Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Witmyer.
Hi Jennifer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
The person behind the company
I’ve never had the energy to be anything other than what I am. I say what I mean and mean what I say. I y’am what I y’am. I’m detail oriented and if my towels aren’t folded the right way, I can’t sleep at night. I’m still friends with the kids I went to pre-school with. We are now watching each other’s kids grow up and have children of their own! I am the old-school reliable neighbor you can get a cup of sugar from or call on to watch your kids while you take a break. You need help with points and gaps on that old car you bought? Let’s get it done! Everyone is a potential friend and if one of my friends needs something, I drop what I’m doing and I’m there for them. That’s love. It’s the reason we all exist. To love and to be loved. I expect a lot from myself, as all first-born daughters tend to do. I want to know and experience everything I can because life on this Earth is short, so you must do the right thing, the right way, every time. If you’re tired, sad or angry, you still must do the right thing. I have an insatiable appetite for learning and growing. If you can teach me something, I’m yours forever. I’m loyal and blunt. There is no ill intent in me and if I give you my word, you can take it to the bank. What I expect from the people close to me is what I expect from myself.
Anger can be a valuable tool if used correctly.
Normally, when my body is too tired, I lay in bed and read the latest scientific peer reviewed journals because my brain doesn’t follow the same routine as my body. Somewhere along the line, my brain’s shut off switch was permanently disabled. I didn’t have any topics I was interested in researching one night, so I decided to surf the exciting world of Facebook Reels. To my shock and disgust, I came across a woman making soap and adding titanium dioxide to her batter to make her finished product opaque white. Titanium dioxide is a known carcinogen. I was so irritated by the blatant disregard for her customer’s health that it lit a fire in me to start Archwood Soapery. 6 months after that, Filthy Vegan was created to control the skincare side.
Archwood Drive is the street I grew up on. It’s the last place I felt family love and contentment. The last place I was taken care of. When I left Archwood Drive in 1992, my life was forever altered and it would take me many years to un-fuck the consequences of decisions I was not making. In naming my company after Archwood Drive, it’s an homage to love and bettering oneself. To remove the fuckery from your life and go back to how things should be. Simple, straight-forward and no crap allowed.
It’s either ignorance, ill intent or a concoction of both things that has people adding known carcinogens like formaldehyde-releasing cosmetic preservatives, artificial colorants without proper analysis certificates and unsafe chemicals containing by-products that never go away to increase product curb appeal at the expense of the health of the customer. Even if you are legally able to do something, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. This is where I find the issues: There’s a deficit of common sense, moral fiber, integrity, and regard for others. They’re breaking the rules: Do no harm unto others. It’s the shareholder’s primacy and needing something to look a certain way for the cheapest amount possible to increase profit margins. That day, with anger as my copilot, I filed for a business license.
I had a reason to be angry.
I was VERY sick after the birth of my 3rd child. My liver enzymes were in the 800’s, I would walk, fall over and pass out. I wasn’t safe to drive anymore, and I was going insane with other symptoms. Some of my thyroid levels were literally off the charts and unable to be measured, and I blamed the chemicals. Rightly so, as women are 60% more likely to have the big C word than men because we use cosmetics and we are most likely the ones cleaning the house. We want to look good, so we buy whatever the corporations tell us to buy to achieve our goal. Clothing and bedding have cancer warning labels on them now because of the chemicals. Fast food french fries went from 3 ingredients to 17 and 15 of those 17 are harmful chemicals. Pattern recognition is where I shine the brightest, so I did all of the research. I read all of the peer review journals. I changed my lifestyle and analyzed everything from that diagnosis forward.
During this time, I went to bed every night for a solid 2 years crying, because I always wanted the family that I lost at a young age and now that I had one, there was a chance I wouldn’t live to see my little babies grow up and I had 3 babies under 3 years old! I was so unbelievably tired at the soul level, but I have a lot of discipline in me from all those fuckery years in adolescence, so I always made sure my kids and I spent time together. I cooked daily and kept the house clean. I like clean and I also like homemade meatballs. My kids like those things, too. I was proud that I still had the whole house clean and was out the door with my kids by 10:30 every day to do things like go to the playground or library, hang out with friends or just take a walk. They were my little ducklings. Some day when I’m at the end of my life and my body can’t move anymore and all I have are my memories, that’s where I’ll go. To the walks and simple moments we spent together.
I started out wholesale.
Lisa is great. An absolute wonderful person to be around and so knowledgeable about what she does; A good role model. I like those qualities in a person. I was at one of my favorite holistic shops in Wyomissing, called Bee Fit and Healthy, looking for a product I use for my kids chapped winter mouths when the owner, Lisa, came up to me and offered assistance. As Lisa was trying to decipher what I was poorly describing, she told me about shampoo bars she carried that she wasn’t a fan of. They left a residue on her hair which is obviously not a good quality for a shampoo bar. I told her that she should try my bars and dropped off a sample. She trusted me so much that she only took my solid shampoo and conditioner bars with her on vacation. When Lisa came back from vacation, she placed my first ever wholesale order which was delivered the day my business license came in the mail. Lisa gave me a chance because she looked behind the perceived value and experienced my shampoo and conditioner bars as my labels and packaging were not on point quite yet.
I was multi-locational with Whole Foods Kimberton within a year of being in business.
As a small business owner who has zero idea how to work ecommerce, I sign up for every fair, festival and expo I can. I book my schedule so tight that later in December, I’m crying from overwhelm. But I genuinely love doing them! I love talking to people and watching their faces when they see what my skincare can do within seconds of applying. This is how I make money – events. In order to grow, I needed experience in trade shows, so at 10.5 months into being a company, I signed on, last minute, with the Philly Gift Show at the behest of a friend, Patrycja with Cork and Charm. I paid for the smallest booth they had which was half the size of any booth I had set up at and 5 times the cost. It was all to get experience; To learn how the bigger companies did trade shows so that I may one day, be in their shoes.
The Philly Gift Show is where I met Whole Foods Kimberton. A dream client, really. They are everything I like in a company. I sat in their parking lot a few months prior and tried to muster up the confidence to go in and do as I had always done: Just start talking. Kimberton Whole Foods is family owned, and they try every product in their department! As a general rule of thumb, I love family-owned businesses. This is how businesses SHOULD be. Just some people creating the best product or service they possibly can. They’re sponsoring your kids little league games and creating community events. They’re free from lobbying power and shareholder primacy which puts their focus on the customer, not the shareholder.
The director wanted to know about the science behind my products. The analysis certificates, the reasons I formulate the way I do. I love explaining the reasons why I do what I do. I sent her home with a sample of my products.
I love the love emails and by the second day of the trade show, I got a love email from the director of Kimberton. Typing this out 3 months later, my heart is still filled with appreciation and the feeling of proud. I’m so freaking proud of myself. I’m so thankful for the people who took a chance on my products at an event, the role model fellow small business owners I’ve met along the way, the people who listened to me babble on about ethoxylated surfactants and the issues with deodorized butters and my latest stability tests. But man, those times when compliments come in are the best times. The emails I get from customers after an event where they give me positive feedback. It keeps me pushing past the tired and sore. Don’t get me wrong, I would appreciate any negative feedback as well. The tin arrived dented or I didn’t know how to apply this after I went home because your directions are not clear! I appreciate all the feedback because both things are necessary to be great. Yin and yang. Positive and negative. You must take all of it because it all exists. I’m not interested in growing complacent. I will always strive to be the best person I can be and create the best products I am capable of. Thanks for reading. Love you, bye!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve had my fair share of struggles: re-learning computers and software. I had to learn how to walk again after my diagnosis so I can handle all of the things. I WISH so much that I could have spreadsheets. I want to track everything and I love being organized. I just forgot every single thing I used to know about Excel. Struggles are no match for me-The key to success is a positive attitude. It’s always mind over matter. Something bad happen? You’re fine because you have to be fine and it’s a learning moment in life. Pick your yourself up and fix it. Be solution minded, no problem-centric.
We’ve been impressed with Archwood soapery / Filthy Vegan, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Most people have never been taught how to care for their skin or hair. They’re overwhelmed by conflicting advice, harsh products, and marketing that prioritizes trends over results.
Filthy Vegan and Archwood Soapery were created to remove confusion and frustration through education, transparency, and high‐performance formulations that actually work. Filthy Vegan focuses on science‐driven skincare—serums, micro‐creams, lotions, deodorants, and specialty topicals—built with clean, effective ingredients at effective levels. Our formulas are designed to deliver visible results immediately, supporting healthier skin without relying on heavy makeup to cover irritation or imbalance. Every ingredient is scrutinized for safety, efficacy, and integrity. Archwood Soapery specializes in solid-format, salon tested and approved haircare and artisan cold‐process soaps. Archwood’s solid hair care is what has made everything so successful, to date. Archwood Soapery has changed the solid hair care game. Our various solid shampoo and conditioner bars use a fermented filtrate preservative system that protects the product while supporting the scalp’s microbiome with beneficial postbiotics. This helps maintain a balanced, resilient scalp environment—key for shine, growth, and long-term scalp and hair health. All formulas are free from artificial dyes, parabens, phthalates, and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, and are scented with essential oils or Care‐Free, non–hormone‐disrupting, non-gmo fragrance oils. Across both brands, our mission is simple: Ingredient transparency, eco‐forward design, and uncompromising performance. We pair modern cosmetic chemistry with common‐sense formulation to create products that are safe, effective NOW, and easy for customers to understand. Through education and outreach, we help people choose the right products for their needs—removing confusion and empowering them to care for their skin and hair with confidence. Together, Filthy Vegan and Archwood Soapery offer a complete ecosystem of clean, results‐driven personal care designed for real people who want real results—without waiting months to see a difference.
Archwood Soapery and Filthy Vegan operate as a unified, ingredient-transparent personal care house focused on high-performance, eco-conscious formulation. Both brands prioritize solid formats, minimal packaging, and responsible sourcing, to reduce environmental impact while delivering immediate, visible results. Built on rigorous ingredient scrutiny and small-batch craftsmanship, the brands blend modern cosmetic chemistry with a bold apothecary aesthetic. Formulation and product development are led by the founder’s background in chemistry and dermatology, ensuring performance-driven design, rooted in science.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
It’s always the quiet, seemingly insignificant moments that are my favorite moments. Sitting around on a summer night just enjoying the company you keep, where time seems to stand still. I love stand-still moments and I’m always searching for them because that’s peace and contentment. Core memories. Helping my Nunno fix up his old square body truck and then taking a drive with him in that truck. No phones, no radio, no busy schedule; Just two people enjoying their time together. Holding the flashlight for my dad while he fixed his car. My dad was my hero. He could fix anything. He taught me and guided me into a right way of being. Watching my 5 children experience the world. Sitting around with my grandparents when I was a little girl eating watermelon and poppy seed bread after I should have been asleep in bed, hearing about their old stories. Stories from WW2 and their childhood friends. About my great grandparents and their mom’s homemade bread. I loved all of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://archwoodsoapery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archwoodsoapery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573896232056
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-witmyer-6ab0973b0/
Image Credits
Liz Marino, Burnt Sky Apothocary
Patrycja Hosbach, Cork and Charm
