Preamble

pre·am·ble

ˈprēˌambəl/

noun

1. a preliminary or preparatory statement; an introduction.

   "what she said was by way of a preamble"

Introductions cause me to come down with a case of writer's block. This is a blog dedicated to my little soap shop, The Potion Company. 

Lovely Lavender soap 

I don't remember a time where I didn't enjoy creating things. My debut into diy was early one morning at the age of 2 when I surprised my parents with a feast, made on the floor using the contents of our refrigerator. This culinary mishap was inspired by one of my favorite books, read to me countless times by my beloved maternal grandpa. Old Man Rabbit's Dinner Party is still read to this day, but now I read it to my children. My grandfather gave me the well worn book for Christmas in the late 90's, and remains to this day my most cherished (non-human) possessions. 

A scene from my favorite childhood book.

From that unappetizing disaster, I went on to crochet, sew, draw, write, knit, make candles, garden, and many other forays into creative diy-ing. 

 The first time I encountered handmade soap was at a farm market, I was instantly drawn to everything about it. I loved the colors, smells, and the idea that you are buying something handmade from the actual person who crafted it. I went to this soap booth every Saturday that summer, always coming home with a different kind, I was amazed at how well it worked, how great it felt on my skin, and how it didn't contain a cocktail of chemicals I was unable to pronounce. 

Mint chocolate swirl soap

 As many other people who are in the handmade world, I began to make my own bath and beauty products, as well as buy them from other 'makers of things' when I became a mama. I wanted to only use 'organic' products on my kids, but often times when I would look at the label it seemed that while they might contain organic ingredients, they still had a lot of stuff in them I didn't want to put on my babies. Once I tried soap making I couldn't stop, and before I knew it, we had a house overflowing with soaps. 

I am a big believer in doing what you love, and when you do it will never feel like work. For me, that happened when I tried using my first bar of cured soap. All I could think was: I want to do this ALL the time. The rest is history!