Who are the Local Artisans?
Our Featured Artesians:
Angela, owner of Alegna Soap®
I’ve always been a follow-the-rules type. You know, be a good girl, don’t make waves, color in the lines, get a job with benefits, get married, have kids etc.
I was first Dominick and Ruth’s daughter, then I was Brian’s wife. Once my kids were born, I was Steve and Elaine’s mom. These are all wonderful things to be, and I’m grateful to be them.
Like lots of woman, everyone else came before me. I was a stay-at-home mom, working odd jobs that fit around my children’s schedules. I cleaned houses and babysat. After a while, I found a job in a public school system that worked for me.
But once my kids left home, I needed more. I’m a Medical Technologist by trade, and gave up my career when Steve was born. The thought of going back and working in a hospital didn’t excite me at all. I lost my seniority and working weekends and nights was not my idea of fun.
In 2010, I decided to take my hobby, soap making, and turn it into a business. I had been making soap for about 10 years at that point. I could keep my job in the school and work on the business in the afternoons and night. So, for another 10 years that’s what I did.
Fourteen years later, here I am. I’m still not a risk taker, but I try to push out my comfort zone all the time. I’ve spoken at soap conferences all over the country and once flew to Haiti to teach women in tent camps how to make soap. (Talk about out of my comfort zone!). I started a YouTube channel. I teach soap making classes locally, make soap for my business and for others to slap on their labels. I love collaborating with other makers and watching their ideas come to life.
Deep Roots Roasting
https://www.deeprootsroasting.com
It all started with a popcorn popper and a crazy idea we heard about online. While it’s hard to say the finished product was anything better than mediocre, it was plain to see that freshly roasted coffee was far superior to anything you can buy at the local supermarket. Thus our adventure began. In the winter of 2018, I was gifted a stovetop drum roaster and with it, a new world full of possibilities and experimentation. Finally in the summer of 2021, the decision was made to take the plunge and purchase our first commercial coffee roaster. We are incredibly excited to be able to share our passion for high quality coffee with all of you!
At Deep Roots Roasting, we are committed to sourcing and roasting the finest quality small batch beans and delivering straight out of the drum to our customers’ doorstep.
Dona Tea
https://drinkdona.com
Dona is an independently owned tea company in Brooklyn, NY. We equitably source all of our teas, herbs & spices. All of our products are balanced, complex, naturally sweet — never compromised by filler ingredients.
JavaMelts
Javamelts Flavored Sugar For Coffee, Tea, Baking, Cocktails & More! – JAVAMELTS
Carolyn and Tony, high school sweethearts and married now 35 years, have spent their years managing a business and trying to find a balance while they raised their 3 daughters. Amazingly, the idea for portable and convenient flavored sugar came to Carolyn on Valentine’s Day morning while Tony was pouring her a cup of coffee. As she glanced down at individually wrapped candy filled hearts that Tony had left for her and their daughters on the counter, her eyes grew big and she looked at Tony with all seriousness and said “I have this crazy idea.” A few months later the first Javamelts Flavored Sugars were born and they were delicious. Not only were they amazing for coffee and tea, but for artisan cocktails, baking and much more! Now, Javamelts are sold nationwide with thousands of customers who rave about and love them.
Javamelts is a certified woman owned company and they are a proud military family. Carolyn's goals are to inspire, motivate and encourage her 3 daughters and others to follow their dreams. Sustainability is a priority: create jobs, mentor and educate those coming up behind her, attend charity events, make contributions for those in need, to use only natural, clean ingredients, and recyclable packaging. Carolyn is grateful for the opportunity to accomplish all of this and more through creating and growing the Javamelts brand!