I'm a self-taught soapmaker. I've made soap and other bath and body items for 22 years. I first became inspired by handcrafted soap when I found some lovely soap in a tiny shop in the South Pacific on an island where I was stationed while I served in the U.S. Navy. I thought the soap was pretty and smelled wonderful what's more; it was a spectacular bar of soap. I wanted to create soap just like that back then and now I do!
Since I was on a Navy ship, I didn't have the opportunity to do any hands-on learning for a couple of years. Instead, I bought every soapmaking book I could find in bookstores and bought soap made by hand from all over Asia. Eventually, I made an extensive soapmaking library, learning what I could.
Once I left the Navy, one of the first things I did was order supplies to make soap. I adored crafting soap in my mind for two years and fell in love when I held my own first real creation. It was a triple-infused calendula herb and honey soap with a bergamot scent. Albeit was misshaped and a bit soft, it was just as lovely as the first handmade coconut soap I discovered in South Pacific, years ago.