Thursday, July 21, 2011

Discover This: a Breath of French Air

After a much-longer-than-anticipated hiatus, the Discover This series is back! YAY! As you may know, I love giving a big shout out to my fellow Etsians, and this here is no exception. I am a huge fan (HUGE!) of handmade soaps and, after trying my first handmade bar years ago, will never ever go back to using store bought soap again. Enjoy this Q&A with Elizabeth of aBreathofFrenchair on Etsy who makes some decadent soap in her own St. Louis, MO home. As an added bonus, take a peek at Elizabeth's creative process in her videos on youtube and while you're there be sure to subscribe to her channel. So without further adieu, I present to you aBreathofFrenchair....

Name: Elizabeth L.
Location: St. Louis, MO
Occupation: Soap Maker

How long have you been creating your items? I have been making soap since 2007.

How did you get started? I started out by researching soap making on the internet. I read about soap making and I also watched lots of videos on Youtube. I started with melt and pour soaps, and a year later started making my soaps from scratch.

All Natural Olive Oil Shea Butter Soaps
(one word:  WANT)

Where do you get your inspiration for your products? I get most of my inspiration from my garden. I have a huge garden where I grow many of the seeds that I use in my soaps. I also love to read cook books. I recently started making whipped soap and I use this to decorate my soap cakes and cupcakes, so books with lots of cake pictures are fun to read.

Do you sell your items? If so, where? I sell my soaps on Etsy and I also am part of an artist co op at Fusion. Our shop is located at Chesterfield (MO) Mall, on the second floor.

Do you have any formal training, or are you a self-taught artist? I am self taught.

Bright Red Star Shaped Soap (what guest wouldn't love these?)

How would someone benefit from purchasing your products? Handmade soap is much gentler to the skin. My soaps are mainly made with olive oil and can be used by all skin types. I don't use chemicals in my soap and many consumers have commented on how much better their skin feels after using my soap.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?  I have started making videos on how I make my soaps and body wash on Youtube. I love to show people how soap is made and what goes into my bars/body wash. Click HERE for my channel.

Ruby Red Grapefruit Solid Sugar Scrub Cubes
(hello yummy!)

Special thanks to Elizabeth for participating in the Discover This series.  Go check out her Etsy shop now!

4 comments:

  1. Nice feature, saw you over on Etsy Blog Team, looking forward to following you!!

    www.simplymadebyerin.blogspot.com

    Sincerely,
    Erin

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  2. Nice blog post! I really like this interview and her items look great! :)

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  3. Not long ago I won a giveaway of handmade soap! I love it!

    Love the feature you did! =)

    Found you on the Etsy blog team new follower =)

    Arizona Girls
    Arizona Girls Face Book
    Arizona Girls blog

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  4. This is great! I love handmade soap :)

    ReplyDelete