Teaser Archives - Soap & Clay

Use Soap. Help a Kidlet. Be Happy.

July 27, 2016 Leave a Comment

Red Hook’s Moonlight Cinema, Adilene’s Army, and BOWIE!

Hey there Sudsers, how’s your week going? The Soap & Clay family has been busy with mostly work and very little play in preparation for a show at Red Hook Brewery’s Moonlight Cinema, where we will be slinging soap while jamming out to some great Bowie tunes and watching Labyrinth in the open air. Food trucks, Oddmall’s always impressive merchant circle, beer, and a Bowie Tribute – what’s not to love? I have a new line of beer soaps made from Red Hook’s brews that I can’t wait to release.

We also spent a lot of time at Freighthouse Station in Tacoma, working on the build-out for Soap & Clay’s very first retail location! As a result, we all ended up covered in all manner of construction grime, which the Soap & Clay kids loved. Me? Not so much. I make soap for a living; it is to be assumed that I don’t like being dirty. So at the end of each day, I definitely needed a bath. And a shower. And a rub with a scrub in between. I didn’t really have time for all of that, though, so I needed a soap that would work hard to purge my pores of all impurities while locking in moisture. That soap? C’mon Get Happy! Look for more information (and a coupon code) for this hard working soap in Sunday’s Soap Case!

Use Soap. Help a Kidlet. Be Happy.

Adilene’s Army 5K Fundraiser

Now for some serious stuff. I want to talk about something even more important than events and shop news. This little girl? Is Adilene. She’s two. And has ALL. She’s been undergoing chemotherapy treatments since she was diagnosed in December. Those two smiley grownups? Are her parents, Jessica and Fred Korpi. Their ability to remain positive and upbeat while living every parent’s worst nightmare is inspiring. And that cute little dude in the duck towel? Is her bright and energetic big brother Blaiden, who loves his little sister fiercely.

When I learned of Adilene’s diagnosis, I felt like I wanted to help this family in some way. I know I’m not alone in that feeling; most people experience this when confronted with a problem that they can’t fix. Jessica’s family felt the same way, so her cousins Kella and Chera organized a 5k Fundraiser to assist with medical expenses. This event will be held on August 13th in Sanford, Colorado. While I can’t be there for the event (kind of a trek from the PNW), I can help by donating a portion of my sales. So that’s what I’m doing. From now through August 1, 2016, 25% of all Soap & Clay sales will be donated to Adilene’s Army 5K Run/Walk.

Shop. Help. Be Awesome.

Soap Challenge – Circling Taiwan Swirl

January 22, 2016 7 Comments

Circling Taiwan Swirl

Well, it’s happened. After months of debating, I’ve finally screwed my courage to the sticking point and signed up for Great Cakes Soapworks Challenge. Amy Warden of Great Cakes hosts a monthly contest, providing a theme, guidelines, pour parameters, and an instructional video for those unfamiliar with the month’s pour. There are some amazing soapers that participate in this challenge each month, and being a noob in the artisan world, I have been hesitant to throw my name in with such heavy hitters. When Amy announced the theme for this month’s soap challenge, however, I knew that I had to participate, if only to get access to some pro-tips for a pour I’ve had difficulty mastering.

This month’s challenge is swirl based – the Taiwan Swirl, to be precise. To be uber-precise, the Circling Taiwan Swirl. This is a process involving three or more colors striped in a mold and then skewered and swirled in a specific way. The end result is supposed to be a lovely interior swirl, as well as 2-4 Lotus Blossom end pieces. When done right, it’s truly a beautiful pour.

The Process

First up, I commissioned some stainless steel mold dividers from Mr. Soap & Clay. I’ve had success using cardboard dividers, but as this was for a competition batch, I thought it a perfect time to take advantage of one of my husband’s many skill sets. Next, I needed to decide on a color scheme and scent. I’ve been sitting on a delicious mint blend for some time and decided that this pour would fit the bill. To enhance the scent’s intricacy (and to further fit the intricate pour), I blended it with a bit of ripe blackberry to add a bit of sweetness to the crisp and refreshing mint.

Finally, the pour. I used my tried and true slow trace recipe that I use for all design batches. This recipe has always given me enough time to perform intricate swirl and design work, but just to be safe I soaped at a much lower temperature than I normally do (around 90 degrees). The batter stayed wonderfully fluid throughout the process. *whew*

Check out those dividers! Mr. Soap & Clay is handy with the stainless!

After pouring the colored soap into each slot, it was then time to remove the dividers. This can prove more difficult than it sounds. Up and out of the mold as quickly as possible works best. I finally got to move on to the fun part: the skewer. Taking a chopstick, I ran perpendicular to the divided soap, skewering the width down the length of the mold. I then ran the perimeter of the soap 6-7 times to pull the pattern in one direction, thus achieving the “circling” bit of the Taiwan Swirl. Clear as mud? Great! I then popped the soap into the oven for a nice warm cure to make sure the soap gels and the colors really popped.

The Results

A few days later, I cut into this beauty. I separated the log into four blocks, which I then cut horizontally to expose the pattern within. And what a pattern!

Oooooooooooh

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

The lotus blossom actually appeared on both ends of my soap. I think. Honestly I’ve been staring at the swirl for so long that my eyes have gone crossed and I’m seeing lotus blossom tracers in my vision.

Lotus blossom? No? Octopus? Upside down Jelly fish? Maybe it’s abstract. Squint your eyes and tilt your head to the side.

The interior swirl was also quite lovely. Here it is on the wifi soap dish. Momma Soap & Clay has embraced the 21st century.

All in all, I’m very pleased with the result. This was a great way to up my soap game, and I am officially hooked on the Taiwan Swirl!

Holiday Gift Sets: Small Business Saturday Specials!

November 25, 2015 Leave a Comment

Holiday Gift Box Lineup

This holiday season, give the gift of healthy skin!

Happy Wednesday, Sudsers! I hope everyone is looking forward to the holiday weekend. Hooray, turkey! I’m sure you’re all busy with final preparations, but I wanted to get some information out on our holiday gift box lineup. I have some fun gift sets that will be available for purchase Friday, November 27th.

These box sets are great gifts for everyone in your life; who doesn’t need soap? For fun, unique, thoughtful, and useful gift ideas, scroll through to check out the box sets that will be online and ready to purchase this Friday. Each box set lists at $25! They will be part of November’s Buy 3 Get 1 Free sale AND on sale for 20% off on Friday and Saturday. What an amazing deal!

Man-Scape – Men’s Grooming Kit

How awesome men get clean!

How many men in your life use their shampoo to wash…everything? Let’s give them some incentive to stop, eh? The Man-Scape Box is packed with our most popular scents from the men’s line, skin loving moisturizers, exfoliators, and so much fun that even those low maintenance men will enjoy upping their grooming game! This awesome gift box contains a shaving soap, a shower bar, an exfoliating shower bar, and an activated charcoal face bar. Much better than another tie and shirt combo; give your favorite men a useful gift that they’ll appreciate!

Shave soap and face soap remain constant, two shower soaps can vary.

Spa Box – The Ultimate in Relaxation

We put the ahhh in spa!

The ultimate in relaxation, The Spa Box is perfect for the overworked, overtired, overextended women of the world that need (and deserve!) a trip to the spa. Bring the spa to them! Skin softeners, soothers, and polishers – this box contains everything needed for a perfect tub experience, minus the wine and soothing music. This box contains a skin softening bath bomb, a luxurious spa bar, a velvety mini-whip, a detoxifying and clarifying activated charcoal face soap, and a super gentle yet super effective pumice powder face exfoliator. Pamper your favorite lovely lady – she’s earned it!

Face bars remain constant; spa bar, bath bomb, and mini whip may vary.

Lux-Box – Complete Beauty Package

Be bright. Be luxurious. Be you.

The Lux box contains everything needed for healthy, glowing, beautiful skin! Soap & Clay’s best-selling scents, moisturizing shower soaps, and skin clarifying face bars (buh-bye stubborn acne!) that will heal and soothe even the most troubled skin are all snuggled up together in this luxurious gift set. Each box contains one shower bar, one healing/exfoliating bar, one mini whip, one activated charcoal face bar, and one pumice powder face bar. Every woman will appreciate and enjoy this box-o-beauty!

In addition to these three sets, we will have a 4-pack of holiday soaps, a Bomb Box (HOORAY!!!), and our Limited Edition Winter Line available for purchase on Friday, November 27th. While you’re planning your Black Friday shopping, don’t forget to support your favorite small business! We like you more than those box stores, I promise. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, Sudsers; we will see you on Friday!