Rockland company finds its soap purpose Peter and Nancy DiGirolamo fill their Trillium Soaps with good scents

What does it take to run a squeaky-clean business in Rockland? Countless flower petals, gallons of green tea leaves, loads of lavender, scads of spices, jugs of essential oils, vials of exotic attars from around the globe – and a little local rainwater.

That’s not all. Peter and Nancy DiGirolamo also prove soap makers need a nose for fragrance, a flair for invention, the confidence to take chances and the patience to do research. In their south Rockland workshop and showroom, they use all of these ingredients and personal attributes to good effect in producing their substantial line of handmade Trillium Soaps.

The couple got their start in soap making 17 years ago when they realized their landscaping business was not enough to keep them busy over the winter. While they were looking around for a second occupation, they remembered that a family friend had had some success in soap making. Encouraged by this, they bought a book on the subject, and dove into the venture.

They named their soap operation after their gardening business, using the word “trillium” in both, just because Nancy DiGirolamo thought the trillium flower was visually attractive. “We didn’t know the nickname for trillium is ‘stinky Benjamin,'” Nancy said with a laugh. “We actually found out about the nickname later,” her husband added. “It turned out we weren’t naming the soaps for the qualities of that plant,” Nancy DiGirolama said.

That’s for certain. Step into their workshop and you will be treated to a blend of scents that are nothing to turn your nose up at. Those fragrances emanate from 21 varieties of soaps in scents ranging from Rosemary Lime to Ginger Spice. All are made with organic oils including olive, palm and coconut. Color is added by means of spices including turmeric, cinnamon and paprika, or with other natural ingredients such as rose-hip powder, French green clay and French red clay.

Some of the work is labor-intensive. For instance, the couple carefully goes through every flower blossom and tea leaf that they plan to add to their soaps to remove by hand any stems or other hard elements.

While sorting through some green tea leaves and fragrant jasmine blossoms recently, Peter DiGirolamo said, “We don’t want anything in our soaps to scratch our customers’ faces.”

That does not mean the couple shuns adding items that endow their bars with texture. Poppy seeds and oatmeal are among the items they use that add interest to some of their soaps.

The soap-making process involves a number of steps, beginning with preparing the traylike molds by wiping them clean and lightly oiling them. Next, the basic soap ingredients are carefully measured and thoroughly mixed. They include oil, sodium hydroxide powder and rainwater.

After the resulting liquid is dispensed into large buckets, essential oils or attars are measured and added, to endow the soap with fragrance. At this point, additional ingredients may also be stirred in. They may include spices, flower petals, tea leaves, oatmeal, clays or other elements. In some cases, a melange of ingredients is held aside until the soap is poured into the molds, so that the mix may be stirred in later to make attractive swirls in the bars of soap.

Once the soap is poured into the molds, it is left to set for 48 hours. Following that, each tray is divided into two long bars called “loaves.” Finally, when those loaves have set further, individual bars may be cut.

Some customers of Trillium Soaps like to purchase the loaf and offer their own retail customers the option to purchase pieces cut off of the bar. Others prefer to purchase individually wrapped bars or gift packs. Customers who visit Trillium Soaps’ workshop and showroom at 17 Pacific St. in Rockland, and those who visit www.trilliumsoaps.com have both options.