Today we’d like to introduce you to Gem Mendez.
POP SOAP began as the dream of siblings Paul and Gem, but the dream started way before a single bar of soap was cut. Movies, Music, and Art was the catalyst. Together they wrote and directed short films, toured in a punk band and had their own graphic design firm. They always hoped to combine all these passions into one but didn’t know how they would come together.
Ever since they watched the movie Fight Club they always joked “We should make soap! wouldn’t it be fun!” Fifteen years passed and one summer they finally took a swing. It’s now been 3 years since they made their first batch. But it didn’t stop there, they started creating and designing each bar with a link to their favorite Pop Culture memories and the rest is history!
They believe SOAP should be FUN and ENJOYED that’s why POP SOAP is not your normal boring soap. It’s SOAP, ART, and ATTITUDE.
Has it been a smooth road?
At the very beginning, it was all but a smooth road, we made soap batch after soap batch and threw a lot away there was stuff not even our own mom would want to try, We collected burns, bruises, and scars along the way. I still have a slight sensitivity to the strong scent of cinnamon after a failed attempt to make a Pumpkin Spice soap (which we eventually did get right, thankfully).
We spent most of our weekends, free time and even after work concocting recipes in our mom’s kitchen trying to perfect our first few bars of soap and occasionally asking one another ” are we crazy for doing this” to which we always answered ” nahhh” or ” of course not, we are going to get it and it’s going to be good” so we kept each other going. After about year… maybe a year and a half we finally felt confident in our first four bars. The Monroe, Pulpy Fiction, The Olive Father, and The White Russian were the first bars that started it all.
Today we have 12 Bars and a bunch of ideas for new ones to come. We have also added body butter, bread oil, shower gels and most recently bath bombs. Those were another huge bump on the way it took me nearly all summer to get those right but alas we finally got the recipe right and everyone has been loving them. So we are very pleased.
For the most part we now have our soap making groove down but from time to time when we are working on a new soap or idea for a product it comes with trial and error and lots and lots of patience and practice but when you are doing what you love and what you are passionate about it, it’s fun to figure it out and piece it all together.
Then one day after all the late nights, long days, research and head-scratching Eureka! there is no better feeling than finally getting what you are working on perfect. It makes it all worth it and there is no better feeling than hearing customers gush over the scents or praise how much they love our products. That’s the greatest thing ever.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Pop Soap – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are called Pop Soap, my brother Paul and I make all vegan and natural handmade bath products. When we started we only made bars of soap but soon our customers started asking for liquid gels so we went back to the lab and worked to create liquid gel version of each bar of soap.
Today we also make body butter, beard oils, bath bombs and muscle salve with plans of many more all-natural products to come. We Believe soap should be SOAP. Cleaning, Refreshing and All Natural not Synthetic and Chemical Filled. We use it every day on our bodies and face it should be made of the best and most natural ingredients available.
We are known for creating long-lasting all natural vegan bars of soap that smell as good on day one as day one hundred. When we started Pop Soap Paul and I agreed on two things. One, we will use only natural vegan ingredients in our soap and two, we will make sure our soap smells great and stays smelling great. We have purchased so many soaps that smelled nice the day you buy them but a week later hardly had any scent at all so making them smell great and stay smelling great is very important to us.
Paul and I are not only huge film and music buffs but we love pop culture and art so wanted to find a way to combine our love for pop culture and smelling good to create Pop Soap. Every bar has our own spin on a pop culture reference. The Olive Father, for example, is a homage to the Godfather a film we watched a lot growing up this bar is a castile soap, so it is made with 100% Olive Oil and fans of the film know that in the movie the Godfather they used an Olive Oil company to launder their money as soon as we knew we wanted to make a castile soap… The Olive Father Bar was born.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We like positive vibes and people. Life is to short to not live it up and appreciate all your blessings. We dislike negativity and bad soap!
Pricing:
- Bars of Soap, Shower Gels and Bathombs are $7 a piece
- Body Butters are $12
- Buns and Guns Muscle Salve is $12
Contact Info:
- Website: www.popsoapshop.com
- Phone: 7137030547
- Email: popsoapshop@gmail.com
- Instagram: @popsoap
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popsoapshop/
- Twitter: @popsoapshop
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
