About Me

Hi! 

My name is John Larkin. I am the founder, chief soap maker, marketer, pick and packer, customer service person and tea maker here at The Black Stuff. 

Yes, right now I'm a solopreneur. That means I do everything. 😱😱😱

[UPDATE] We've grown and now have four full time and a couple part time employees!

[UPDATE NOV 2023] We now have 10 full time and 2 part time employees!! Still making every product the same way I used to make it in my kitchen, 54 soaps at a time.

My goal with this brand is to deliver a wonderful product - handmade natural soap - into the hands of as many people as possible. I live in Ireland, and create all my soap here in my small Dublin workspace. I sell in Ireland but also in the UK & USA. To better serve my American customers I ship some of it to the states where I have a fulfilment partner so that you get as soon as possible after you order. Same for the UK (out of Birmingham) 

In Ireland, when we say the Black Stuff - we are referring to that wonderful black Irish stout - Guinness. It represents wholesomeness, honesty, hard work and heritage. All of these things, I wanted to mean something for this brand. This is why I named it The Black Stuff. 

I tend to just create scents I personally like (we don't use any purchased fragrance oils - I create all our own scent profiles by mixing essential oils), so they tend to veer masculine. Though my daughter made me make this lavender deodorant...

If you ever have any issues with my products, or just want to say hello - you can email me at john@theblackstuff.com or text me at +353868115899 (please use the number on the website for customer service though!)

Thank you for your visit, and I look forward to having you as a customer for many years to come. The soap is 🔥

My Fam on a trip to collect some waterfall water!

My doggo - Lucy

My Grom (since I took this photo it was stolen from outside my house)

Cheers!