Our Story
How did an engineer and an underground miner start a farm in the Margaret River Region and learn to make soap from their own fresh goats milk and herbal balms with their own beeswax.
In 2009, Cath and her partner Brad escaped the hustle and bustle of inner-city life where they were running a small music and internet lounge in Leederville and working full time.
As their ‘tree’ change, they choose a degraded cattle property close to Brad’s favourite surf break Guillotines (a priority for the dedicated surfer). It started with tree farming, then guinea fowl and chickens, followed by two goats in 2013. In 2014 Cath began making her Smudge Soap from the fresh goatsmilk and selling them at local markets in the Margaret River Region.
Cath's next venture started when she joined the local spinning and weaving group and got a couple of Angora goats! The handwoven textiles of Cath’s scarves and shawls are inspired by the Australian landscapes surrounding her and influenced by the tartans of her Scottish homeland.
Sheep and bees were added to the farm in 2014, the beeswax is used for candles and in balms.
Animal welfare is at the heart of the homestead with natural fodder systems as the foundation for the goats, sheep and bees. The couple have planted over 10,000 trees and shrubs on the property, providing perennial food for all the animals. The goats naturally wean their kids at 5 months and the Angora goats are shorn twice a year.
Cath is committed to keeping the old skills alive, joking about how her life is like Little House on the Prairie with electricity and the internet! She loves nothing more than inspiring people to be self-sufficient. She runs workshops regularly where you can learn how to make beeswax candles and spin yarn in the same way it was taught 300 years ago.
for soap making. Smudge produced 4 litres of milk a day and Cath had no more room in the fridge for cheese so rather than waste it, she turned it into soap!
Cath started a craft co-op at Origins Market in November 2021.