Wood, Steel, and Soap

Cape Girardeau residents Bret and Stacy Peters: rebar estimator and finance representative by day, furniture craftspeople and soap makers by night. All the time artists, husband and wife, and parents to their 15-year-old son.

The duo are the founders of a natural body care line, Brickhouse Soap, and a furniture brand, DosVita Designs.

“It was in our marriage vows, that we would grow together and create together,” Stacey says.

So that’s what they’re doing.

Stacey began making glycerin-based soap 14 years ago, when her grandpa who had cancer couldn’t find non-irritating soap in stores. Brickhouse Soap now includes human and dog shampoos, beard care and fragrance-free lines. The couple sells the environmentally-friendly soaps at trade shows, and at Hempie’s and Catapult Creative House in Cape.

DosVita Designs was born three years ago, when the furniture the Peters bought from stores wasn’t holding up during their many moves.

“We just got tired of buying junk,” Bret says of his decision to begin creating his own furniture.

Other people were tired of that, too. They started asking for Bret’s furniture: voila, DosVita Designs.

The furniture, which the Peters describe as “industrial modern, with Danish accents,” is created by the couple from the ground up, sourcing locally grown wood and metal from a Sikeston family-owned business. Bret does all of the woodwork, metalwork and upholstery, utilizing the sewing skills he learned from his mother as a child.

Bret is currently working on a line of furniture he has named “Girardot,” a throwback to the old spelling of Cape Girardot, and an homage to the “home of their dreams” they are currently renovating, a 100-year-old house in downtown Cape.

“I love the feel of downtown Cape, the sound of the trains, seeing all the way up the river,” Bret says. “I like to think that we’re pioneers in what we’re doing.”