When was the last time you really cared for your feet? Or even thought about them, really? For this edition of Meet Your Maker, we’re talking to Dr. Quinton Yeldell and Krystle Ford, the owners and makers behind Southern Hospitality, a skin care line focused on foot care. They talk to us about what they do, how they do it, and why you should take the luxury of a nice foot soak seriously.
1| How do you describe your work?
We are a natural handmade line of skin care that is foot-focused but can be appropriate for use over the entire body. We focus on preventative care- all with a southern charm.
2| Why do you make foot-focused skin care?
In the case of Southern Hospitality, our goal as makers is to fill a void that we’ve found in skin care. There’s not a whole lot out there, when it comes to products for the foot. The products that are available are very drab, boring, and lack branding. That’s why we want to make taking care of your feet a pleasure, NOT a chore. We are dedicated to making products that you will be proud to display on your nightstand, NOT hidden in your medicine cabinet. We want to create a world where there’s an array of products available from head to toe- with emphasis on the TOE!
3| Why is good footcare so important?
(3 in 4 people will experience foot problems during their lifetime)
Your feet do so much for you but are often an after thought in terms of care. So much so that they are not thought about until there’s an issue. In the same way that we practice proper dental hygiene to care for our teeth or exercise for a healthy heart, routine footcare can greatly reduce chances for foot problems.
4| What do you recommend as a good footcare regimen?
Soak your feet to relax your muscles, draw out toxins, and moisten the skin. Next, exfoliate your feet giving special attention to the heels and callused areas to remove unwanted, excess skin. Then followup with a moisturizer, to make your skin healthy and supple.
5| How did you go about choosing your scents?
We wanted to maintain a southern theme with everything, including our scents. So, names like mint julep, magnolia, and Georgia peach were absolute must-haves.
6| What do you love about your job?
As a podiatrist, I have such an appreciation of how important of a role that our feet play in our day-to-day lives. However, our feet are often such a neglected- and forgotten- part of our bodies. In the same way that we exercise and eat right to take care of our hearts or brush and floss to care for our teeth, we should also provide the same routine care for our feet. The rewarding part of running Southern Hospitality is bringing awareness to preventative foot care through quality natural beauty products and thoughtful branding.
7| Was being a maker always your plan or was there an “aha” moment?
It all started as an idea while in medical school in 2007. During my clinicals, I noticed that a lot of my patients were diabetics that had dry and damaged skin. So I figured I could come up with some sort of foot product to help my patients. I started researching ways to create a foot cream–one that was natural without all of the harmful ingredients, yet still effective. Then the Missus asked, “Why do all of the foot products look so boring and medicinal?” So true! Our feet are so important yet the most neglected part of our body. And the products on the shelves seem to reflect that way of thinking. That’s when we set out to change the face of foot care products. One foot cream turned into an entire line and Southern Hospitality was born!
8| How do you work, and where?
We make and package our products from a workspace in our home. We like to call it: “The House of SoHoFeet!”
9| If you could swap lives with another artist and live as them without anyone knowing that you were really you and not the other person, who would that person be?
Stevie Wonder. For someone to be so accomplished in something like music and to not have sight, really is awesome!
10| What makes a handmade object valuable?
Knowing that an object is made by hand gives it that feeling that it was made with love. It’s like that object is coming straight from the maker’s heart.
11| Using that definition, what’s the most valuable object you own?
My violin.
12| Tell us one true thing about yourself that people don’t believe when you tell them.
Quinton: I spent most of my childhood in Florida, but I do not know how to swim.
Krystle: I teach violin to kids, but I am often mistaken as one of the kids.
13| Give us three more non-crafting-related details about you or your life.
-We spent the first 2.5 years of our relationship being long distance. One of us was in Illinois while the other was in New York.
-We were born 10 days apart (December 2nd & 12th)
-I didn’t see snow until I was 23 years old
If the idea of taking some time out to pamper your feet sounds appealing to you, you can shop their full line of products right here at Homespun. Check them out online, too, and stay up to date with the latest SoHo happenings!
Facebook: facebook.com/sohofeet
Instagram: @sohofeet
Twitter: @sohofeet
Pinterest: pinterest.com/sohofeet