By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
It was a cold Sunday afternoon in January 2017 when Cathy Wilkerson drove to Ames to attend a soapmaking class offered by a woman who sells soap at the Des Moines farmers market. That experience led to her opening Ada’s Acres five years ago.
The Ada’s Acres shop is filled mainly with items she creates in an adjacent workroom. A year ago, she added some items from other artisans that are sold on consignment.
Wilkerson is originally from Cedar Rapids. She was a travel agent for many years before moving to the Des Moines area. That’s where she met her future husband, Tom Wilkerson. They married, and she moved to his family farm near Linden in 2010.
The farm was purchased in 1934 by Tom’s grandparents, Lanson and Ada Wilkerson. The adjacent farm was purchased by their son, Willard, and his wife, Donna, and their son, Tom, was born there. After he graduated from South Dakota State, and his grandparents retired and moved to Perry, Tom moved to their farm and has lived there ever since.
Cathy started making soap in the couple’s kitchen, experimenting with different fragrances, colorants and ingredients.
“I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do with all the soap I was making,” she says. “I started giving it away to family and friends, and they kept telling me I should be charging for it. I initially scoffed at that idea but started attending craft shows, and my soap was selling like crazy.”
Soon people started coming to the house to buy Cathy’s soap.
“Soap needs six weeks to cure, so we had soap stacked up in the house everywhere,” Wilkerson says. “My kitchen looked like a science lab, and our laundry room became my ingredient storage room. After a couple years, Tom said, ‘Cathy, we need our house back; we can’t live like this anymore.’ Secretly, I was waiting for this to happen.”
The farmstead included a chicken house that had been converted into a pig nursery then a storage building.
“We tried to figure out a way to turn it into a soap shop, but it was too far gone,” Wilkerson says. “The good news was it already had water and electricity running to it. We tore down the building, poured new concrete over the existing slab, and opened as Ada’s Acres in October 2019.”
Cathy Wilkerson is a beekeeper, having just completed her 10th annual honey harvest. She sells the honey in jars with Ada’s Acres tags attached.
“I never met her, but I’m hoping we’ve somehow made her proud,” she says. “We have stacks of her diaries that have been so interesting to read and very educational for this city girl turned country.”
Having a building dedicated to her soapmaking hobby gave Wilkerson the space to do even more.
“I branched out from making soap to bath bombs, lotions, sinus steamers, lip balms and laundry stain sticks,” she says. “Last year, I added handcrafted, soy-blend candles and room and linen sprays. Recently, I added a line of pet shampoos and conditioning spritz.”
And there’s more.
“I am a beekeeper. We’ve just completed our 10th honey harvest, so I also sell honey,” Wilkerson says. “I raised alpacas for fiber for nine years. This spring I sold my last one, as I had too much on my plate and something had to change. I still have yarn and other alpaca products and will continue to offer that until my current inventory is gone.”
Two years ago, Wilkerson invited 13 vendors to set up near her shop and arranged for a food truck and live blues music. That first Red, White & Blues event brought more than 300 people to the farm, even though it rained.
“This past June, we added vendors for a total of 30, additional food trucks, face painting, and sunrise yoga on the lawn with Reshape Fitness Studio. We topped 500 people on an amazing, beautiful, perfect weather day,” Wilkerson says. “I never expected this to be such a big draw, but folks come from all over to spend the day, do a little shopping, eat great food and enjoy great music.”
This photo of Tom Wilkerson’s grandmother, Ada, hangs on the wall near the checkout counter of Ada’s Acres.
A similar event is held each fall. This year’s Harvest Hoopla was Sept. 14.
“It’s a great turnout with food and harvest-related vendors, wine and pumpkins and apples for purchase. After that is over, it’s all hands on deck, preparing for the holidays,” she says.
Wilkerson will sell her handcrafted soaps and other products at several events between now and the end of the year.
“I’m most excited to be at Pella’s Kerstmarkt Dec. 5-7. It’s an outdoor market, modeled after the European Christmas markets. Each vendor is provided their own heated wood hut to display their wares,” she says. “It’s a magical event to both participate in and attend. I hope some people from our area make the short trip to experience it.”
Last year, at about this time, Wilkerson began offering products on consignment from other artisans in the area.
“I am not a seamstress, so Connie Baker of Panora supplies me with beautiful aprons, hot and cold packs, and shoulder bags,” she says. “Jim Zoet with This New Old House of Adel creates gorgeous charcuterie cutting boards.”
Others showcased at Ada’s Acres are Nancy Clawson and Teresa Schaefer with SortaSisters4+, who provide items recreated from sweaters and other materials, jewelry cases, custom baby onesies, potholders and bowl cozies; and Cindy Tripp and her granddaughters with Crafty Fox & Co., who make pinecone and cork creations and doggy bandanas.
“I’ve just added Backroads Car Freshies, a mom and daughter operation in Adel offered by Kaitie and Jenny Jimmerson. These are really catching on,” Wilkerson says.
This year, Wilkerson added a couple of side offerings to her already busy schedule.
“I’ve been doing a lot of custom, personalized orders for bridal and baby showers, weddings, birthdays, retreats, banquets and business events. These are anything from mini honeys, soaps and lip balms to candles and bath bombs,” she says. “I usually get a theme from the customer or ask for a picture of the invitation or announcement to give me ideas. It is fun for me to come up with things that are out of my normal shop products.”
Although Wilkerson doesn’t offer classes, she has found a way to share her soapmaking knowledge.
“Lately I’ve been reserving and welcoming ladies groups, 4H groups and afternoon group getaways for those interested in a demonstration or who just want to know the soapmaking process,” she says. “I enjoy their interest, as most people know nothing about soapmaking and the benefits of handcrafted soap.”
Tom Wilkerson is retired from Archer-Daniels-Midland. Cathy says he didn’t really enjoy retirement, so now has two part-time jobs, one with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and one with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“In his spare time, he is always helping with vendor show set-ups, prepping for events at the shop and making my wild ideas come to life,” Cathy says.
Also helping at Ada’s Acres are the couples’ two yellow labs, Willow and Sage, who like to greet guests in exchange for head scratches and belly rubs.
The shop is closed each January, February and part of March so Wilkerson can recharge and relax from the busy holiday season. Once open for the new year, shop hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ada’s Acres is located seven miles east of Panora, then north of Highway 44 at 20734 Beaumont Ave.
As Wilkerson reflects back on what has happened since that first soapmaking class in January 2017, she says it was all an accident.
“I never intended to be this busy, but this community is so incredibly supportive of small businesses,” she says. “I cannot express my gratitude enough for the people who enter through my door as customers and leave as friends. This is a special community, and I’m so proud to be a part of it.”