Cortland community welcomes shop selling handcrafted soaps, skincare products
A family-owned business with nearly two decades of service to the community decided to relocate to Cortland around the beginning of 2026.
Owner Heidi Goldberg makes all the soaps, moisturizers, serums, sprays and home/pet products offered by Bodygoodies, which she started to give customers a safe skin care regimen.
Heidi’s daughter, Maddi, manages the rest of the operation, including retail and online sales, as well as organizing the Bodygoodies local vendor market.
“I’ve always really stood behind our products and helping people, but the excitement that everyone’s had with us moving has inspired my mom and I so much to work harder, get here earlier and stay later,” Maddi said. “It’s been really nice. My mom actually makes everything. She loves making the soap.”
Heidi started making all-natural products out of their family home in Liberty Township, which is where she continued to run the business for 17 years.
“It kinda overtook our dining room, then our kitchen and then my playroom when I was a kid,” Maddi said. “Around 2010, we had to leave our home location because she started wholesaling for Whole Foods Markets. One of the requirements to sell to their stores was that we were in a brick-and-mortar manufacturing building, so we moved to a small garage location in Liberty Township. Then it took off from there.”
At Bodygoodies, customers’ favorite products include a versatile soap called “Crud” and a sought-after face moisturizer with SPF 60, Maddi said.
“Our laundry soap is a pretty big one for anyone suffering from eczema, psoriasis, and for babies, it’s a great option to help keep the clothes that are on your skin all the time, as free from chemicals as possible,” Maddi said.
Maddi’s grown up watching her mom come up with and create different variations of soaps without toxins, preservatives or chemicals.
“For the soaps, my mom comes up with an idea, then decides what it’s going to look like and smell like. Making the actual soap is a pretty fast process. She heats up butters and oils and then lye in water. Then she lets those cool down till they’re at the right temperatures, then mixes it all together. Once it’s mixed, they go into molds, and then those molds have to sit probably overnight, and then she comes in and cuts them,” Maddi said.
Every batch of soap Heidi makes has to sit on baking racks for four weeks to cure before going out for sale, according to Maddi.
“When I was in high school, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a part of the business. Then as I graduated and was thinking about my career options, this felt right for me and I fell into working with her,” Maddi said.
One of Maddi’s favorite parts of working at Bodygoodies is hosting community vendor markets, which started last summer at their shop in Liberty Township.
“Vendor markets have been so much fun. We had the idea and thought it would be great to feature some smaller companies that might not have a place to sell,” she said.
When Bodygoodies operated out of their house, Maddi said her mom regularly participated in similar community events which helped their business expand.
“Back then we didn’t have a store, and we got to thinking how nice it would be to be a part of those smaller places’ journeys,” Maddi said. “That’s how it started. Now we have this new big space, and we’re able to have some larger vendors, some small vendors. It’s really nice, because it helps everyone grow.”
The first vendor market at Bodygoodies’ new spot is scheduled for May 23 at 312 S Mecca St. in Cortland, including live music, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
