Archive for April, 2009

How I Became A Soapmaker

Saturday, April 18th, 2009
Soap made by Marie Gale

Soap made by Marie Gale

As with most people, making soap wasn’t something I planned to do. I didn’t have a driving urge to become a soapmaker. In fact, up until about 12 years ago, I never really thought about where soap came from. True, I didn’t like using “traditional, store-bought” soap, but it never occurred to me that there were other options.

Then, in the late 1990’s I had major changes in my life. Most of them weren’t very pleasant, and all of them resulted in the necessity to regroup, restructure and reorganize. Sparing the gruesome details, at the end of it all I was living on our family ranch in a  90-year-old house wondering what I was going to do for the rest of my life.

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The Many Careers of Soapmakers

Friday, April 17th, 2009
Alexander Majors- Founder of the Pony Express - Soapmaker

Alexander Majors
Pony Express Founder (1860)
Soapmaker (1887)

Of all the soapmakers I know, not one started out young in life saying,”When I grow up, I’m going to be a soapmaker.” While some have said they “always had an interest”, most were in other careers when they discovered (and got hooked on) soapmaking.  Pre-soapmaking careers include accountant, journalist, engineer, chemist, housewife, teacher, internet guru, IT professional, computer programmer, farmers, goat-herd owners - and even founder of the Pony Express.

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What We Watch - Television and Soap

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

It’s interesting how the American public is so fascinated with and influenced by the trials and tribulations of fictitious families. The success of all soap operas (daytime and prime time), as well as shows like LOST, is all about getting people vested in a form of imaginary voyeurism. And it started with … soap.

Earlier this month, CBS announced they are canceling Proctor & Gamble’s soap opera, Guiding Light. The last episode will air September 18th.

The first episode of Guiding Light aired on NBC radio on January 25, 1937, making it the longest running soap opera.  It was sponsored by Proctor & Gamble hence the “soap” opera moniker. However, it wasn’t the first soap marketing by P & G that concentrated on the continuing saga of a ficticious family.

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Soap Bubble Close-Up

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Ever wondered what a soap bubble looks like close up … VERY close up … like 50x magnification?   Absolutely, amazingly beautiful!

Soap Bubble in a Petri Dish, taken at 50x magnification <br> Photographer: Viktor Sykora

Soap Bubble in a Petri Dish, taken at 50x magnification
Photographer: Viktor Sykora

Mr. Sykora won Image of Distinction in the 2008  annual Nikon Small World photomicrography competition.  And rightly so!

HSMG Annual Conference

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

conf09-logo-memberpage1May 12 - 14, 2009 - Palm Springs

The Handcrafted Soap Guild 2009 Annual Conference is coming!  I’m very excited about it - it looks to be the best one ever.  Even with the economic woes and worries, there are lots and lots of people coming and the speakers and subjects scheduled are AWESOME!!

There’s been a lot of promotion out there about it, but I thought I should mention it here.

If you haven’t registered to come, DO think about it.  There’s still time to register, and it will be worth it for anyone who has a business making soap.  Investing in your business future and your soapmaking skills is one of the best things that can you can do to reinforce things now and prepare for the future.

I hope I will see you there!

Census Records of Soapmakers

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

You can find information about soapmaking in the oddest places and by the strangest methods.  Recently, I found out about the numbers of soapmakers around the turn of the (last) century while celebrating my birthday!

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Sunlight Soap - Botswana

Monday, April 13th, 2009
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (HBO)

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (HBO, Sundays)

Last night I watched the HBO series “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency”.  If you missed the pilot, it is soon to be released on DVD. It’s very cute, keeps the feeling of the original books and actually looks like it was filmed in Botswana.  And how does this relate to soap?

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