{"id":9535,"date":"2025-08-10T12:03:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T16:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adirondack.org\/?p=9535"},"modified":"2025-09-16T12:07:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T16:07:27","slug":"adirondack-fragrance-farm-finds-new-generation-of-leaders-in-the-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adirondack.org\/regional-press-coverage\/adirondack-fragrance-farm-finds-new-generation-of-leaders-in-the-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Adirondack Fragrance Farm finds new generation of leaders, in the family"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natural soap company with roots in the Adirondacks grows into national business<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Holly Riddle<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1979, when she was 21, Sandy Maine launched a home-based, handmade, herbal soaps company, originally just for an income stream during the winter months, when she wasn\u2019t offering Adirondack guiding services in Parishville. Over the years, Sunfeather Natural Soap Co. became nationally successful, demanding all of Maine\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sandy\u2019s heart urged her to refocus her efforts regionally, to the Adirondack Mountains that she had fallen in love with as a college student at SUNY Potsdam. When, in 2009, a company offered to buy Sunfeather, Sandy agreed and, in 2013, using her decades of experience, she founded Adirondack Fragrance Farm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had probably 15 products\u00a0all based on Adirondack scents and trees. I even used muskrat and beaver castor, which is our region\u2019s musk, in some of my perfumes. It was so much fun and I loved it. I went to regional trade shows, not the big trade shows, and the business did great,\u201d said Maine.<\/p>\n

Sales began to drop during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sandy\u2019s son Clark Maine, who was working in the clean energy industry in China, began helping Sandy adjust the business, alongside his wife, Yen Maine. Originally from Taiwan, Yen boasts a background in finance and at the time was working as a vice president at Citibank in Shanghai. With her son and daughter-in-law\u2019s assistance, Maine\u2019s fragrance business focused on online retail sales and expanding its brand recognition.<\/p>\n

Read the full article in the Adirondack Explorer<\/a>.<\/p>\n