03.20.07
How I Got Here From There
When I think back on how I got to be a somewhat respected member of the soapmaking community here in Kentucky, I’m not sure what happened to get me here from the day when I said that one word over the phone to my then-companion, now ex-, “Soap.” “Soap?” he replied. “Yes, soap,” I said, with some certainty in my voice.
I was half a continent away at a conference I had helped plan for a professional organization of printers. That was my job then. And at it, one of the younger, more friendly guys rattled on about friends of his in California who were running a soapmaking operation quite successfully from their garage.
Now I’ve never been a culinary person … I like to eat but not especially cook. And I always get the shivers when someone starts talking to me about anything “crafty.”
I have friends who are into all kinds of crafts. They keep inviting me to parties where I could scrapbook (why?) or paste things together and make centerpieces (why, why??) or buy more kitchen stuff after eating all kinds of rich, too-sweet food (why, why, why???) My center starts to shrivel when their eyes get to shining. I may look at the stuff they create and say, “Oh, isn’t that cute?” But I’m usually headed for the nearest exit sign before the question mark is out of my mouth.
I don’t know why. My mother loved crafts. She liked little miniatures and built houses with little chairs and lamps. I just shriveled.
Still, when my friend told me about his friends and their soap venture, something clicked on inside me and I considered how perfect this could be. My ex- and I were looking for something we could do together to increase our income. For me and my life-long healthy living habit, I had visions of soap with whole foods running through it, nourishing the outsides of our bodies just as it did the insides. I thought, “Well, if I could make soap that looks good enough to eat, I’d buy it and maybe somebody else would too.”
How is it possible to explain life’s twists and turns?
So, when I got home I started investigating. I read everything I could get my hands on. This was before the explosion of the Internet when everything imaginable can be researched from your workstation. I looked for recipes and read the same books several times. Each time I picked up something new that I had missed before, and the whole process began to look more familiar to me.
At the same time, my personal life took a nosedive. A longterm relationship ended and a couple years of serious suffering began. I found myself living in a new environment where I knew no one, trying to find ways to survive that would bring in enough money and still allow me grieving room.
Somehow through all of that, the concept of soapmaking survived, and one fateful late-fall night, I gathered all the tools I had been scrounging, propped my favorite soapmaking book open to the page that showed a delightful, tasty-looking piece of soap, and began to do for real what I’d been reading about for months.
A first effort works!
Naturally, I tried one of the hardest recipes in the book (well, it looked so GOOD). It was an olive oil soap, and for those who haven’t yet experimented with soap, you may not know that olive oil is wonderful for the skin, but used in large amounts, it takes a very long time to saponify (process until it’s ready to go into a mold). The directions warned to plan on stirring an hour, and if that didn’t work, stir until drops remained on the surface. Four hours later I was pretty discouraged, and also pretty tired. The book said if it still hadn’t saponified, I could leave it for the night and go to bed. I was grateful and did.
The next morning I looked at my pot of goo and stirred some more. Sure enough, it did seem slightly thicker. After a while I figured I’d had enough. Right or wrong, it was time to pour. So I did. Right into a plastic leftovers container which then got wrapped in towels and put on top of the refrigerator for 24 hours. I didn’t expect much.
But strangely, 24 hours later I uncovered the mass to find that it had hardened, just as the book said it would. It even looked like soap. Thrilled, I cut it into chunks and transferred it to the top bunk in the spare bedroom (my kids are all grown and gone). There it sat and cured for weeks.
I did not wait for weeks to try another type of soap, however. I just had a feeling this was all going to work out just fine. And also, I guess it soothed my fevered brow to have something work out well for a change. It wasn’t long before the top bunk was pretty full and I moved on to storage spots on all the book shelves and tops of cabinets.
I pored over sources of essential oils and fragrance oils until I found some that seemed to offer the kind of quality I was looking for. I knew nothing about fragrances then and little about aromatherapy. It seemed pretty way-out-there to me. Could an aroma really have that much effect on one’s physical being? I didn’t really think so then. Was I wrong!
But I knew if I wanted to fragrance my soap, I wanted it to be good, and I found out there are some essential oils that aren’t too terribly dear in price. I could afford a good lavender, and hey, sweet orange is right in my budget. So starting with three or four oils, I began experimenting with fragrancing.
Falling off the cliff
Well, that was the beginning. It was no time at all before I moved out of my kitchen, though. I never even doubted this experiment was going somewhere. I just didn’t know where. It was like walking out on the edge of the cliff and letting yourself fall right over. When the pieces are there and you’re ready, it’s not that big a thing.
So I lucked into finding studio space right next door to my graphic arts studio. It all worked out great. It gave me time to experiment and play even when I was at work. Plus I had the computer/printing equipment I needed to make labels.
You can make it but can you sell it?
But the next hurdle was finding a way to distribute my soaps. I went through a series of steps, and each one led to another. I found people anxious to try them, and I thought about pricing. I actually thought long and hard about it. I figured up costs and rounded up, knowing I had forgotten many details. Luckily for me, I made a mathematical error in my favor in my calculations because there were many more details than I expected.
Then I found a small consignment shop willing to take them on. I found a local farmers’ market that had no soapmaker attached. I attended festivals, and word got out in this rural community that someone was making pretty good soap and it smelled good. I was welcomed wherever I went, and it even made my initiation into a small rural town much easier.
Eventually I juried into the most prestigious craft organization in Kentucky and have attended several trade shows, which are major events requiring an incredible amount of organization, preparation, money and stamina. But from that I’ve made wonderful retail contacts and now my soaps are in some lovely gift shops here in Kentucky and in other areas as well. Having that happen is harder than you would think, however. There are many soapmakers of all kinds and qualities. Most gift shops are overrun with people wanting to distribute their soaps, and many of them are looking for other, more unique offerings when they attend trade shows.
Conference experiences, positive and negative
There are many fine soapmakers in Kentucky and elsewhere, and I’ve met quite a few through professional organizations and conferences. Over the years I’ve changed and perfected my recipes, and I actually think my soaps compare favorably to any others I have seen. I’ve been blessed and am very fortunate. I’ve made good friends who’ve been willing to compare notes with me, and I’ve learned a lot.
I’ve been mostly disappointed at the conferences I’ve attended. Although I’ve met good people and have found tidbits of important information, I’ve found their agendas only slightly helpful. Often they are oriented to new soapmakers who are google-eyed at colorful melt-and-pour soaps, when I want to know more about the chemistry of the process and how essential oils work together or therapeutic effects of various oils.
The other problem is that more advanced soapmakers may be struggling in this market to find a niche and hold on to it. We are not marketing geniuses, none of us. And we do not have big resources. The avenues to moving from a small operation to a moderate and then a large operation are not easy to scope out I think. Handcrafted soapmakers are a movement of very small businesses. Many of us want to maintain that so we can be assured our products have the wonderful effects we’ve come to expect. Finding the right balance between the size of our companies and not losing our creativity to the demands of business is no easy task. It’s one where each soapmaker seems to find their own unique place, and it’s often not easy for us to talk about it with each other.
I’m not sure how to change that or even if it should be changed. But for the soapmaker who wants to go from the status of crafter to business person, it is one that must be considered.
Sharon
Friends are invaluable! Debra (left) assists Sharon (right) at Kentucky Crafted trade show.
