Meet more makers in the November/December 2026 feature.
Every Friday, Amy Parmer and Jessica Church meet on Parmer’s farm to make bars of soap. “We both look forward to it,” Parmer says. “After lunch, our calendar is clear.”
Parmer and her husband, Matt, bought their 13-acre property in Haubstadt, Indiana, in 2016. They raised goats, and the opportunity to turn the milk into soap came in a 2020 Mother’s Day gift of soap-making supplies. “I called my best friend and I said, ‘Do you want to try it?’” Church’s response: “Of course. Let’s do it!”
They started out in Parmer’s kitchen and “didn’t have a clue what we were doing,” she laughs. They learned to mix milk with lye, combine different fats, experiment with scents and essential oils, and get creative with colors and designs. “To me, it’s like an art project,” Church says. They began offering bars to friends and sold out in 24 hours. The idea for Hope Hill Farm was born; Parmer is the sole proprietor.
The duo expanded their product line into lip balms, lotion bars, and even laundry soap and stain sticks. “I have really sensitive skin. So does my dad. My goal was to make a bar my dad could use year round,” says Church, a Gibson County native who owns a travel agency called Sands & Skylines. T
he pair can produce 96 bars in 90 minutes. Occasionally, their children help — Parmer has eight, Church has two — but mostly, it’s a two-person operation. “Every single product is touched by the two of us,” Parmer says. “Sometimes, we don’t even make soap! We may cut labels for four hours. It’s like a therapy session,” Church adds.
Parmer, an Elkhart, Indiana, native who grew up visiting her grandparents’ farm, is giving her kids a similar rural experience. “I think my grandpa would be so proud,” she says. “This is what I was meant to do.”
Soap To Go
Amy Parmer and Jessica Church never miss the annual Holiday Expo in the Old Haubstadt Gym. Stop by Hope Hill Farm’s booth from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 5.
