(From left) Crystal, Breckin, Bryce and Kevin Neilson-Hall (Photo by John Robinson)
Who: Crystal, Kevin, Breckin and Bryce Neilson-Hall
Business: The Freckled Farm Soap Co.
What they make: All-natural goat's milk soap, lotion, canine shampoo, candles and laundry detergent
Fun fact: The name Freckled Farm refers to their children’s names, Breckin and Bryce. Both are Celtic words for “freckle.”
How they began: “I wanted goats my whole life,” says Crystal Neilson-Hall, who grew up eyeing a neighbor’s pygmy goats. She met her husband, Kevin, while both were pursuing photography degrees at VCU Arts. Kevin was receptive to her dream of owning goats, so they moved forward together in the quest for a place to live with space for livestock. They purchased a Goochland property in 2008, and now they have 16 permanent Nubian goat residents. All of the goats are named after powerful women, including Crystal’s grandmother Patsy, who kept cows and ponies.
How it’s made: “Each tiny thing you change produces a different outcome,” Crystal explains. “We taught ourselves how to make soap, and it took a year to come up with a recipe that we liked. We gave it to friends to test and provide feedback.”
Goat milk is very moisturizing due to its high fat content. The best soap has just the right levels of lather, scent, moisturizing and cleaning capacity, as well as bubbly-ness. Ingredients include goat milk and high-grade organic oils from certified sustainable sources. While it takes three hours to make a batch, it must then be hand-cut into bars and cured on racks for six weeks. Then they bevel the edges by hand and package it.
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All the goats at Freckled Farm are pasture-raised. (Photo by John Robinson)
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The Freckled Farm Soap Co.'s peppermint-eucalyptus goat's milk soap (Photo courtesy The Freckled Farm Soap Co.)
Life at Freckled Farm: In addition to making soap, Crystal and Kevin are home-schooling son Breckin, 10, and daughter Bryce, 8. “Our days are very structured,” Crystal says. “A couple of hours of school in the morning, and then they pursue their own interests.” Kevin does the morning chores starting at 5 a.m., joined by Bryce at 6:30 a.m., and after a 3 p.m. dinner, Crystal does the evening chores starting at 4 p.m. “Every single day of the year, we work eight hours of chores — milking, mucking, feeding,” she says, “but we’re doing something that doesn’t feel like work.”
Where it’s sold: Their website has a shop that’s frequented by customers from as far away as New Zealand. They also sell at farmers markets when they can, with three food hubs and at various shops. See thefreckledfarmsoapcompany.com for a current list of stockists.
