VAN BUREN, Mo. -- The workshop of Ariel Heise will soon be filled with the sweet scents of pumpkin and cheesecake, and maybe occasional hints of smoky bonfire as she gears up for the holiday season and one-year anniversary of Southern Temptations by Ariel.
Heise has grown a business selling homemade soaps, candles and lotions from one store in her hometown of Van Buren, to stores in Poplar Bluff, Dexter and even retailers in West Plains.
The 27-year-old is defined by many things.
Entrepreneur. Artist. Wife. Daughter. Blood donor. Not so great basketball player.
But not by the one characteristic Heise thought could prevent her from owning her own business.
Heise has a degree of autism.
It makes her a little nervous about trying new things, breaking with routine.
It can also make her very meticulous and goal-oriented, some of the very qualities her family says have created a successful business.
"I think it's had some challenges, but basically I just do what I can to get around it," Heise explained, sitting on the sun porch of her childhood home in a wooded area near Van Buren, where she grew up and attended school.
It's a good location for her workshop, where the smells of candle making and soap mixing can sometimes stretch all the way down the long gravel driveway.
Scents like the holiday favorite pumpkin cheesecake and Heise's own creations of bonfire or tangerine wood are mixed in small batches to create goat's milk and lye soaps, both plain bars and decorative shapes like paw prints. They become liquid hand and body soap, and soy candles poured into jars and tins, as well as tarts for warmers.
"We use all kinds of different fragrances," Heise explained during a tour of her workspace and storage area. "I love making my customers happy."
Neatly organized ingredients line a shelf by a microwave used to melt wax. Containers that form the shapes of different products are also nearby.
Finished items are in order by type and scent, waiting to go out to customers.
"I'm just OCD. I've got to have things exact," Heise said.
Many of the original scent mixtures were developed by a franchise that Heise works with, which offers many well tested formulas, but she also develops her own at the suggestion of customers, family and friends.
Lime smoothie, with notes of cilantro, is one that is uniquely hers, as is tangerine wood, made for her mother from a blend of sandalwood and citrus scents.
A year in business has taught Heise about product development and placement, inspired her to seek out new business relationships with retailers in surrounding towns, and created a desire to grow her business beyond its one-woman operation, with the helping hands of family.
She would like to have enough work and sales to hire extra help, not just for her business, but to improve her hometown.
"I just feel like so many people around here need jobs, even before the flood," said Heise. "I see so many people that are unemployed, or are employed but their job isn't enough."
Van Buren experienced record flooding in late April and early May that caused extensive damage to downtown businesses and many homes. Heise and her husband, Shaun, live within the city limits of Van Buren and were also impacted, with more than one foot of water entering their home.
They have since moved and are preparing now for a large festival Oct. 14-15 at Eminence, the 49th Annual Scenic Rivers Arts and Crafts show at Circle B Campground.
"Some autistics can be very routine oriented. Whenever I try something new, I'm always a little nervous it's not going to work out, but ultimately, that's how you find out," said Heise.
Her family believes Heise doesn't always give herself enough credit for how much she has done.
"It's really because it's just part of who she is," said Shaun, Heise's childhood sweetheart, who helps with festivals and ideas for other creative products to include at their booths. "If it's a condition you've had all your life, it's hard to describe how that would be different to someone who doesn't have that condition."
Autism is a piece of what Heise is, but a small piece, like in the logo a family member helped design for Southern Temptations.
It features a pair of antlers with the curls of a decorative "A" making up the face of a the animal.
Flowers flow off the left side of the "A," and the bud of one is actually a small puzzle piece, the symbol for autism.
But customers will have to look closely to find it.
Southern Temptations by Ariel can be found on shelves at Currently Chic Boutique and Big Spring Video and Tanning, both in Van Buren, the Metro Gallery in Dexter, ReBlessed in Poplar Bluff and on Facebook. It was also stocked by River Spirit Gallery in Van Buren, before the spring flood forced that business to shut down for repairs.