Handmade organic soap and skincare made in Solon, Ohio since 2001
✅ American Manufacturing
Where Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve products are made
Solon, Ohio
The company moved into its own building in Solon in 2014 — the fourth and largest of the workshops it has called a “soap factory,” after the kitchen, the room under the deck, and the addition that replaced Howard’s woodshop. Production, packing and offices all sit in the one building.
USDA Certified Organic
Chagrin Valley became a USDA Certified Organic company in 2010 and marked fifteen years of that certification in 2025. It also holds Leaping Bunny certification for cruelty-free products and ingredient sourcing — a claim about the supply chain, not just the finished bar.
Plastic-free where possible
Alongside the rename to Soap & Salve, the company moved to more eco-friendly packaging and a unified look built around simple, plastic-free materials wherever it can manage them. A 2023 redesign carried that further.
Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve makes its products by hand at its own facility in Solon, Ohio. Because a botanical soap and skincare line necessarily draws on globally grown oils and butters, and the company publishes no unqualified origin claim covering ingredients, we list it under American Manufacturing rather than Made in USA. Its USDA Organic and Leaping Bunny certifications are third-party verified.
The story
In 2001 Ida was teaching middle school science and looking for a hobby. She settled on natural soapmaking. Her husband Howard built a small wooden mold, Ida took over the kitchen, and the first successful batch came out as eight bars of goat milk and oatmeal soap. When it helped Howard’s eczema, they started to think there might be something in it.
They named the company after where they lived — Chagrin Falls, on the Chagrin River, in the Chagrin Valley — and called it Chagrin Valley Soap & Craft, because Ida made soap and Howard made woodcrafts. A simple website in 2002 brought the first online orders, and they incorporated in 2003, selling shaving brushes, wine stoppers, soap decks and garden dibbles alongside the bars.
At the early fairs and festivals, established soapmakers told Ida that a business built on “natural” would never work, because customers wanted bright colors and fruity fragrances. She bet the other way. The company outgrew the kitchen, then the room under the deck, then the addition that took over Howard’s woodshop — he built himself a new barn — and in 2014 moved into its own building in Solon.
Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve has stayed a family operation the whole way. Ida’s son Sam came back from Spain and took over customer service and non-soap production. Her daughter Sarah joined in 2013 for social media and PR, Sarah’s husband David the following spring. Ida’s ninety-year-old mother Sophie helped where she could. April 2026 marks twenty-five years since that first batch.
Why they matter
Personal care is a category where “handmade” and “natural” are marketing words more often than manufacturing facts. Most of what carries that language on a shelf is contract-manufactured at scale, frequently offshore, with the founder’s story attached afterward as decoration.
Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve is the literal version. The bars are made in a building the company owns, by people whose names appear in its own history page, in the town it moved to when the last workshop got too small. The trail from kitchen to factory is documented year by year and is easy to check.
The certifications matter for the same reason. USDA Organic and Leaping Bunny are third-party audits, not self-declarations — they cost money and impose paperwork, and a company that did not control its own production would find both much harder to hold. Fifteen years of continuous organic certification is a real claim, and it is the sort worth rewarding.
Featured products
Browse Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve bars, shampoo bars and skincare available now in the Buy American store.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve made?
At the company’s own building in Solon, Ohio, which it moved into in 2014 after outgrowing three earlier workshops — Ida’s kitchen, a room under the deck, and an addition built onto the family home.
How old is the company?
Ida made the first batch of soap in 2001 and the business was incorporated in 2003. April 2026 marks twenty-five years since that first batch of goat milk and oatmeal soap.
Is Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve certified organic?
Yes. It became a USDA Certified Organic company in 2010 and marked fifteen years of certification in 2025. It also holds Leaping Bunny certification for cruelty-free products and ingredient sourcing.
Why was the name changed from Soap & Craft?
The original name reflected Ida’s soap and Howard’s woodcrafts. As the skincare line grew well beyond soap, the company adopted Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve to match what it actually makes.