BOO!

All Hallows soap by Sarva. Click image for enlarged view.

Oh, did I scare you?  Just kidding.

It’s a real creative time here at Sarva!  Another new soap just got born!

Here’s “All Hallows”, just for… well… Halloween!  Unless, of course, your birthday is on the 31st, in which case it’s your birthday soap!  (shoutout, you know who you are!)

I’m THRILLED (pun intended) with how this turned out.  There are all sorts of goodies in here.  Pumpkin gives All Hallows its orange color.  Mugwort-infused olive oil just for that little extra “oomph”.  My newest toy, activated charcoal, gives the creepy streak and swirl throughout.  Each bar looks different and very very cool.  Lots and lots of character.

And the essential oil blend… what can I say.  It’s a scent painting.  Each whiff is a bit different.  Bonfire, smoky pine.  Spiced hot drinks.  Yes, a little pumpkin.   A little orange.   Maybe a bit of a hayride in there somewhere.  Definitely not your typical soap!

Now, this is a challenging one to make.  And I’m not going to be making a lot of this, as clearly this won’t be a big seller after the 31st!

Therefore, I’ll be taking advance orders only for this very limited edition!

I will stop making All Hallows as of Tuesday September 30.  Thus, I’m afraid (boo!) you have until Sunday night, September 28, to reserve your bars!  This WILL go fast, and I can make enough if you tell me how much you want ASAP!

Here are the gory (ha!) details:

• Price: $6.95 (yes, it’s WELL worth it).  Ohioans pay sales tax.  Shipping based on ZIP code.
• Size: Approximately 5 ounces.
• Shipping out:  10/24, after they’ve rested in their chambers and prepared to face the light of day without melting.
• Packaged in: A spooky, mysterious black veil!  (OK, a black organza gift bag.)
• How to order: Contact me directly to place your advance order.  Give me your shipping info and quantity desired, and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.  Upon receipt of your payment, your order will go toward determining how many I need to make.
• Don’t want to place an advance order?  OK, but you are going to have to take your chances! 

Benigara gets a makeover.

BEFORE: Benigara 2006-2007. Click image for enlarged view.

I’ve always loved my Benigara soap… I love the essential oil blend and the whole concept of the soap.   I do tend to go very conceptual with my creations; I enjoy bringing things to a new level, infusing them with meaning… I see art in that… and this soap was no different.

Benigara was “born” in 2006.  Named for the oxide red stain of traditional Japanese buildings, “benigara” refers to that very particular shade of red in the Japanese language.   This luxury formulation contained rice bran oil and macadamia nut oil, both very popular in Japanese culture for skin care.   I decorated each bar with Japanese Genmaicha tea for visual effect (well, and because I just LOVE Genmaicha tea!).

At the time, Yuzu was an amazingly popular scent for body products, much in the way pomegranate has been this year.   Yuzu is a citrus fruit with a lovely sharp, clean citrus scent, much like grapefruit.  In fact, it is sometimes referred to as “Japanese grapefruit.”

I did some research and discovered that most of the yuzu-scented products were being created with synthetic fragrance oils.  Certainly the use of yuzu essential oil would have led to an outrageously priced soap, and I believe in offering all of you an affordable luxury!

So, I created my own interpretation, pulling from the personality of yuzu and other fragrant elements of Asian culture, many of which I know and love from my own natural incense making.   I combined things like pine, pink grapefruit, lemongrass, and cedar.   The scent was divine!!

Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of my best sellers.    The deep “benigara” red might have turned off some shoppers; can’t say.  Maybe the Genmaicha tea on top.   In any case, I decided to give Benigara a whole new look.

So, Benigara… it’s time to come from behind the curtain and share your new look with the world!!  Everyone… give it up!

AFTER: Benigara 2008. Click image for enlarged view.

Benigara soap from Sarva, 5+ ounces, $6.95, available in six weeks, just in time for holiday giving!

What are scraps?

Hourglass Soap by Sarva. Click image for enlarged view.

In discussions about how soap is made, particularly the hand-detailing process, I’m often asked, “well, then what do you do with your soap scraps?”

I guess I don’t think of anything as “scrap”.   Every sliver of soap I’ve ever made eventually ends up either sold and enjoyed or given a new lease on life.

Take, for example, this bar.   This is one of two new soaps I created over the weekend.  Would you call this scrap?  Me neither!

I’m going to call this Hourglass.   I have several reasons for this moniker:

• Looking at it, I’m reminded of Grace, the cool neighbor lady I fondly remember as I look through the hourglass of my childhood.  Grace was a stained glass artist and used everything from her workshop (yes, even “scrap”) to create new and beautiful works of art.   And, of course, this soap definitely resembles stained glass work.    Mrs. O, if you’re out there, I still have the wreath you made for my family and I still smile when I think of you.
• This bar contains activated charcoal, which is deeply purifying to the skin.   Be a little careful around cotton washcloths with this one, in case of tinting, but it produces a wonderful soap.   Purified skin turns reverses the sands of time, doesn’t it?
• And if that weren’t enough hourglass goodness, I’ve also given it a healthy dose of pink grapefruit essential oil.  (The pink grapefruit mingles with the other lovely scents in the pieces-parts throughout the bar, and every use will render a different experience!)  Researchers have discovered that after having test subjects sniff pink grapefruit essential oil, these subjects rated the average age of people in photographs significantly younger than if they hadn’t smelled the essential oil.   I am no scientist, but I figure my method for spreading the Pink Grapefruit Effect (PGE, right?) can’t be half bad!

But let’s talk about scraps again.  What do you have in your life that’s sitting around, collecting dust, getting in your way?  Why exactly do you consider it “scrap”?  How can you look at it with new eyes?  In this day and age of thinking green, how can you repurpose it?  You might be surprised by what you get!

“Hourglass” soap by Sarva, available in about six weeks, $6.95.

StartupNation Home-Based 100 Contestant

Vote for Sarva Soaps in the StartupNation Home-Based 100 Businesses Competition!  Winners of the Home-Based 100 find themselves at the center of a media storm that includes recognition on national and local TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines, and on some of the largest, most influential websites on the web, MSN and StartupNation among them.

As always, thanks for your support!

Don’t worry… I’m making more!

Spa Series soaps from Sarva. Click image for enlarged view.

My goodness!  I’m so flattered, and so proud of my little soap babies!

As I prepare for the holiday season, making extra soap to fill all of your gift-giving needs, I’ve been discovered by a whole bunch of new and wonderful people!  As a result, my soap supply is getting low… blush!

But don’t worry!  I’m making more!  And it will be ready in time for holiday gift-giving!

Soapmaking is a very special process which actually takes six weeks from start to finish.  Every bar of Sarva soap is made entirely by hand, by yours truly, in very small batches.  I like to make sure my bars are always fresh, and the artistic effects I create in my soaps are only possible when I work in small quantity.  After I make and hand-detail all of my bars, they must rest, or “cure”, for six weeks so that they are harder and longer lasting.

So, when you visit the Sarva web site and see low quantities, rest assured… it’s coming!  My curing racks are full of great soap for you!

I’ve had the dream for a very long time of living the life of a small-scale artisan… creating little lovelies that make everyone’s life just a little sweeter… something people love so much that they don’t mind waiting for it now and then.   I just might be on the verge of that dream coming true!  For this, I thank all of you.  I really love what I do, and I hope you love using my soaps!

A special mid-autumn soap

"Gratitude", a Sarva 2008 Holiday soap. Click image for enlarged view.

Here’s another new soap for the autumn season.  I’m SO pleased with how this one turned out!

As a meditation instructor, I really enjoy meeting people of different faiths, learning about their beliefs, and finding meaningful things to incorporate into my own spiritual path.  I’ve come to know some wonderful people who practice Earth-based spirituality, and I’ve discovered the gift of truly, deeply connecting with the cycles of life.

This is a commissioned soap, specifically requested for the autumnal equinox, which is often called Mabon.  Falling on September 22 this year, Mabon is a time of giving thanks for what the Earth has given us during the course of the summer harvest.  It’s also a time of looking at balance:  Night and day are of equal length, and the final harvests are brought in, balancing our summer abundance with our need to store away food for the winter.

How can we look at balance within ourselves, too, at this time?  Can we appreciate the many things within us that come together… and express gratitude for them, appreciation for the balance they have the potential to create in our lives?

Thus, Mabon is a pre-Thanksgiving of sorts.   (Hey, who doesn’t want another excuse to eat pumpkin pie?)

To that end, I’ve used natural clays to recreate the dazzling colors of autumn leaves (ask me to post my photos of Vermont sometime!).  I created a beautiful essential oil blend, one that smells different to everyone who experiences it… but all agree that it’s amazing.  Notes of lemon, eucalyptus, clove, cinnamon, and more get together to play in the leaves, and the overall effect is crisp, cool yet warm, spicy yet comforting… everything autumn is in our best memories.  All that’s missing is a blue, cloudless sky!

Don’t celebrate Mabon?  That’s okay!  You can still enjoy Gratitude.   It won’t be on the Sarva site for a couple weeks, but you can contact me and reserve some for yourself, $4.50 for 4.5 ounces.  I will be making more this week to offer throughout the holiday season.

Yes, I do custom orders!

Sarva Soap Cupcakes, a custom order. Click image for enlarged view.

Bridal showers, baby showers, weddings, you name it!

For example, check out these adorable cupcake soaps, scented with Sarva’s Felicity blend–a blissful combination of lavender, lemon, and ylang–and topped with cheery, colorful dried flowers.

These make fantastic party favors! All I need is six weeks and your party details, and we can come up with something really fun! The ones you see here were a hit.  Contact me for details.