they become costly.
Visitors often comment on how organized our facility is.
That isn't an accident.
It's part of the system.
Manufacturing With Purpose
Our environmental practices follow many of the same principles.
While we are not formally certified to ISO 14001 standards, we believe strongly in environmental responsibility.
We recycle wherever possible.
We actively work to reduce waste.
One of the things I am most proud of is that virtually no soap waste leaves our facility.
Soap trimmings and off-cuts are collected and transformed into Cody Soap, supporting autism awareness while ensuring usable product doesn't end up in the garbage.
It's a small example of how thoughtful manufacturing can create positive outcomes.
Continuous Improvement
Throughout my career, one philosophy has consistently guided me:
Continuous improvement.
The goal isn't perfection.
The goal is simply to be a little better today than you were yesterday.
Improve a process.
Learn a new skill.
Solve a problem.
Reduce a waste.
Help someone succeed.
Small improvements compound over time.
Eventually, those small changes become major progress.
That philosophy has shaped our manufacturing operation, our business, and our lives.
When people visit Old Soul Soap Company, they often see soap.
What I see is years of learning, rebuilding, improving, redesigning, problem-solving, and refining.
From bathtub potions to soap manufacturing, it has been an incredible journey.
And we're still improving.