When people enter the retail shop while they’re making soaps in the building, the aromas waft through. Using slow and age-old soap-making techniques, the small-batch soaps are scented with traditional rose and lavender as well as unique North Bay-inspired scents, like Gravenstein Apple, Santa Rosa Plum and Mission Fig. Products can also be found on their website ( soapcauldron. com ), in businesses across the North Bay, at Whole Foods and on Amazon. A thriving business community Mann donates soaps to local organizations and charities. When Three Sisters was in Petaluma, neighboring business owners spoke of how Mann helped them in critical moments by sharing supplies and mentoring new business owners who were facing daunting pandemic challenges. Mann believes a thriving local business scene benefits the entire community. When she moved the apothecary to Penngrove she observed a lack of cohesion in the local business community and immediately got to work calling monthly meetings for local business stakeholders, eventually forming the Downtown Merchants Association. She began work on a website, social media channel, holiday events and a calendar to promote local happenings. She says the majority of businesses in Penngrove are now members. Mann also represents Penngrove with the Zone 2A Water Agency, a vital role given Penngrove’s location on a flood plain where nearby Lichau Creek can jump its banks during heavy storms, impacting residents and businesses. “The post office back parking lot gets flooded, the mail can't come up,” Mann says about a reoccurring problem. “This is not long-term tenable. I've
Finding her soapbox Soapmaking for Mann began as a hobby born from a mother’s love. Her daughter Sabrina was born premature at just 3 pounds, so Mann learned to make natural soaps and salves, “as I knew this fragile being needed the best care possible,” she writes at soapcauldron.com . As her daughter blossomed and her soapmaking skills grew, Mann felt the time was right to create her own business. In 1999, she made the move and launched Soap Cauldron, which she describes as the “legal entity that holds Three Sisters Apothecary, Soapy Tails, which is our pet line, and then also our private label company.” Mann named the apothecary after herself and her two sisters, following the death of her middle sibling Marlo Gallagher. (Her oldest sister Pandora Yniguez is often at the shop on evenings and weekends lending a hand.) Mann says it’s sweet working with family; Sabrina, now 29, has been helping her make soap from the time she was 3. “She's been stacking the bars, she's been blending, she's been going to farmers markets,” Mann says. “She's been helping me every step of the way until she went away to college.” She opened the apothecary in 2011 in Petaluma and in 2022 Mann moved the business to a larger location in Penngrove, big enough to allow for a large retail shop. She knew a retail shop there had the potential to cover the overhead for the entire business including the property taxes. Having the business operations all under one roof also allows for more flexibility in covering tasks. “If my shopkeeper is out for the day because she's got to take her child to an appointment or whatever, everybody knows how to run the store,” Mann says. Coming Soon to NorthBay biz July The Outdoors Issue The North Bay is home to some of the greatest of the Great Outdoors—Sonoma Coast, Muir Woods, Russian River, Point Reyes seashore. From the guided kayak tours of Tomales Bay to the hot air balloons of Napa wine country, meet the entrepreneurs with a love of nature and a keen eye for business. Summer Bonus Issue: NorthBay biz Top 500 A one-of-a-kind resource, featuring information on the top revenue-generating companies in the North Bay—a who’s-who of businesses that make the Sonoma, Marin and Napa economies tick. Take advantage of the prestige of being one of the top 500 companies by highlighting your business success and what makes you stand out from the competition.
30 NorthBaybiz
June 2025
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