Jackson Free Press

Creativity flows through Janis Jordan, the founder of Bk2natur, a company that makes natural handmade soaps. In addition to crafting soaps for local consumers, she is also a musician and songwriter. Jordan finds that all these creative outlets work hand-in-hand in her world.

Jordan, 48, entered the soap-making business in 2005 after years in retail management. She grew up as one of seven children in Newton, Miss., and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor's degree in fashion merchandising with a minor in marketing.

"I wanted to get into buying and selling, and (as) it turns out, I ended up in retail," she says. After Kenney Shoe Corporation recruited her for Lady Foot Locker, Jordan moved to Dallas. Fifteen years later, she decided that she wanted to do her own thing. "I wanted to make and create, so I learned the process (of soap making)," she says.

When she learned the way that modern crafters make soap, Jordan didn't like it. "That was the first time I had seen a hog killed," she says. "That was the last time I wanted to see that. I wanted to do it a different way. When I made the oils for my soaps, I used vegan products, with the exception of the bee's wax."

The creative community inspires Jordan to work. "There is a great deal of integrity and respect among crafters," she says. "Everything comes from within them, and I just want to be around them. True, genuine crafters have integrity. If they don't make it, they usually don't want any part of it. They're very supportive of one another."

Jordan took up playing music a little over a year ago. "I love music, and I wanted to learn to play the guitar," she says.

She was taking care of her mother and father, Milton and Willie Mae Jordan, at home when she realized she had the time to teach herself. She also began writing songs.

"It kept my mind off a lot of things and was a healing factor," she says.

Jordan's interest in music predates her practice of it, though. She always had a deep love for singing but was laughed at in elementary school. "The other kids made fun of me, so I just quit," she says. She has since let go of those hard feelings and loves singing and playing for others.

As a single mother (her daughter, Carla Cook, is now a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi), Jordan realizes the important role strong females played in her own art. "My mom and my aunts always made things," she says. "I was always around strong women who inspired me."

Jordan's all-natural soaps are available at the Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St.). For information on Bk2natur, visit bk2natur.com.