In Tammy Sue’s family creating and being crafty or inventive was part of life. Her grandmother and mother were gifted ladies in so many areas and Tammy Sue learned so much just living in this environment. As a young child, she would take all her stuffed animals outside and create a zoo to take care of. She was always with some kind of critter, live or stuffed. Tammy Sue had lots of pet worms in her young years. She would put them in boxes and carry them around all summer.

Life changed when she moved from the farm at age twelve to a cozy cottage on a small lake. Most activities were in or on the water for her teen years. At the beginning of her senior year in high school, she met Charles “Skip” Pope, her future husband. On one of their early dates, he took her to the county fair and bought her a bunny. She was in love with a man that bought her a critter!

About a year later Skip and Tammy Sue were married. Less than a year after that Skip joined the military and life became a great adventure. He was a career man. They were at several posts and had so much fun. The couple had two children, Aaron and Christina. Aaron is an electrician and has one son, Waylon.
Christina is a yoga instructor and massage therapist, she has one daughter, Relena.

After the military career, the family settled in central Arkansas. Skip took on a second career of teaching at a local high school. Tammy Sue also found herself with a career at the school district.
Tammy Sue had never given up her love of creating and crafting. Through the years she honed her skills and studied new ideas. There was always a craft area in her home. Sometimes it was a whole room, sometimes a closet, but always there.

Once the children were grown and gone, life’s focus began to change yet again. Skip and Tammy Sue entertained the idea of farming. Soon they purchased a small farm and a new adventure awaited.
First there were some chickens, a couple of dogs and cats. Then their son showed up with two baby French Alpine goats. The kids were so cute and so full of energy and orneriness. Soon fences and shelters had to be built. A funny thing happens when you have a boy goat and a girl goat, the next spring you have baby goats and extra milk!

When Skip and Tammy Sue moved the farm, she knew she wanted to put her love of crafting to use, but the path wasn’t clear at the time. Tammy Sue had a love for homemade soap. She had been purchasing it for quite a while. She also had a healthy respect for the difficulty of the process. All the skills she learned through the years would be put to the test in this adventure. Tammy Sue spent about a year, studying, learning, making, remaking, and remaking some more. Much of what is used in her products comes from the farm on which she lives and works.

Not all goat’s milk soap is equal. Tammy Sue uses a quart of milk in every batch. There is no water in her recipe. She uses high-quality ingredients in everything she creates. Each bar of soap is hand-cut and trimmed. After the drying process, the bars are wrapped in a fabric ribbon, much like a gift. All of her products are small batches made on the farm in her Soap Cottage. Tammy Sue’s Critters has grown and changed over the years, but the joy that goes into her line of bath and body products has not changed.

Tammy Sue has also kept her ties to local fairs and is a constant supporter of the Arkansas State Fair. She provides prizes for dairy goat winners. Tammy Sue also is providing prizes to winners in youth art competitions at the fair. In October of 2022, Tammy Sue was crowned as Arkansas State Fair Sr. Ms. Queen. She has taken this opportunity to help spread the love of agriculture and creativity to future generations.

As Tammy Sue’s story continues, there are sure to be more adventures, critters and surprises.