Glenn and Lisa Newman's kitchen looks like any other modern kitchen in Lake Wildwood.

But several times a year, they turn it into the Stoney Oaks Farm custom soap, lotion and bath powder factory.

Actually, it's not that much of a stretch, said Lisa Newman. “It's just like making a cake.”

In fact, they found the original recipe for making goats' milk soap in the back of a cookbook in 1997 — and pretty much all the ingredients can be found in your local grocery story, she added.

Goats' milk soaps and lotions are milder and more luxurious than commercial products, Newman explained. Adding blends of fragrances and herbs (honeysuckle, lemon, jasmine and ginger, among others) makes them even more appealing.

Although making custom soaps and lotions may be like making a cake — and some of the ingredients might be good enough to eat — it's not all that easy, Newman admitted.

You have to follow the recipes exactly, and the timings and temperatures are critical. Lotions, the newest addition to the Newmans' product line, require “a lot of cooking,” Newman said.

The Newmans do most of the cooking in the kitchen microwave, which allows precise control of time and temperature.

A family affair

Stoney Oaks Farm Bath and Body Products started out as a two-family business in 1997.

The Newmans partnered with their friends Glenn and Gina Gippner of the Grass Valley area.

The Gippners needed an agricultural justification for keeping goats on their property. The Newmans — who both work full-time (he's a contractor, she's a bookkeeper) – were looking for a home-based, side-business that would involve their whole family.

Eventually, the Newmans took over the bath & body products business but they still buy their goats' milk from the Gippners.

For many years, Stoney Oaks truly involved the whole family: Glenn, Lisa and their three children Kate, Ryan and Brett all pitched in — both in making the products and selling them at fairs and festivals ranging from Nevada to Southern California.

There was always “something for little hands to do” in the kitchen during the marathon weekend manufacturing sessions, Newman recalled fondly.

And during the shows, the children learned to make change and helped with the setting up and taking down of the display booth.

They did as many as 13 shows a year.

“That was quite the circuit,” she said, adding, “You meet a lot of nice people.”

Recovering from tragedy

The Newman family suffered a devastating blow in 2006 when Ryan and Brett, 18 and 15 respectively, died in a traffic accident on Highway 20 near Penn Valley.

Nevertheless, the Newmans resolved to keep the family business — and tradition — alive.

“Glenn and I still make the soap together,” Newman said.

Daughter Kate VanVleck, now 23 and married, has moved into her own home in Penn Valley, but she still is involved in marketing and designing the packaging for the Stoney Oaks products.

And the Newmans are always looking for ways to improve their product line.

“We try to change it up a bit for each show,” Newman said. Each batch of soaps, lotions and powders is seasonal, including the product line for this weekend's Country Christmas Faire at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

The Stoney Oaks Farm booth in the main exhibit hall will be featuring Christmas-themed soap bars, such as pumpkin spice gingerbread men and eucalyptus spearmint stars and cranberry angels.

For a summer show, they might offer lavender butterflies and other exotic blends scents and spices.

Reflecting on the years the family has been in business for itself, Newman cherishes the good times.

“I'm so happy to have been able to do it with my family. That has been the blessing of a home-based business.”

(Tom Durkin is a freelance writer based in Nevada City. For comments on this article, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4230.)