Boulder Soap Maker

New way to clean up

Unlike most flood-stricken businesses owners, soap maker Lisa Melli Gillespie was, to some extent, helped by the natural disaster.

When Gillespie was testing her soap-making idea last fall, her home in South Boulder was hit by the flood, with water seeping into its lower level.

Gillespie hired a reclamation company from Chicago to dry out the area, a process that – to her surprise – turned her from a hobby soap-maker to a startup owner.

“This turned out to be helpful,” she said. “Humid conditions are not ideal for soap making, as it increases cure time, but, I figured I’d…