From Tadelakt To the Titanic – How To Use Soap

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post | 39

A while ago I made some big bars of all-coconut laundry soap. I took some pretty pictures and posted them in a couple of soapmaking groups on Facebook. To my surprise several soapmakers asked the same question: how do you … Continued

Mäntysuopa – Finnish Pine Soap

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post | 40

To Finns nothing spells out ’C L E A N’ more clearly than the natural pine wood smell of mäntysuopa, Finnish pine soap. It’s the smell of long, lazy childhood summers, saunas, lakes, boats – and rag rugs. It’s a … Continued

Double, Double Toil and Trouble: Snail Soap

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post | 37

Here, close to the southernmost tip of Africa, our summers are warm and dry. The rain falls in winter when low-pressure fronts sweep in from the south. This is the heartland of South African wine country and the local vineyards … Continued

Agateware Soap

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post | 85

At age five I was the uncrowned queen of modelling clay. I don’t think I had any remarkable sculpting skills, but I loved the stuff. Since it would keep me entertained for hours, my mother fed my habit and made … Continued

St. Florian, Patron Saint of Soapmakers – Soap Mould Tutorial

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post, Tutorial | 93

When I first started making soap I saw the world with new eyes. Anything and everything equipped with some form of cavity became the centre of intense focus as a potential soap mould. This is a common phase that many … Continued

The Soap That Came From Ireland…

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post | 59

Once upon a time I swapped soap with Hajni Kele, the very talented soapmaster and owner at Mianra Soap in Cork, Ireland. The soap arrived, as international soap deliveries do, in a mail parcel. All the excitement of meeting soaps … Continued

Ghost Swirl Soap Follow-Up

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post | 14

The response to the un-coloured Ghost Swirl Soap that I posted about a month ago (you can read about it here) has been rather overwhelming. I’m humbled by all the positive comments and I’m very excited to see how other … Continued

The Ghost Swirl

posted in: Auntie Clara's Blog, Blog Post, Tutorial | 166

  “I had decided to do what I shall call a Ghost Swirl; a technique where a deliberate design is ’conjured’ into the soap without the use of any added colourant. It’s not essential whether the design is swirled with … Continued

%d bloggers like this: