About SST
"Eating organic, seasonally, and regionally is wise for sound health and nutrition. What we put on our skin should also reflect our local environment- it's plants and animals that sequester carbon from the atmosphere and are grown and grazed on regenerative soil, just as our ancestors have" -Megan Bre Camp, Founder, and CEO of Summer Solace.
When I saw friends with children suffering from eczema, I realized there was something I could do. Based on my time as a holistic nutrition chef specializing in Ancestral diets, I knew specific high-quality, local ingredients could help.
In 2014, at 29, as I was furthering my career as a French chocolatier, My mind lit up with an idea. What if I created a premium quality skincare line using only regional ingredients and revived the traditional use of nourishing, pasture-raised animal fats that can help more people who battled skin conditions like dry skin or irritations?
My dream started to take form. Moreover, my brand would take skin care further and focus on sustainability and local resources.
As a woman of color with indigenous roots, we should have a connection to what we put on our skin and use in our homes—connecting to the land, environment, and seasons and my community through the farmers’ market sparked me to build my brand around the Slow Body Movement™.
Every ingredient has a story that we can tell. I always wanted to source from the highest quality and ethically responsible communities of ranchers and farmers.
I wanted to work with people with the purpose and sourcing ingredients from the local California sustainable and regenerative agricultural community.
Summer Solace Tallow is a small, family-owned business dedicated to producing slow-made, deeply nourishing, organic tallow-based skincare and home goods, established in Spring 2014 by organic chef and gardener Megan Bre Camp in Oakland, California.
Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, in a Military family and transplanted to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004, Megan is deeply committed to sustainable living. With indigenous roots in the Central Highlands of Vietnam and the Filipino countryside, respect for animals and the environment and a strong spiritual connection to nature are woven into her genetic makeup.
Whether preparing seasonal and locally-grown foods for family and friends or crafting any of her Summer Solace Tallow balms, soaps, or candles, Megan is dedicated to reviving traditional techniques in all facets of her work. By encouraging the use of all parts of the pasture-raised animal, embracing the Bay Area's seasonal shifts, and prioritizing organic and locally sourced ingredients, Summer Solace epitomizes the Slow Body Care Movement™.
The Summer Solace production process starts with obtaining suet, the fat naturally surrounding the kidneys and loins, from cattle pasture-raised on local Bay Area ranches by Stemple Creek Ranch in Tomales Bay. The suet then gets rendered into buttery tallow, infused with organic Calendula flowers, and combined with award-winning California extra-virgin olive oil grown by the Yoche Dehe Wintun Nation.
It is this luxurious and soothing blend that is the basis of all nearly all of our products. In addition to crafting ultra-nourishing pure tallow moisturizers and soaps, we pride ourselves on having an array of aromatherapeutic balms, soaps, and candles, each meticulously formulated to create evocative and unique scent profiles.
As a producer and board member of Fibershed and Fibershed marketplace, Summer Solace has a booth at local Bay Area Farmers Markets where they curate Fibershed woolen textiles and naturally tanned sheepskins.
About Megan: Megan studied culinary arts at the University of Alaska Anchorage and horticulture and permaculture at Merritt College in Oakland, California.
She then went on to manage and cook in various San Francisco Bay Area kitchens, including Standard Fare and Three Stone Hearth, and the kitchen of a French confectionary where she worked as a chocolatier. Megan enjoys cooking with local and seasonal ingredients, working in her organic garden, and crafting perfumes in her spare time. She is a proud mother of her daughters Ulrikke and Severin and a loving wife to her husband, Brian.
Megan is a producer and board member of Northern California Fibershed™ and Fibershed Marketplace and a member of Land to Market™ verified regenerative agriculture.