March Meet the Maker 2025
Aubrey LindseyShare
I'm Aubrey! The owner and maker of all the things at Ollie Lue.
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I have a bachelor's degree in biology, and all those years of formulations have helped me so much in my business. I'm a self-taught skincare maker and have been creating for 17 years now.
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I began formulating at 15 years old due to a deodorant allergy and, in turn, made my own deodorant, body butter, and lip balms.
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I'm a wife and a mother to 2 littles. My husband and I have been together for 16 years, and my littles jump started the need for homemade skincare. I was battling PPD and desperately needed an outlet. My son also had a severe dairy protein allergy, and finding suitable skincare was a nightmare. It was a push for all of my products to be and remain dairy free.
**Brand Re-introduction**
Ollie Lue is a soap + skincare company where the love of science, nature, and self-love combine into a beautiful bubble of goodness.
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All of the products created are vegan, dairy free, and cruelty free. Due to a dairy protein allergy in the house, I wanted all products to be something my kiddos could use.
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Ingredient transparency is very important to me. I always want everyone to be able to have a product that they love and can use. On the website, when you search for a product, I have a *key ingredient* drop down. I explain why I use that product and what its qualities are. If you need something made with certain ingredients, just message me! I make customs for anything and everything.
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Giving back is very important to me! I think it is important when you are a business to publicly back who you love and support. When I make donations, I provide the details - not for a pat on the back - because I want you all to see that I am being authentic about my donations.
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I believe in creating a safe space for everyone to be themselves. Love, dignity, and acceptance should never be up for debate. There is no room for hate here - only warmth, community, and great bubbly soap.
**Style**
I had to think on this for a minute. However, when I think of my brand and the overall style, I have one word that comes to mind... Moody.
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I don't have a light and airy look to my brand and products. I love dark wood, a maximalist approach to things even.
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I have become known over the years for the purple table cloths. People know to look for black and purple at markets and events to find me.
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My branded soap boxes also have helped people to identify me, which is just what I had hoped for!
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My brand is truly an extension of my own personal style and seeing it 'out in the wild' is a dream!
**Decision**
If you've followed along from the very beginning, I began with a different business name. Changing the name to something that I hold so dear to me was the best decision that I made with my business.
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TW: loss
I knew when I was rebranding that I wanted to include the name Lue. Short for Luella, which was my mamaw. She would always buy me bars of soap for Christmas, and I loved the way these soaps felt when I used them. She really started my love of handmade soaps. Ollie is short for Oliver. He was a baby that we lost, and it's something that never ever gets easier to think about. However, I now have them both living on through this beautiful little business, spreading happiness and joy to others, a bar of soap at a time.
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Ollie Lue is a name that is full of so much love. It means so much to me when I get compliments on the name or when people tell me how memorable it is. I've shared tears with customers at markets on several occasions, and the love shared is something I'll never forget
**Color**
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When making soaps, I do tend to use darker colors or lots of color with black. I love the contrast! I tend to use a lot of black or blue/gray in soaps. I've slowly ventured out and began using white in some soaps - it's scary - but I'm trying new things!
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I love it when I get custom orders and people ask for specific color combinations. It gets me to play with colors I might not gravitate towards and is a nice challenge. Custom orders are always welcomed!
**Aim**
I started Ollie Lue without an end goal in mind. I'm truly just going where things take me and doing what my gut agrees with in the moment. Which if you know me, that is not how I operate in daily life. But this has been so so so nice to have this one thing in my life that allows me ultimate flexibility - and growing personally along the way.
Some current goals:
- ship an order to all 50 states (currently 25/50!)
- have product in 10 stores - currently in 6 and 2 seasonal farmers markets!
- work on my website SEO to gain more traction
- become more of a daytime worker vs late nights
- Some values that I have that are a part of my business:
*items are dairy free
*ingredient transparency + always using quality ingredients
*don't waste - so, any extra product I personally use or donate, packaging that was *donated to me I use before buying anything more, I bulk order to limit delivery, once packaging is used that was donated I then go for tin or glass where applicable.
**Detail**
- Why bevel? It makes the edges glide easily between your hands. I tested my soaps with and without beveled edges and I enjoyed the texture much more with them being beveled! I then use those soap scraps to make confetti + donation soaps!
- Why stamp? I love the addition of my branding to each bar. It's that one little detail that every time you use the bar you see the name so you can remember where you got it from! If soaps aren't stamped with my logo then they have some other stamp or impression design in them for fun!
**Favorite**
I use my Magnesium Lotion and Spray at night before bed and it truly helps my aches and pains subside. I love the spray for my kiddos feet to help them relax before bed as well! More details on the website.
Thank you so much to everyone for reading this far! This year's March Meet the Maker Series was presented by @joannehawker