Otion The Soap Bar

My wife and I really like this store. The location is a bit small, but packed with all of the goodies that you want to make your own soap and bath products. It’s a fantastic way to sniff-​test the amazing line of scents from Brambleberry.
The staff is very friendly and helpful. They also offer classes to help you learn the process.
If you’re in the area and enjoy soaping or want to learn, this stop is highly recommended. :)

Very cool shop w/​tons of choices & a very helpful staff

The first time I made homemade candles I got everything I needed at Otion. They have amazing scents to choose from!

What can’t I say about this place?
I make soap. I believe the term is ‘Soaper’. This store carries everything by Brambleberry, which is one of the premier soap supply companies in the US. Brambleberry only does mail order, and does not maintain a storefront, as far as I can tell.
So, this place is really neat. Being able to go in and smell all the scents to devise my next masterpiece of cleaning agents; as well as getting different oils, bases, molds, and colorants is brilliant. I make the trip from Seattle to Bellingham just to come to this place. It’s worth the trek.
Everyone here has always been very helpful and pleasant.
Parking is on the street, and sometimes difficult to come by, just as a warning.

This place makes me happy. As someone who makes their own lotions and cosmetics, it’s nice to have a place to buy beeswax, shea butter, bottles, oils, fragrances, flavors, and all manner of supplies. A bit spendy, but not much more than your would have to pay if ordering online. They have an excellent selection and friendly staff.
Note for Disabled: Reasonably accessible, aisles are a bit narrow, some merchandise is up on a raised platform area and may require staff assistance for wheelchair patrons. Metered street parking or pay lot only.

Otions is on of the only places I know where you can buy already made cold press, soap, ingredients to make cold press soap and classes on how to make soap, if you want to get your hand a little dirty.
Customer Service is number one here and I have never been disappointed.

I took a cold-​process soap class here last month because my dad is interested in soap-​making as a side to his bee-​keeping. Elizabeth our instructor and I had a great time and feel like I learned a lot. Definitely looking forward to trying out some recipes in the future.

«One sniffy sniff & your hooked!!» LOL
Looking for a local place to find the most amazing oils and base products to make soaps, lotions, potions, chap sticks, sprays & perfumes? And love 100% Shea Butter? Ummm… wow… you won’t believe this, super cheap price for this stuff @ ONLY $ 8 bucks a pound! This place is the ONLY place to go!
Super friendly staff & just oodles and oodles of delicious scents and products to try and buy. You’ll absolutely fall in love with this place.

My wife is a passionate and talented maker of soap and beauty supplies. This means, through the process of osmosis, I can speak intelligently to the processes and ingredients involved.
I have Otion to thank, first off, for my discovery of the wonders of Bellingham. When we moved to the PNW, my wife had heard good things about Otion and wanted to stop by for some hard-​to-​order supplies (such as lye, key to saponification. Bet you didn’t know that was a word).
The store itself is in old downtown Bellingham. The selection: excellent… tons of fragrances and essential oils, oils, fats, micas, powders, and other chemistry, molds, melt-​and-​pour bases, colors, and the like. Lots of instructional books and videos. Containers for stuff like lip balms, powders, salves, unguents, etc. Tools for cutting and weighing. All in quantities from «maybe I’d like to play with this» to «I need a shit-​ton, thanks very much».
More important: the staff are awesome. Friendly, chatty and helpful without being intrusive, and they all seem to know the soap-​making process well — they give demos and instruction at the «soap bar» (available 11−4pm most days, or by appt). You can also apparently have «parties» (much like places like Build-​a-​Bear Workshop) where people come out and make bath and beauty products at the bar.
There are a few pre-​made soaps and bulk soap as well — but if you’re making your own, this probably isn’t as appealing.
There are probably closer soaping stores to where I live, but we go to Bellingham all the time for the selection and service. And for the sheer laid-​back beauty and awesomeness that is Bellingham.
Thanks to Otion for giving my wife an easy, comfortable place to buy her supplies, and for helping us find such a wonderful town (and area).