Optimistic Soap

Here’s the thing about libraries that I think we undersell: it’s not just that individual access to books and ideas is good for you (though it is!). It’s that a community full of people who read widely, think critically, and have equal access to information becomes a fundamentally harder target for authoritarianism.

Misinformation spreads faster in communities starved of reliable, free information. Isolation deepens when there’s no third space left that doesn’t require a purchase to belong. And a public that can’t access history, civics, or ideas outside their algorithm is a public that’s easier to manipulate.

There’s also a simpler, more literal version of this: every dollar you don’t spend at Amazon is a dollar that stays in your community instead of streaming out to a billionaire’s warehouse empire. Libraries let you read, watch, and learn without that money ever leaving town.

On a personal note: I was beyond privileged to get a sneak peek inside the newly renovated Belmont Library before it opens to the public — the last major project of Multnomah County’s library bond. This branch has been closed for over a year and I have been counting down the days.

It. Is. Gorgeous. 🎨 New art throughout, an expanded kids area that takes over the entire historic building, community rooms, a reimagined teen space — it’s genuinely a library built for the next century, not just a minor refresh.

And just so we’re clear: the biggest foe to creeping authoritarianism is a well-informed public. Every time you use your library card it’s a small act of resistance.

Go use yours.

What do you have checked out right now?

It’s finally here!
Murky greens, American Flag Blue curls floating on the surface — and fragranced like a meadow of wildflowers. [Verdant, vibrant, blooming. I looked for an algae scent. I did not look very hard.] A genuinely lovely shower experience, I promise!

I loved every single name you all suggested. Big thanks to Nadine Otego Seiler - Warrior Goddess for the Resistance who started this whole thing with her “Team Algae” reflecting pool protest sign.

But in the end, “The Deflecting Pool” was too perfect not to use.

After all the incompetence and idiocy, here’s where we landed, as of this week: Jeanine Pirro’s office had to go into court and admit — formally, in writing — that the pool wasn’t damaged by vandals. It was damaged by faulty installation work. All charges against all four people accused? Dropped.

I would pay real money to know what her walk into the Oval Office to deliver that news looked like.

Schadenfreude is delicious.

Deflection, karma, and a very good soap. What else could I call it?

Available now (in limited quantities)! Link to buy at optimisticsoap.com in my bio.

WE DID IT. 🎉
Current tally: $7,164 — which means we didn’t just hit our $5,000 goal, we absolutely smashed it!

But… we want more. Because more money means more direct support for q***r and trans youth in Portland, and honestly? We’re having too much fun to stop now.
You have until midnight (Pacific) this Friday, JULY 31, to get in on it.

🧼 What it’s for: Supporting q***r and trans youth in Portland through New Avenues for Youth and SMYRC (Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center).

🧼 What to do: Donate any amount with this link: https://newavenues.org/celebratepride. Every $10 = one entry to win ($50 = five chances).

🧼 What you could win: 20 bars of soap from Molly/Optimistic Soap, or one of two 10-bar prize packages from Nathan/Clover Soapworks.

Thank you for your help already! Let’s KEEP GOING!

Fine print: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. Donations must be made by midnight (Pacific), July 31 in order to qualify for the drawing. Winners will be chosen randomly and notified via email and announced via our feeds. Prizes will be mailed to U.S. addresses.