Rebecca D. Dillon

Born and raised in Roanoke, VA I’d always cursed my hometown for being too small with not much to do. Since I began selling on the Roanoke City Market in April of 2006, however, my perception of the city has changed. But then again, so have I. This is how I got there.

As a child I always wanted to be an artist and eventually found myself with a BA in Fine Art from Roanoke College in 2000. Desperate for a job I took the first thing I could find, a sales associate position at Gap. I quickly moved up into a management position with the company. However, I soon realized what that what my professors had told us students time and again was sadly true. Once you find yourself out in the real world, you find you have no time for your art anymore. My passion had been photography, and I’d all but ceased taking photographs.

In 2001 I started up a small business with the help of my husband. Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen was born basically on a whim. However, it was nothing like it is today. It was primarily a hobby on the side that didn’t even turn a profit until its third year. I didn’t have the time to invest myself fully in my business and so it suffered. In the meantime, I stepped back down to a part time associate position at Gap in order to be able to see my son who had recently entered kindergarten and to fit in the time for soccer practices and rec games.

Around 2005 I started having episodes where I couldn’t breathe. At least, that’s what it felt like. I hauled myself to the doctor who told me it was all in my head. I refused to believe him and insisted on an asthma test. The tests were negative. Shortly afterward I was diagnosed with agoraphobia. My breathing issues were attributed to multiple panic attacks one after another, literally nonstop, outside my residence. I couldn’t hold a conversation without having to pause after every word to catch my breath. I took this as a sign and took a year off from everything. I left Gap and become a stay at home mom. I actually learned how to cook, and was finally able to do what I hadn’t been able to before. I was able to slowly begin investing time into my business.

I’m not sure how I really decided to start selling on the Farmers’ Market. Maybe it was the desperate need to communicate with someone other than my husband and child. I’d gotten to the point I was striking up conversations about the sales at Target with other customers in the store. Then one day I just happened to be downtown and decided that “this” was what I wanted to do. I called Downtown Roanoke, Inc. the next day and set up an appointment with then Market Manager, Hope Hollingsworth, and things catapulted from there.

It was a scary transition going from the solitude of my home to the population of a bustling downtown. I had panic attacks on the really busy days so I avoided Saturdays for the biggest part of my first year on the Market. Today, however, the Market is my comfort zone. I love going there not only to make a living, but to socialize with the other vendors and downtown’s visitors. And, because I was able to take that leap and give Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen 100% of my time, I’ve been able make a livable wage doing something that I love. While making soap isn’t exactly a “fine art,” I like that I’m able to create something from scratch and give it my own unique flair. I have also been able to squeeze photography back into my life through the inception of my blog I created for the Roanoke Farmer’s Market. A thankless project which features vendors, events, dining, and shopping in the downtown Roanoke area. I’ve also come to appreciate the historic and cultural aspects of our city and downtown area. Roanoke now holds a much brighter appeal for me, and yes, I’m able to find lots to do.

If you see me downtown, please say “hello.” On cold winter days I’m the girl wearing the hat with the ears!

• Rebecca’s Hometown: Roanoke, VA
• Rebecca’s Soap Website: soapdelicatessen.com
• Rebecca’s Farmers Market Website: roanokefarmersmarket.com
• Rebecca’s Blogs: Market Blog & Soap Deli Blog
• Rebecca’s Shop: soapdeli.etsy.com