Our Story
Meet Katye Fredieu –
The Owner and Product Developer of Artisan Soapery
Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2019 – City of Hickory, North Carolina
Top 10 Under 40 Entrepreneur Award 2018 – Chamber of Commerce
Notable Neighbor – Hickory Daily Record
Featured in Our State Magazine – Issue December 2019
Here at Artisan Soapery, we are not just enthusiastic about the handcrafted artisan products we make and carry. We are passionate about the quality of service we give to our customers. We are driven to boost our economy by supporting and promoting local artisans. By building strong relationships with our customers and artisans through compassion and integrity, we bridge the gap to delivering the WOW factor.
Our mission is simple: make the best product on the market, support our community, build lasting relationships, and provide beyond superior customer experiences.
Before I created Artisan Soapery, I owned a very successful cake decorating business in my home town of Las Vegas, Nevada, for three years. It was an awesome creative outlet that allowed me to support not only my family, but my recreational passion of skydiving. I have been a licensed skydiver since 2008 and have made 450+ jumps since then.
I loved my cake business! However, in 2011, I was in a terrible motorcycle accident that completely changed my life. Enduring 18 fractures, I was in the hospital for over two months and in a wheelchair for nearly a year. With a lot of surgery and therapy, I am able to walk, but I was no longer able to decorate cakes due to my injuries. It was hard seeing that chapter of my life coming to an end. Little did I know the new chapter coming my way!
After developing severe sensitive skin from all of the scarring during my motorcycle accident, I started developing my own skin care. I shortly found a new business venture; the art of soap making! Handcrafted soap was so much better than any store bought soap or body wash I’d ever used before and I wanted to know why. I immersed myself in the chemistry behind saponification and created formulas that cannot be found in stores or by small hobby makers.
I started researching ways to make soap, ways to make it better, and science of it all, the ingredients and the properties they provide, and began the research and development of my own proprietary formulas. Although it was challenging, my passion only intensified for soap making and I couldn’t wait to expand my knowledge and see what else I could make. I spent my time researching, experimenting, and using my friends and family to test my soaps and other products. With astonishing approval, I took the leap of faith to begin sharing this passion with the world! My products are now carried in nearly 50 stores across the country, including U.S. Territories.
Because of this accident, I have found what I was meant to do with my life. I have the most rewarding job; improving people’s lives through quality skin care. And If it weren’t for my accident, I wouldn’t be able to say that! I am so blessed to live this life and can’t wait to share my products with you and your loved ones.
I did get back into skydiving, and started riding motorcycles again. I even took up a new hobby – scuba diving!
Soap making helped me find my passion in life once again. It’s an exciting yet challenging creative outlet for me. Our company is consistently growing and evolving into something even more beautiful than we’d ever hoped. You can see and feel the love and pride we put into my product line.
Blue Skies!
Katye Fredieu

Press
FRONT PAGE NEWS!
Notable Neighbor with Hickory Daily Record – 2019
FRONT PAGE NEWS!
Top 10 Under 40 Award – Hickory Daily Record – 2018
Central Coast Arts Feature with San Luis Obispo New Times – 2017
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