In Anchorage, Alaska, Denali Dreams is hard at work producing soap. It all began more than two decades ago, when co-founder Janie Taylor went to New Zealand in 1995 and learned to make soap from a friend. After coming home to Alaska and making soap as Christmas presents, Taylor shared what she had learned with fellow stay-at-home mom Barbara Marsh. Together, they brought six soaps to their first Christmas bazaar before deciding to launch their business in 1997. By 2003, the soap-making operation outgrew Marsh’s duplex and moved to its current location in the neighborhood of Spenard. “We’re so grateful to be in Spenard. This place is so full of stories, style, and soulful humans. There’s no place we’d rather be,” the company shared on social media.
In 2005, Taylor and Marsh hired the current owner, then a high school student, Caitlin Sombatratanakul, to label lip balms and make gift baskets. “Over the years, I worked my way up learning to wrap, cut, and make soap,” she remembered. In 2015, when the co-founders decided to move on to the next adventure, they sold the company to Caitlin. Since its origins in the 1990s, the company has expanded to offer a variety of soaps, salves and balms, bath bombs and oils, and accessories, sold in stores all over the state.
Photo Courtesy Denali Dreams Soap Company
“We’re not just inspired by Alaska—we’re made here,” Denali Dreams explained of its operation that was “built by and for Alaskans.” The company elaborated, “Every bar of soap we craft is rooted in this place: in its wildness, its resilience, its beauty. From the backcountry to the workshop, from muddy hands to mountain streams—this is where our products begin.” While creating Alaska-inspired products was baked into the mission from the start, it was easy for Sombatratanakul, who was born and raised in the state, to take it to heart. “I grew up exploring the amazing backyard that Alaska has to offer – kayaking, hiking, climbing, and skiing are some of my favorites. Over the years, my love for this magical place has grown, and I’m always in search of new peaks to conquer,” she reminisced…