Alumni Spotlight: Ann Staudt

Floyd County 4-H alum Ann Staudt never sought to be a small business owner. Back in 2003, while pursuing her chemical engineering degree, a community education class focused on DIY herbal bath + body products caught her eye.

“The art and science, the alchemy and aromatherapy … it was truly a whole new world of possibilities. Needless to say, I was hooked,” says Staudt. “While some of the early seeds were planted in my farm girl formative years (you’re looking at a 4-H Grand Champion herb gardener!), this new concept of using herbs and essential oils in handcrafted body care products filled me with such intrigue.”

From there, she set up a mini lab with a hot plate in her dorm room and took over her mom’s kitchen during summer break. After researching, formulating, and crafting, Siberian Soap Co. officially launched in 2010.

As a 4-H’er, Staudt was involved in communications, horticulture, photography, visual arts, food and nutrition and everything in between. She was a member of the Union Busy Bees in Marble Rock, Iowa. Her mom, Patty, was their club’s leader and both her younger siblings were 9-year 4-H’ers as well.

“The day (and night) before the fair opened was total chaos on the Staudt farm, run 100% on pure adrenaline. Without fail, I would be putting the finishing touches on at least 6 different projects and goal cards, ranging from finalizing the design of my 4-H poster to harvesting herbs to prepping ingredients for baking brownies fresh the next morning ahead of judging. What a rush! Fair was truly the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work, and it was such a fun experience to showcase all of your different projects to the judges and to the larger community.”

Staudt credits 4-H with providing her outstanding opportunities for building a solid foundational set of public speaking and interpersonal communication skills—through club-level and county-level educational presentations, working exhibits, and Share-the-Fun. 

“These were not only some of my favorite projects to participate in at the fair, but also helped build skills that truly serve you for a lifetime,” Staudt said. “4-H teaches REAL WORLD, practical life skills.” 

4-H nurtured a true spirit of community service and civic engagement in Ann as well. Their club was very actively engaged in the local community, with monthly service projects that included making and sending Valentine’s care packages to seniors, Adopt-a-Highway road cleanup, helping the American Legion distribute poppies ahead of Memorial Day, and visiting residents of local long-term care facilities. 

“A number of these projects really pushed the quieter club members (me) out of our comfort zones. Like serving a community meal to senior citizens at the Marble Rock City Hall. It’s one thing to prepare and serve the food or perform a musical selection on the piano for the seniors, but you mean we’re actually supposed to eat with them and TALK TO THEM?!? All joking aside, these are the types of important life skills that you pick up being a 4-H’er.”

The communication skills, community service, and civic engagement experience from Staudt’s 9 years in 4-H are invaluable in her work with Water Rocks!, as an entrepreneur and small business owner, and in volunteering/serving in leadership roles in her church and the larger local community.

Ann continues to be engaged with the Iowa 4-H Program through her work with Water Rocks!. She directs this award-winning youth water education program at ISU, where they use STEM and the arts to inspire the next generation of Iowans towards a greater appreciation of the water, soil, and wildlife around them.

“I have the unique opportunity to partner with extension county youth staff across the state to jointly deliver school presentations and 4-H youth camps. Our team also brings Conservation Station trailers to local county fairs and trains extension county youth staff and 4-H personnel at our Water Rocks! Summit professional development workshops.”

Being able to juggle multiple projects from her 4-H days, Staudt continues to grow her small business or “microsoapery” as she calls it. Her handcrafted herbal soaps, lip balms, and herbal pet products can be found on their website, in several retail locations across Iowa and the Midwest, and on select Saturdays at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market.

“My dad, Dennis Staudt, made the keen observation that the day (night) before the Farmers Market bears a whole lot of resemblance to the day (night) before the county fair. Truer words have never been spoken!”

In addition to making herbal products, she absolutely loves teaching soapmaking workshops and sharing the art and the science of the soapmaking process with others (currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

“It’s such a fascinating process—combining seemingly incompatible ingredients (lye and plant oils) to create a fabulous, nourishing bar soap made completely from scratch, customized with unique blends of plant essential oils.”

Ten percent of Siberian Soap Co.'s sales go towards animal rescue organizations; this is one small way to pay it forward. Three wonderful rescue huskies adopted from shelters across the Midwest have brought much joy to Staudt’s life. She named her company after her dogs and is proud to offer a signature line of herbal care products for dogs.

Future plans for Staudt and the Siberian Soap Co. include a new product line: handcrafted liquid soap. She also looks forward to getting back to teaching in-person soapmaking workshops when it’s safe to do so.

While Siberian Soap Co. has expanded from its humble roots as a dorm room and kitchen chemistry hobby operation to a growing small business, their founding principles remain the same—sharing the joy of high-quality, handcrafted, nature-inspired herbal products with you and your pets. And supporting the good works of local animal shelters/rescues along the way. Be sure to check out Siberian Soap Co.!