Mount Gambier’s Handmade Soap Shop Serving Up Beer and Popcorn Scents
Tucked alongside her 188-year-old home on the outskirts of Mount Gambier, Sandy Megaw operates Soap By Sandy. She’ll gladly tell you a story about the ingredients in every hand-cut bar she sells.
“That’s Gavin’s homebrew beer – he gets annoyed that I keep pinching it,” she says, when asked about her new “Beer and Popcorn” scented soap.
I first met Sandy at the Mount Gambier Farmers Market. What stood out immediately was her ability to tell you exactly where every ingredient came from – the honey, the herbs, even which part of her garden they came from.
“The olive oil all comes from the Upper South East. If any of the products have goat milk, that’s from Port MacDonnell, and the herbs and vegetables are all home-grown in my garden,” she says.
Sandy’s Soap Shop Has A Soap For Every”Body”
While Sandy gets creative with scents – including Redskin lollies and even a smoky bacon soap she once made using pork fat from a local producer – she also stocks a wide range of traditional favourites. With sandalwood, Chanel No. 5, violet, lime and lemongrass, and black raspberry, there is a scent for everyone.
She began making soap in 2012, and the business kicked off the following year. After initially selling at markets, she now operates three days a week from her home-based shop – a space that was once her husband’s garage.
“Gavin gave up the car space to make it my shop,” she says, laughing.
Quietly Charming And Well Worth A Visit
Now a rustic, handcrafted space, the shop is quietly charming, with a nostalgic feel. Reclaimed wood and mismatched crates create a deliberately imperfect, homegrown aesthetic, and Sandy’s warmth and sense of humour make it hard to leave.
Gavin says that even though bars of soap and packaging labels have taken over his workspace and man cave, he couldn’t be prouder of the work his wife puts in.
“She will spend two years making sure it’s perfect before she puts it out for sale,” he says.
Cost of Living Pressure Drives Demand for Household Products
Despite the name, it’s not just soap that Sandy sells. Shelves are lined with moisturisers, herbal salves, shampoo bars and laundry powder – one of her biggest sellers.
While the broader shift toward natural products plays a role, Sandy says rising cost-of-living pressures are also driving demand.
“Once you start using it, you see the value for money. You only need a tiny little scoop for an entire load, compared to a great big scoop in the supermarket boxes.”
Made onsite by Gavin – or, as he’s known online, “Mr Soap By Sandy” – the laundry powders use natural oils with no artificial fillers, and Sandy says she is now shipping them across the country through online orders.
Sandy’s Handmade Soap – A Hit With the Locals
There’s something about Sandy’s dedication to her craft, her quick wit and warm charm – and, of course, the quality of the product – that has made her a favourite with locals.
In 2020, my then-fiancée and I were planning our wedding and decided we wanted Sandy’s soaps to be part of it. We entrusted her with creating a custom cherry blossom-scented soap to give to our guests – something people still talk about as a thoughtful and memorable touch on our special day.
Soap By Sandy isn’t a polished retail space – it’s a working, breathing reflection of country craftsmanship, where every product has a story and every detail has been carefully considered.
Soap By Sandy, on the corner of Sunnybrae Road and Pine Hall Avenue at Suttontown, is open Monday to Wednesday from 8am to 5pm.
Check out this event happening in Mount Gambier in May – Click here
