Sheila and her husband own the up and coming soap company called Soap Wish. They currently sell their soaps on Etsy and you won't believe your eyes when you see what they make.Sheila was kind enough to send us a soapy goody bag (you shouldn't have, Sheila, but we're SO glad you did). The whole office was abuzz with anticipation and we opened the soapy surprise! See her wares for yourself on the Soap Wish Etsy Site and her Soap Wish Blog where Sheila shares her thoughts on soap, life, love and laughter.
Generous Sheila was kind enough to let us drill her with questions in hopes of finding out everything we could about her new business. Sit back, relax and enjoy the interview...Anne-Marie: The question we always like to ask - What got you into soapmaking and how long have you been making your fabulous soaps?
Soap Wish: First of all, thank you for the compliment!! My husband and son were away for most of the summer last year and I started looking around for something to do. I started with hot process primarily because I have the patience of a gnat. By the time the guys got home I was hooked. My husband is extraordinarily creative and when we discovered melt and pour (which requires even less patience) he got hooked on making all sorts of designs out of soap.
Anne-Marie: Is this a full time or part time business for you (or just a fun hobby)?
Soap Wish: We’d like it to grow into a full time business in the future, but for now we’re doing it part-time while we continue to learn the craft.
Anne-Marie: I love your Etsy site! Do you have any other outlets for selling? Farmers Markets, craft shows, etc?
Soap Wish: Thank you again! We’ve done a few small craft shows and we’ve also sold quite a bit through word of mouth. We love to have people come back to us or send their friends, it really makes our day.
Anne-Marie: Your soaps are so creative and detailed. How do you have the time to put so much detail into all of your soaps? What type of things do you outsource?
Soap Wish: I wrote this description of creativity in our house awhile ago and it pretty much sums it up:
Now, who do you think makes the intricate soap designs? As for outsourcing, I’m pretty much focused on exploiting my husband’s talent at this point.
Anne-Marie: Your chocolate soaps look so realistic (and delicious). How much practice did it take to perfect these tiny pieces of art?
Soap Wish: We tried quite a few different techniques before we hit on one that gave us the look we wanted. The next step was getting it to the point where we could count on the same result each time. Let’s just say there was some waste involved.
Anne-Marie: Your chocolate soap is so convincing that one would think you’ve actually made chocolate before. Where did you get your inspiration for your fabulous chocolate creations?
Soap Wish: There is a really great bakery not far from us that carries fabulous chocolates as well as baked goods. We (okay, I) love stopping in there to look at all the great things they come up with. One day we decided to see what we could do using soap instead of chocolate. We had never made chocolate before, but now that we’ve made chocolate soap we’d really like to try making the real thing one day. Of course, that’s the day I start on the road to weighing 1,000 pounds…not enough willpower.
Soap Wish: First of all, thank you for the compliment!! My husband and son were away for most of the summer last year and I started looking around for something to do. I started with hot process primarily because I have the patience of a gnat. By the time the guys got home I was hooked. My husband is extraordinarily creative and when we discovered melt and pour (which requires even less patience) he got hooked on making all sorts of designs out of soap.
Anne-Marie: Is this a full time or part time business for you (or just a fun hobby)?
Soap Wish: We’d like it to grow into a full time business in the future, but for now we’re doing it part-time while we continue to learn the craft.
Anne-Marie: I love your Etsy site! Do you have any other outlets for selling? Farmers Markets, craft shows, etc?
Soap Wish: Thank you again! We’ve done a few small craft shows and we’ve also sold quite a bit through word of mouth. We love to have people come back to us or send their friends, it really makes our day.
Anne-Marie: Your soaps are so creative and detailed. How do you have the time to put so much detail into all of your soaps? What type of things do you outsource?
Soap Wish: I wrote this description of creativity in our house awhile ago and it pretty much sums it up:
Me: "Look at the pretty colors I layered"
The Man: "I finally finished my scale model of the Taj Mahal made out of 4 toothpicks and two pieces of tape"
The Boy: "Do you think it's okay the dog ate my experiment? You know- the one I had growing in the sink?"
The Man: "I finally finished my scale model of the Taj Mahal made out of 4 toothpicks and two pieces of tape"
The Boy: "Do you think it's okay the dog ate my experiment? You know- the one I had growing in the sink?"
Now, who do you think makes the intricate soap designs? As for outsourcing, I’m pretty much focused on exploiting my husband’s talent at this point.
Anne-Marie: Your chocolate soaps look so realistic (and delicious). How much practice did it take to perfect these tiny pieces of art?
Soap Wish: We tried quite a few different techniques before we hit on one that gave us the look we wanted. The next step was getting it to the point where we could count on the same result each time. Let’s just say there was some waste involved.
Anne-Marie: Your chocolate soap is so convincing that one would think you’ve actually made chocolate before. Where did you get your inspiration for your fabulous chocolate creations?
Soap Wish: There is a really great bakery not far from us that carries fabulous chocolates as well as baked goods. We (okay, I) love stopping in there to look at all the great things they come up with. One day we decided to see what we could do using soap instead of chocolate. We had never made chocolate before, but now that we’ve made chocolate soap we’d really like to try making the real thing one day. Of course, that’s the day I start on the road to weighing 1,000 pounds…not enough willpower.
Yes- these are (in fact) soaps and NOT chocolates; jaw dropping cute!Want to hear more about Soap Wish? Check back in Monday for another round of Q & A with Sheila.
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