art Archives | RVA Mag

Egypt’s Sunken Treasures

John Reinhold | November 25, 2020

Topics: art, artifacts, discovery, Egypt, Egyptian art, Egyptian history, European Institute For Underwater Archaeology, Greek, Sunken Cities, traveling exhibition, Treasures of Ancient Egypt, Virginia museum of fine arts, vmfa

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities, which is currently on view at the VMFA, provides a close-up look into the bygone history and culture of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities at VMFA offers a rare glimpse into the material culture of Ptolemaic Egypt, a golden age of human creativity and arts. It well worth the visit to see these accent artifacts rescued from the water in such pristine condition. VMFA is the only East Coast venue to have this exhibition, and a last stop before the objects return to their permanent home in Egypt.

If you’re a fan of Egyptian history and artifacts, you will find a treasure trove of unique art — including the colossal statue of the fertility god Hapy, which is the largest discovered representation of an Egyptian god.

The exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see treasures recovered from two powerful ancient Egyptian cities that sank into the Mediterranean more than a thousand years ago. These civilizations were destroyed by a natural catastrophes in the 8th century AD. Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus were once mighty centers of trade, where Egyptian and Greek cultures merged. In the centuries since their demise, these two cities were known only by scattered mentions in ancient writings. No physical trace existed and there were few mentions in history, with even their true names growing obscured. Maritime archaeologist Franck Goddio and his European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) have given new life to these sunken cities.

Visitors get to encounter these findings firsthand, including amazing film footage and photographs that illustrate underwater expeditions with dramatic rediscoveries. Visiting the exhibit, I was immediately stuck with the beauty and preservation of the ancient stone carvings. This period features a unique mix of Greek and Egyptian art and philosophy. These pictures from my visit capture some of the striking art and sculptures. A visit in person truly transports you into a world all its own, where you can discover ancient history like never before.

*Live surround video of underwater expeditions*

*Striking statue of Antinous, Roman Emperor Hadrian’s Lover, who drowned in the Nile, later to be deified by the Emperor.*

*Stele Decree by Pharaoh Nectanebo on Thonis-Heracleion*

*Top of the Stele with Religious markings*

*Amazing Bust of Neilos, the God of Nile, showing Geek influence during this time period.*

*Statue of Tawaret, “The Great One.” This hippo-like God protects infants and mothers.*

*Statue of Osiris dedicated by Nitokris, daughter of Psamtik, a late Egyptian King.*

*Osiris Hydreious Statue. Osiris the Watery was worshiped uniquely in Canopus and connected with the Nile.*

*The Apis Bull Statue standing full-sized. The bull was a manifestation of the God Ptah, one of the original gods of creation.*

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities is on view at the VMFA through January 18, 2021. Capacity is limited, due to social distancing needs, and the VMFA strongly recommends you make reservations in advance.

Photos by John Reinhold

Interconnecting Climate Change: Nico Cathcart’s “Symbiotic Systems”

Anya Sczerzenie | October 2, 2020

Topics: art, Climate change, cultural arts center of glen allen, hermitage museum, memento mori, Nico Cathcart, painting, politics, sculptures, symbiotic systems

Creating sculptures to stage each painting, local artist Nico Cathcart addresses climate change and connections throughout the environment in her latest exhibition at Glen Allen’s Cultural Arts Center.

Nico Cathcart’s newest exhibition, “Symbiotic Systems,” is a memento mori in the age of climate change. Currently open through November 8 in the Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen, the exhibition features paintings of human skulls enveloped by natural forces: shifting water, melting ice, and colonies of bees and monarch butterflies.

Cathcart, who paints murals and street art as well as traditional paintings, says she tends to focus her work on environmental issues and women’s empowerment.

“I do a lot of environmentally conscious work,” Cathcart said. “I’ve been playing with the idea of talking about environmental issues for years.”

A lot of the paintings in Cathcart’s exhibition feature skulls as a nod to memento mori — “remember that you will die” — a concept in art history meant to highlight the inevitability of death. She intertwines natural images with the human skulls to remind viewers that they are inextricably connected to the environment.

According to Cathcart, all her paintings start out as sculptures. She uses a model human skull to stage the images she wants to paint, a process that can take a long time.

To make the underwater effect of the painting titled “Oceans Rise, Empires Fall,” Cathcart put the model skull in a fish tank with blue-dyed water. She used a wave-maker and high-speed photography to capture just the right moment for the piece.

For the ice-themed paintings titled “Glacial” and “Ice Melt,” which focus on the melting of glaciers, Cathcart grew borax crystals on the model skull to resemble crystals of blue and purple ice.

“I like going the extra mile with my work,” Cathcart said. “I approach all my projects like a scientist.”

She is currently working on a way to create a smoke-themed skull painting to reflect this summer’s west coast wildfires — and is thinking about using smoke bombs and high-speed photography to capture this effect.

Cathcart says that glacial melt, depicted in the paintings titled “Glacial” and “Ice Melt,” are what caused the intense hurricanes that hit Norfolk this summer — the inspiration behind “Oceans Rise, Empires Fall.”

*PHOTO: “Oceans Rise, Empires Fall” by Nico Cathcart*

“It’s a whole interdependent system, which is the idea of ‘Symbiotic Systems,’” Cathcart said, “Everything that happens is interconnected.”

“Symbiotic Systems” is a complement to Cathcart’s 2019 mural, titled “Plastic Tides,” which overlooks the Cultural Arts Center’s parking lot.

Some of the paintings in “Symbiotic Systems” include birds, a trademark of Cathcart’s work. She uses birds as a motif in her art to address her ongoing hearing loss, which she says she began to notice when she could no longer hear the sounds of birds while hiking along the James River.

“I like to feature birds because they symbolize resilience, and it’s a little nod to my own experience and my own struggles,” Cathcart said.

Cathcart considers activism integral to her art. This has led her to make political statements in her work, but also to use art to help community organizations.

Earlier this year, after COVID-19 hit Richmond, Cathcart began a T-shirt fundraiser with other local artists and partnered with RVA Magazine to raise money for Feedmore.

“When the whole COVID thing started to happen, because I’m an activist, I turned to ‘What can I do to help?’” Cathcart said.

Feedmore is a food pantry that provides hunger relief to Central Virginia. The organization has been giving meals to students who would normally get fed at school, but due to Richmond Public Schools shutting down, are virtually learning from food-insecure homes.

Cathcart partnered with the company K2 Custom Tees and other local artists to sell printed T-shirts. Cathcart selected the artists who would design the shirts, but allowed them free rein over what their shirts would look like.

“Mine is a woman with a mask on, facing up, and it says ‘Together Apart,’” Cathcart said. “I do a lot of curation work in the city, so I have contacts and friends who are also visual artists. I contacted them to make a shirt design, and said they could do whatever they want.”

So far, the T-shirt fundraiser has raised $2,600 for Feedmore.

Both the Feedmore fundraiser and “Symbiotic Systems” show Cathcart’s concern for the issues happening in the world around her.

“I believe art has the power to create change,” she said.

Cathcart’s artwork is also being shown in the joint exhibition “Unknown Outcome” at the Hermitage Museum in Norfolk through October 2.

To learn more about Cathcart and her work, visit her website, Facebook, and Instagram.

A Shield And A Crown

Robin Schwartzkopf | September 7, 2020

Topics: angela patton, art, community, face masks richmond va, face shield flower crown, Girls for A Change, Hamilton Glass, larkin garbee, richmond va coronavirus, richmond va face shields

Local entrepreneur Larkin Garbee teamed up with Girls For a Change and artist Hamilton Glass to create face shields that double as flower crowns: keeping the community safe, and teaching innovation along the way.

A year ago, personal protective equipment (PPE) would not have been on many people’s fall accessory lists. But the coronavirus pandemic has made widespread use of face shields, masks, and other safety items critical to public health. With kids returning to virtual and in-person learning, entrepreneur Larkin Garbee paired up with Girls for a Change CEO Angela Patton and artist Hamilton Glass to design and produce a flower-adorned face shield that could raise funds — and save lives.

When Garbee started making face shields in March, it was to support hospitals that were running low on gear in critical times. Her sister and brother-in-law, both employed in medical fields, shared concerns about being completely out of face shields. So Garbee, using her background in entrepreneurship, started a “Buy One, Give One” program to cover the cost of producing the masks. For every mask purchased, one would be donated to an essential employee or healthcare worker.

“It was important to us because we’re not in the business to make all the profit,” Garbee said. “It’s about [serving] the community and making sure the impact is there.”

But making face shields for kids comes with different considerations. PPE can be intimidating, restrictive, or just not fashionable. Garbee thought kids might be more interested in a fun-looking shield that still met industry standards.

“I’d wanted for quite some time to create a more user-friendly version of [face shields]. Early on, I reached out to Angela with Girls for a Change based on the relationship I have with her as friends. We’ve done projects together in the past,” Garbee said. “I thought it would be a really great opportunity to launch the first art shield, specifically with Angela and her program.”

Enter Hamilton Glass: artist and frequent collaborator with Girls for a Change. After working with Patton on several projects, including a mural in Jackson Ward, Glass was approached by Garbee to design a shield the girls would want to wear.

“The premise behind the design was making a crown out of flowers,” Glass said. “I’ve done a lot of work with Girls for a Change, and flowers are pretty much always a part of it.”

The mission at Girls for a Change has long been about growth and empowerment. The youth development organization was designed to help Black girls, and other girls of color, to see their goals and innovations come to life. Glass reflected on the symbolism, which he described as frequent, but unintentional.

“I was trying to find a way for the girls to make [the shields] cool, and expressions of themselves,” Glass said. “To bring out their personality through not just having a normal face shield.”

Glass finished a few designs for the shields before the final idea was chosen. It was revealed at the Girls for a Change garden party, where girls in the nonprofit’s summer programs gathered in a safe, socially-distant atmosphere. At the party, all the girls received a free shield, and could learn about production as well as try their hands at designing their own.

“I wanted the girls to see how they can take a creative skill and apply it — and have some kind of outlet for understanding small-batch manufacturing,” Garbee said. “I was thinking it would be a fun exercise, but it was almost more fun to see them creating their own shields.”

The need for PPE is not going away anytime soon. Garbee wants to support more nonprofits, and she has a plan to do it.

“We just got a printer that arrived this week. It will allow us to locally source our own printing, and do it in-house,” Garbee said. “If we do them locally, it means we don’t have to do 5000 at a time. We can do small batches — 100, 200, or 300 — that could be meaningful for small organizations that don’t have the budget to commit to thousands of these.”

While more partnerships may be coming in the future, Garbee expressed the importance of working with Patton and Glass for their first art shields.

“For me, it was important to specifically work with Angela. I was very excited that Hamilton was willing to work with us as a collaborator,” Garbee said. “We intend to create more of these, but to make our first splash through this partnership was really exciting.”

Their flower crown face shields are available on the GOOD WORK Society website. For every shield purchased, a donation will be made to Girls for a Change.

Landon Elliott’s “Rainbow”: More Than Just A Song

Jonah Schuhart | September 4, 2020

Topics: art, fundraisers, Kacey Musgraves, Landon Elliott, LGBTQ Allies, LGBTQ youth, music, rainbow, Rainbow project, Richmond LGBTQ community, Side By Side

You can own a piece of art from Landon Elliott’s music video. The cover of Kacey Musgraves’ “Rainbow” creates a fundraiser for Side By Side, allowing listeners to donate $5 and receive a piece of rainbow art featured in the video.

Another fine Richmond artist has put out a charity project in the midst of the chaos that is 2020. This time, Richmond musician Landon Elliott’s cover of “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves recontextualizes the original as an optimistic ode to the LGBTQ community. Appropriately, part of this project also helps fund LGBTQ charities through a charity art auction.

The art in question comes from a unique source. In addition to recording his cover of “Rainbow” and releasing it for his charity event, The Rainbow Project, Elliott also recorded a full music video depicting dozens of pieces of handmade rainbow artworks. Each piece of art was created by one of Elliott’s fans after he announced this project via social media.

“I was a little nervous that people weren’t going to respond to that call to action,” said Elliott. “But people really showed up.”

In total, there are 50 pieces included that cover a variety of different artistic genres, from simple crayon drawings to mosaic and threadwork. These pieces make up the pool of artworks from the video that will be randomly selected for donors in exchange for their donation.

Elliott was originally inspired to do this project after seeing rainbow art pieces displayed around his neighborhood. As far as Elliott knew, the pieces were unrelated to specific LGBTQ issues, and were simply meant as a gesture of kindness and optimism towards others in the community.

“This year has become progressively heavier with COVID-19, and being an election year [with] all the social injustices which have been happening… the heightened atmosphere around that,” said Elliott. “I noticed a bunch of these pieces of rainbow artwork hung up in windows. I came to find out people were doing that since we can’t be in close proximity, as a really nice way to share just a little moment of hope.”

Instantly, Elliott’s mind went to Musgraves’ “Rainbow,” a song that he became fond of during a tour-related road trip through Ohio last year. The imagery and message of the song’s hopeful lyrics could not have been more appropriate.

“[The art] brought back the memories of driving through Ohio, hearing that song for the first time and feeling that hope,” said Elliott.

Soon after that trip, Eliott began recording his cover of the song, which eventually developed into a full-blown charity project.

“In tandem with all of the rainbow artwork we have been seeing,” Elliott said, “we decided to create a giving aspect to [the project] where the rainbows would be sold to benefit LGBTQ youth and family organizations.”

*PHOTO: Via Landon Elliott’s Fundraiser*

Elliott chose the longstanding Richmond-based LGBTQ youth support group, Side by Side, to receive the proceeds from this project.

“[The LGBTQ community] is a community that deserves support. It needs support,” Elliott said. “There’s a lot of uphill battles they have to fight, which I think are really unjust and unfair… I want community partners that support them to be well-funded.”

Donations can be made via Elliott’s Bandcamp page. There is no maximum donation amount, but there is a required $5 minimum to receive a piece of art. 100 percent of the proceeds go to Side by Side, so donating more than the minimum is heavily encouraged.

Find the project here on Elliott’s Bandcamp, and check out more from Elliott via website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Top Photo via Landon Elliott’s “Rainbow” video

Using Art to Amplify Voices

Laura Drummond | August 31, 2020

Topics: aimee joyaux, art, black lives matter, community print days studio two three, coronavirus richmond va, for long as such images are needed studio two three, friends of east end, guard n flags, history is illuminating, ica at vcu, Mark Strandquist, nontsikelelo Mutiti, richmond arts and cultural workers coalition, richmond va artists, s23 richmond va, sana masud, Studio 23, Studio Two Three, Untold RVA, VCU’s Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA), Visual Arts center of Richmond

From producing face masks to highlighting local artists during coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter movement, Studio Two Three is uplifting their community as a resource on the ground.

After celebrating their tenth anniversary late last year, Studio Two Three decided it was time to reevaluate their mission with an eye toward the future.

“The primary goal has always been to be a space for artists to have access to resources, tools, and community,” said Kate Fowler, Development Director at Studio Two Three. “Our new mission and vision are to make art, and to make change — to use art as a tool for social, personal, and structural change.”

In the face of unexpected challenges this year, Studio Two Three has been finding new and creative ways to live that mission. As the coronavirus pandemic hit Richmond, their 3,500 square-foot event space, a frequent host to community events, weddings, and workshops, went dark. The organization took a financial hit, but has stayed afloat thanks to faithful studio members and local funding.

“It’s been a scary time,” said Fowler, “but we’ve always been driven by community support, and right now is no different. It’s really our community that stepped forward and made it possible for us to be here… This time has allowed us to be hyper-focused on what is essential to us, and to our community in this moment.”

At the onset of the pandemic, Studio Two Three became aware that face masks were essential to the community in fighting the spread of COVID-19. With involvement from Virginia Commonwealth University educator and artist Jon-Philip Sheridan, along with the Richmond Arts and Cultural Workers Coalition, they converted their empty event space into a reusable face mask production center. Local businesses and organizations, including U-FAB, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Ledbury, and Blanchard’s Coffee, donated fabric and materials.

From April through June, more than 100 volunteers came in five days a week to sew reusable face masks, which were then distributed to essential workers around Richmond. All told, they produced 10,000 masks for medical staff, home and public health care workers, behavioral health workers, bus drivers, and others working with homeless and at-risk individuals.

“We physically had the space, and we have a ton of artists on staff and in our community of studio members who know how to sew and make stuff with their hands,” Fowler said. “It was a logical conclusion to employ that unique skillset to do something useful, and pragmatic, in this moment.”

While their studio space remained closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, Studio Two Three partnered with the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU (ICA) to offer five artists micro-residencies and exhibitions. This project, called For as Long as Such Images are Needed, provided five artists — Sana Masud, Aimee Joyaux, Mark Strandquist, Guard n Flags, and Nontsikelelo Mutiti — the platform to respond to current events.

“We don’t just want Studio Two Three ideas out in the world,” Fowler said. “There are people who wanted to make something responsive to this moment, and we wanted to make sure that they had the tools to do it.”

Studio Two Three contributed socially distant space and resources for screen printing, letterpress, risography, monoprint, and black-and-white darkroom photography. The ICA then exhibited the work in the windows of their building in downtown Richmond. “One of our fundamental guiding beliefs is that artists have a unique capacity to support and contribute to their community, and to democracy,” Fowler said.

The studio space has since reopened to its members. “A lot of people who are here run businesses on our equipment. We wanted to get the doors back open to people who are building their livelihoods here,” said Fowler.

Studio Two Three also resumed offering classes in screen printing, linoleum printing, sewing, risography, and more. “It’s been really positive,” Fowler said. “It feels like a healthy place where people can step out and leave their homes, be safe, be creative, and take care of their mental health.”

In addition to opening its doors to visitors, Studio Two Three has made an effort to get more involved in the community, particularly in terms of the anti-racism activism happening in Richmond. “As an organization, we’re not neutral,” Fowler said. “The people who work in this organization, and are on the board of this organization, deeply believe in the movement for Black lives, and to defend Black lives.”

When History Is Illuminating contacted them about a project involving plaques and zines, Studio Two Three jumped at the chance to collaborate. History Is Illuminating is an anonymous group of historians dedicated to educating people on the history of the Monument Avenue statues, as well as that of important Black figures in Richmond. Speaking on why they selected Studio Two Three as a collaborator, an anonymous History Is Illuminating representative said, “Studio Two Three is a seal of approval. It’s a sign-off that there’s integrity and positivity behind a project — that it’s worth paying attention to.”

History Is Illuminating installed recontextualization signs along Monument Avenue, while Studio Two Three produced and disseminated zines corresponding to the signs. “Studio Two Three has been involved in every step of the process. I don’t know if this project would have happened without them,” said the representative. The City of Richmond recently removed the signs, but the zines can still be acquired for free from the Studio Two Three website.

“Even when the signs are gone, what’s most important to us is that we still have zines going up across the city that are accessible for people to pick up,” Fowler said.

The project has led to other collaborations for Studio Two Three, focusing on anti-racism efforts and education. “The History Is Illuminating project has really opened the door for us to better understand the public history work that’s being done in Richmond. It has led to some powerful partnerships for us,” Fowler said. “What we’re committed to now is both seeing that history continue to be spread, and to invest in resources and projects like Untold RVA or Friends of East End, who are doing work that will be around for a long time in different parts of the city, other than just Monument Avenue.”

To that end, Studio Two Three launched Community Print Days, in which they bring their mobile print studio to a location in the city and offer the opportunity for people to print t-shirts, banners, and other items with designs and messaging that support activism. So far, they’ve been to Marcus-David Peters Circle and Chimborazo Park, with plans to widen their reach.

“We’re trying to reflect back what’s happening on the ground by collaborating more responsibly with artists, and using our own hands in the process,” Fowler said. “We are going into other parts of the city very intentionally, and not for profit. We are finding creative ways to take things outside, and to meet people where they’re at in their neighborhoods.”

One Community Print Days event focused on Friends of East End. The non-profit organization works to restore East End Cemetery, a historic Black burial ground, and to preserve an oral history from the descendants of the individuals buried there.

“The event itself was fabulous,” said Erin Hollaway Palmer, a Friends of East End founding member. “We’ve been fighting so hard just to continue our work at East End — Enrichmond is blocking our access — that an evening of pure positivity really lifted our spirits and helped remind us why we do what we do. These cemeteries, and these people, matter. Studio Two Three has helped us reach a lot more people, and with precisely the message we want to convey.”

Studio Two Three has made other efforts to reach broader audiences with their work. As images of ongoing demonstrations and activism came to light, they felt compelled to preserve and publicize them. They collaborated with artists and activists to offer risograph prints for free to the public.

“The historical root of a community print shop is fast, cheap dissemination of information. We realized that we had underutilized resources, and that was the best way to step forward into the community,” Fowler said. “The commemorative prints are not images created by us, they’re created by photographers and activists who are out there every day documenting what’s happening. We wanted to put them in people’s homes, and let people see what was happening in Richmond. The first image we did, we disseminated over 1,000 prints for free.” Studio Two Three also offers high-quality versions of the prints for sale in their online shop, with funds going back to the original artists.

In fulfillment of their mission, Studio Two Three plans to continue more events in and of the community moving forward.

“It’s not only our duty, but our responsibility to reflect, share, and participate in this moment. Looking forward, we know that we’re going to stand up for organizing in Richmond in the long term with anti-racism, but also at other intersections like LGBTQIA or women’s rights,” Fowler said. “I hope that people who are organizing, and who are leading the movement, see us as a resource. I hope that people see the role of artists in an engaged democracy. I hope they see that art and culture have the power to transform societies, and to imagine more equitable societies.”

Top Photo via Studio Two Three

Goat’s Milk Soap Is The GOAT

David Tran | August 28, 2020

Topics: art, community, freckled farm soap company, goat soap roanoke va, local business, naked goat soap, richmond va farmers market, richmond va goat soap, roanoke, roanoke va farmers market, South of the James Farmers Market, virginia goat soap, wandering cow farm

Whether you want to incorporate more clean skin products into your life or just to live out your cottagecore fantasy, these homemade soap businesses from all around Virginia are here to add to your collection. And the best part: the soap comes from goats.

While you’re deep asleep in your bed at five in the morning, Crystal Neilson-Hall of Freckled Farm Soap Company is out feeding her herds of goats.

This is just the start of a long day for many goat farmers in Virginia. From tending their farms to formulating recipes, local goat farmers spend much of their time surrounded by the redolence of livestock, lavender, and cedarwood.

At Freckled Farm Soap Company in Goochland, Neilson-Hall and her husband may work until 10 or 11 at night. While her life constantly revolves around tending to her goats and other farm animals, Neilson-Hall says it doesn’t feel like work.

“I feel like I’m living my vacation, because I love what I do,” she said. The company is named after her two children, Breckin and Bryce; both names are Celtic words for “freckled.” She had always wanted goats, and the soap business grew out of her desire to raise them.

As environmentalists, Neilson-Hall and her husband stand behind the nutrition and environmental benefits of using goat’s milk. After doing their research, they decided to start creating products.

“So often, people are using products that put horrible chemicals into our water system,” Neilson-Hall said. “That messes up our reservoirs, creating algae, and killing and suffocating wildlife. So we’re very careful to pay attention to what we are creating.”

Their bar soaps consist of goat’s milk and essential oils, which they source from suppliers with Certified Sustainable Certificates, indicating that they utilize sustainable practices.

In addition to their goats and typical farm animals, Freckled Farm is bestowed with a guard llama, Afton, who is famous among many customers. Afton is reaching old age, but with the help of a guard dog, he is still committed to protecting the farm and animals.

“His job has always been to protect the herd,” Neilson-Hall said, “and he takes it pretty seriously.”

Naked Goat Soap, located right outside of Richmond in Hanover, was founded by Heather Long in 2014. The “Naked” in Naked Goat Soap refers to the lack of dyes and chemicals in her products, Long said.

Burnt out by her real estate career, Long decided to venture into the soap-making business after moving to her husband’s family farm and acquiring goats. From there, she delved into research on goat’s milk benefits and soap-making, and started experimenting with batches. She began selling to friends and family, and the business grew organically.

“It was just a flow, a natural process as this came together,” Long said. “It afforded me the opportunity to focus on my business and leave my previous career.”

GOAT Soap, based in Roanoke, was created by Bryce and Emily Gannon after a trip to their local farmer’s market nearly a decade ago. They purchased goat’s milk soaps from a vendor, and after one use, they never went back to any other soaps.

The two were so in love with the soaps that they soon talked with the vendor about expanding his brand nationwide. After learning the soap-making process directly from him — and with many trials and errors — GOAT Soap was born.

“It all started from a desire,” Emily said, “to take such a good product with goat’s milk in it to more than just the downtown Roanoke farmer’s market.”

The brand’s name is a pun, as GOAT is an acronym for The Greatest of All Time. The Gannons are confident about goat’s milk products when they say “it’s the greatest soap of all time.”

Homemade goat’s milk soap lacks artificial ingredients and chemicals that commercial mass-produced soaps often contain. The rich nutrients in goat’s milk, such as alpha hydroxy acid, combined with essential oils’ soothing properties, make the product a non-toxic and natural alternative that many consumers seek.

Both Neilson-Hall and Emily Gannon pointed out that mass-produced commercial soaps are not legally allowed to call their products “soaps,” but rather use terms like “beauty bars” or “moisturizing bars.”

“Many of them are qualified as detergents, not actually soaps,” Emily said. “In order to be a soap, you have to move through the saponification process.”

Saponification, in simpler terms, is a process in which triglycerides such as oils react with lye to produce soap.

“Once you go handmade, you can’t go back,” Neilson-Hall said. “They’re using high-quality ingredients, high-quality oils that are really nourishing.”

Owning a small goat’s milk soap business comes with multiple perks. Besides being surrounded by goats all day long, there is full creativity and control in designing and naming the products.

Many of Naked Goat Soap’s product names are influenced by their scent profiles and color. Take “Calm” as an example: a cool, gray bar soap. It’s named after the lavender essential oil’s ability to calm, and for Long, gray is a calming color.

“I think people are connected to a scent,” Long said. “Maybe it reminds them of their childhood or it reminds them of a certain place.”

Neilson-Hall and her husband have a similar approach to naming their soaps. While they do take into consideration the ingredients and scent profile, extensive research goes into the naming process as well.

They were conflicted on what to name a bar soap containing frankincense and myrrh. Neilson-Hall said she wanted to avoid simply naming it “Frankincense and Myrrh,” because it can have religious connotations. After learning these essential oils originated in the Northeast region of Africa, and that Cleopatra used them in her makeup to prevent conjunctivitis, she decided on the name “Cleopatra.”

“We felt it would be a good homage,” Neilson-Hall said. “This woman, who is known for her beauty and her skincare; to honor her [because] these essential oils hail from her part of the world.”

Wandering Cow Farm in Charles City, named for owner Mary Murphy’s infamous cow that frequently escaped the farm, started out as a forage project for her kids. She soon turned to soap-making as a way to help treat her daughter’s psoriasis and acne.

Like many local businesses, Murphy’s business took a hit amid the coronavirus outbreak. As a response to the pandemic, she began making face masks and hand sanitizers. Murphy went through all the steps to get federal and ABC permits, so she’s able to buy alcohol from manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and distilleries. For Murphy, helping people find these essential products during coronavirus was an important contribution to the local community.

GOAT Soap also felt the effects of coronavirus this year. Launched in March, right as the pandemic started creeping into the United States, Emily Gannon said the extra time at home was helpful. It ensured that their products and website were ready before launching, and it was also beneficial to customers.

“It has helped that people have had a chance to slow down,” she said, “and evaluate the products they use in their life.”

For Neilson-Hall and Long, there were some challenges in operating during the pandemic. A majority of their income came from farmer’s markets and exhibitions. With cases spiking in Virginia in past weeks, these events were cancelled.

The reopening of the South of the James Farmers Market allowed Neilson-Hall and her husband to experiment with selling their product under social distancing guidelines, but they barely made a profit.

“The little bit that we were bringing in was not worth the risk it was bringing into our family, with my high-risk husband,” she said.

In an average year, Long would attend 20 to 24 shows, one as far as Nashville, she said. This year, while some shows transitioned online, Long said the virtual markets do not offer the same intimate experiences and interactions as in-person markets.

Despite the obstacles that the coronavirus has created for these local businesses, website traffic has surged during the past couple months.

Long is thankful for her customers’ loyalty and the brand’s stockists — like Ashby, Whole Foods, Mamie’s Apothecary, and more — for their continuous support for her business. She also acknowledged the amount of free time she now has to develop her brand further.

“It allowed me to step back for a second,” Long said, “and to take time to start working on new products, like our liquid soaps. [It also helps] to hone in on the things that maybe you’d miss on a day-to-day normal year.”

The pandemic has forced many local vendors to restructure their business models, and these goat’s milk soap companies are no exceptions.

“Luckily, we have amazing, supportive customers who have followed us to this new platform and continued to support us,” Neilson-Hall said.

Soaps from Freckled Farm Soap Company, Naked Goat Soap, GOAT Soap, and Wandering Cow Farm are available on their websites, along with other products.