Meet Shaina Nomee, a wife and mother who is passionate about the arts, education, entrepreneurship and positive youth development. She is a member of the Cayuse and Umatilla tribes of eastern Oregon and has lived on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation since 2003. She graduated from the University of Idaho in 2017 with her B.S. in organizational sciences with a specialization in communities and organizations.

Generation: I am a Xennial, the perfect balance of a millennial and Gen Xer.

Career and community involvement: As of January, I am the new University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene Reservation Extension educator. Prior to that I worked for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s environmental programs office. Years ago, I worked as the cultural awareness assistant for the Coeur d’Alene Casino, which allowed for opportunities to work with the Coeur d’Alene Arts and Cultural Alliance where I served as a board member; the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture where I served as a foundation board member; and I served on the American Indian Student Alliance and was an international student mentor at North Idaho College. Now, I volunteer my time at local schools.

Parental status: I have a very large blended family with seven total children with my husband, Butch. They range in ages from almost 8 to 27.

1. What is it like to run a soap business with your mom?

My mother, Lori, and I have a great balance in our partnership. She has always been very creative and that is why she is such a great maker! She is always researching and developing new products and scents whereas I am more analytical and handle the business end of things such as social media, marketing, updating the website, etc … The most creative thing that I contribute is some of the scent names.

2. What are the best-smelling creations you've made so far?

That is a tough one. We have so many delicious scents. The customer favorite and our top-selling fragrance is “Sailor’s Daughters,” which is named after my sister and I and it is a very comforting warm, vanilla-infused, sweet fragrance. Some of my personal favorites are the “Drunken Sailor” which is scented lightly with coconut, our new “Ocean” fragrance in our deodorant which is a salty, invigorating scent that I am sure our customers will enjoy, and then the “Kraken” soap is my personal favorite — it tends to be more of a masculine fragrance, spicy and intoxicating. You really can’t go wrong with any of our fragrances. We have something for just about everyone.

3. Do you have any advice for people interested in starting a family business?

Start small. When we first started, we threw a bunch of scents and products out there because we wanted to address every skincare concern. We ended up having too many products and scents which in turn was overwhelming for our customers so we went back to basics and streamlined our products. Family business is just that: business. Have clear expectations, roles and responsibilities for your partners and don’t be afraid to say no.

4. What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?

I was featured in "Sports Illustrated" summer of 2003. No, not the swimsuit issue. It was the 50th anniversary and they highlighted each state and its sporting events. At the time I was a Happy Canyon Princess for the Happy Night Show at Pendleton Round Up and we were attending the Cheyenne Frontier Days — “The Daddy of ’Em All” rodeo in Wyoming. It was sweltering hot and we were waiting for the parade to start and someone snapped a picture that just so happened to be in that issue.

5. What makes you proudest about where you are in life right now?

I am most proud of the people who have surrounded me with their love, kindness and mentorship. I would not be where I am without them. I have been lucky and blessed to have worked with such incredible organizations that have filled my life with once-in-a lifetime opportunities, which have contributed to my success.

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Devin Weeks can be reached by email: dweeks@cdapress.com Follow her on Twitter: @DevinCDAPress