{"id":121172,"date":"2026-02-23T12:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/121172\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T12:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:36:10","slug":"muddy-creek-soap-company-under-new-ownership-as-it-celebrates-10-years-on-penn-avenue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/121172\/","title":{"rendered":"Muddy Creek Soap Company under new ownership as it celebrates 10 years on Penn Avenue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Annette Debeic\u2019s love affair with Muddy Creek Soap Company started with a gift basket.<\/p>\n

It began over 15 years ago, when a mutual friend of Debiec and Muddy Creek founder Beverly Kelly-Carfango offered Debiec a sampling of Kelly-Carfango\u2019s passion project \u2014 soaps hand-crafted with natural ingredients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just loved the stuff,\u201d Debiec said. \u201cI just kind of really took to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

All Kelly-Carfango\u2019s products are hand-made with love in small batches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use a lot of organic and natural ingredients,\u201d Kelly-Carfango said. \u201cIt definitely makes a difference in your skin. I was always very sensitive to store-bought soaps and products since I was a little kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly-Carfango\u2019s offerings were popular enough that the former sales employee was able to transition fully to soap making, eventually opening a physical location in West Reading in 2016.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Muddy Creek Soap Company at 608 Penn Avenue in West Reading is under new ownership. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)<\/p>\n

The store now boasts a considerable selection of soaps, bath products and more, from candles and aromatherapy sprays to bath bombs and body butter.<\/p>\n

\"ShowerShower steamers are a popular item at the Muddy Creek Soap Company at 608 Penn Avenue in West Reading. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)<\/p>\n

Since Muddy Creek\u2019s debut on Penn Avenue, Debiec, who worked in procurement, has often lent her talents to Kelly-Carfango, helping during festivals and events.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a great product,\u201d Debiec said. \u201cPeople love it. Her fan base, some of them have been loyal followers for the whole 16 years that she\u2019s been doing it. I think that speaks for the product itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those fans include Debiec, who, in addition to being good friends with Kelly-Carfango, has been a regular consumer of Muddy Creek soaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably my go-to favorite is the beach (scent),\u201d Debiec said. \u201cBut my close second is the pistachio magnolia.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the time came for Kelly-Carfango to step back from the store, Debiec seemed like a natural choice to take the reins.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom worked at the West Reading Drug Store for 41 years,\u201d Debiec said. \u201cI remember working there when I was younger and thinking, \u2018I would love to have a shop on Penn Avenue.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Debiec\u2019s dream came true in October when Kelly-Carfango sold her the store.<\/p>\n

Since then, Kelly-Carfango has been helping Debiec learn soap making and the back-end processes of store management.<\/p>\n

Kelly-Carfango said she anticipates being involved for the next few months as needed before embracing retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love making soaps and being creative, so I would imagine I\u2019ll still be able to do that when I\u2019m around,\u201d Kelly-Carfango said. \u201cI\u2019ll miss seeing the employees and the customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s looking forward to spending time in Florida, where she has family.<\/p>\n

As for Debiec\u2019s plans for the store, she said she\u2019s looking to expand, while also ensuring fans a steady supply of the products they\u2019ve come to adore.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone loves the product,\u201d Debiec said. \u201cSo my goal is to keep it the same. Maybe add some new things, maybe do some more festivals, get in with more wholesale clients. Just to continue to grow the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said customers have shown interest in laundry detergent and yoga mat spray, but she hasn\u2019t settled on any new products yet.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 12, the store celebrated its 10-year anniversary at 608 Penn Ave. with an event featuring cocktails, appetizers and a 20% discount.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt (the store) is small, close to the heart,\u201d Debiec said. \u201cIt\u2019s community based, community oriented, all the things I wanted to have (in a shop).\u201d<\/p>\n

Muddy Creek is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Products can also be purchased online at muddycreeksoapcompany.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"SoapsSoaps are one of the specialty items at the Muddy Creek Soap Company at 608 Penn Avenue in West Reading. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Annette Debeic\u2019s love affair with Muddy Creek Soap Company started with a gift basket. It began over 15…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,60,182,28,128,130,129,706,707],"class_list":["post-121172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-business","tag-local-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg","tag-west-reading"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}