BUTTE — Data shows farmers and makers markets are a huge asset to the Montana economy, and one Butte woman is both organizing and participating in a midweek market to keep that momentum going.
Heather Silk is the organizer of the Butte Community Market, a summer market held on Wednesday evenings. She is also a vendor, selling her own line of plant-based skincare products.
WATCH: Butte Community Market organizer makes soap to support local economy and healthy living
In her kitchen, Silk mixes five simple ingredients — oils, butters, distilled water, and sodium hydroxide — to make soap.
"Sodium hydroxide, which is lye, and that is the chemical makeup of saponification, which means soap-making," Silke said.
Silk began making soap over a decade ago after receiving a medical diagnosis that made her more aware of the ingredients she puts on her body.
"Our skin is our biggest organ, and so my skin is taking in these ingredients and processing them through my kidneys, and I need the simplest, rawest form," Silke said.
She also makes sure her products are phthalate-free.
"Since we make it in our house, I want to make sure we don't have phthalates that are interrupting our hormones," Silke said.
Making plant-based soap was her answer to healthier living — but it also created a new problem.
"We had so many bars of soap that I had gifted... and my husband's like we can only use so much soap," Silk said.
That surplus led to the launch of Silk Soapery, her skincare brand that includes bar soap, magnesium cream, and plastic-free shampoo and conditioner bars.
"Being a stay-at-home mom, it was my outlet for social events and a way to make money for my family," Silk said.
The market itself was created to give vendors more selling opportunities throughout the week.
"The Butte Community Market was formed for vendors like myself that aren't around on the weekend to sell, and an extra opportunity for uptown vendors to sell during the week," Silk said.
According to the Montana Farmers Market Network, Silk is one of nearly 5,000 Montana vendors generating income that keeps money flowing in the local economy. Statewide, over 70 markets injected $17.3 million in revenue into the state economy in 2021.
For Silk, though, the markets are about more than economics — they connect consumers to their community.
"It's not like going to the box store, where it came from some warehouse. Those people that make that are behind that table selling it to you. So, you're supporting your local neighbors here in Butte," Silk said.
The Butte Community Market takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays at Clark Park.
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