A Gatlinburg Small Business Spotlight: The Basket Case Soap Co.
The Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community didn’t get off to a great start for us. I don’t want to rehash our first memory of this group of craftspeople located off 321, beginning at Glades Road, but we’re glad we gave it a second look, based on countless of visits thereafter. Which leads me to my next review of a new place we discovered a little more than a year ago, The Basket Case Soap Co.
Owned by Debbie Becker, the self-proclaimed, Head basket case—a transplant from upstate New York—her products are handmade and 98% all natural, including Body Lotions, Soaps, and Smelly Jellies, which are air fresheners for the car, home, and office. You can also find soap ends—a pound of soap extras that aren’t full bars—soap dishes, and soap savers—cotton and linen soap holders for extra leather and exfoliation. For a few dollars more, you can pick up some cool stickers as an impulse-type item. After opening at The Covered Bridge in the Glades in November 2021, she moved to a new location across from Morning Mist Village in February 2023.
She is such a treat, if you’ve never met her. There used to be another shop owner I spoke with regularly here, but sadly, we lost touch. Anyway, Debbie also reminds us this other kind lady’s undying hospitality, and she does a fantastic job of explaining her products and recommending some top sellers.
The shop itself is ultra cute, giving the appearance from the outside of a small one-room cabin with a tiny porch, featuring two rocking chairs if you want to get off your feet for a few minutes. The inside is neatly organized, displayed with jars and samples of nearly all of her approximately 40 different scents from her cache of lotions, soaps, and air fresheners. Not only are we happy to support her, the products speak for themselves. My wife loves the Body Butters, (lotion) and I’m a regular user of the soaps. I don’t have a favorite; they’re all great. She seems to have caught on to my timid indecisiveness, but that’s alright…it’s who I am. I’ll keep buying what I like as long as she has a home here.
I regret that I couldn’t do one thing that was offered by her and other artisans recently, and that was the Hands On Gatlinburg, which is a class on making your own creation from a particular medium. In this “case,” it’s mixing up your own soap scent. I know they have these every year, so I would love to get my hands…uh, clean, with this form of art.
To finish up, I’d like to add that some of her items are in The Smoky Mountain School of Cooking shop, which is located in downtown Gatlinburg behind Calhoun’s restaurant in Calhoun’s Village. If you can’t make it out to her shop—which I highly recommend you try—take a look at a few of Debbie’s products in this shop/cooking classroom. Although she may dispute this, she always has her meter on the highest level of sweet-natured energy and likeability whenever anyone passes through her doors. It is a pleasure touching base with her, and I honestly believe you will instantly feel welcome, and less like an actual basket case after visiting her shop.
Facebook: The Basket Case Soap Co., LLC
Website: thebasketcasesoapco.com
Address: 608 Glades Rd. Suite B Gatlinburg, TN
Thank you for tuning in for my small business feature. I find it very important to try and support this local group of people who are living a life of passion that I deeply admire, adore, and draw inspiration from. Along with local restaurants I love spotlighting, tune in for more features and reviews in the coming days, weeks, and months. I hope you enjoyed this, and I appreciate you taking time out of your day to support my own passion.
My sister and I have tried to get ahold of Debbie. We are from Wi and were on vacation. Just recently we opened the smelly gellies and there is hardly a scent. I put one in the bathroom and it can hardly be smelled. My sister did the same. We are very disappointed in this product and her lack of communication with us, and we bought 5-6 jars. I would Not recommend this product.