The Cuppa Jo Challenge Winners

The Cuppa Jo Soap Challenge had three beautiful entries and three beautiful winners! The Challenge was described in the previous post, but here is an excerpt:

Since I've moved into my new place, I often wake up before sunset, take my fresh coffee and walk, in my pajamas and slippers, to the Intercoastal Waterway/Lake Worth Lagoon, which is only one block from my new place.  I love the salty breeze that wafts into my face and through my short hair..... while I listen to the small waves slapping against the concrete ledge I sit on.   Within minutes, the black sky turns twilight blue and from the horizon, emerges orange and pink colors.

It has been a new experience living near the water and enjoying the sunrises I get to witness when I sit out there and ponder life's curves, dips and surprises.
 
This one may be hard because I'd really like you to tap into your creative mind and try not to be too literal in your interpretations  (if you CAN).

I want all of you to design and interpret in your own way, my morning cup of coffee at the Lagoon.

If I were to participate in this challenge, I'd start of with a layer of soap mixed with sea clay or mud with superfine coffee grounds (this would represent the concrete ledge I sit on). I'd then make an orange to pink ombre technique.  But that's just me.

JANEL GRUBER-STEVENS, Colorado, USA

"Okay, here is my interpretation of Jo drinking her coffee in her new place. (a little background first - this has ocean critters, but smells of grapefruit, coconut and tropical goodness)...

As Joanna walks out onto the terrace of her new place with cup in hand, and looks out to the sand, ocean and sea, and smells the crispness of the citrus, coconut that is Florida (ha, don't know just guessing here that that's what FL smells like) she sees all the critters of the sea. Dolphins, sea turtles, sea horses, and tropical fish rising to the top of the ocean to greet her for the sunrise, while just under the crashing waves there is turmoil in the sea, but the sandy bottom is calm. Mixed in with the creatures, there are a few shells because they have to get stirred up and taken to the beach somehow, right? 

And as she is most every morning at sunrise -- she is at peace...

And as she is most every morning at sunrise -- she is at peace...

*

BRENDA MERRICK-HAVLICE, California, USA

"At the Intercoastal Cafe and Reflection Center we strive to cleanse our minds and enjoy each sip life has to offer. We manifest our intention to allow our souls to bubble forth with all the promise of a new day!

Goat milk salt bar with coffee grounds, scented with a blend of espresso and sea spray. Mad Oils micas: Tahitian Teal, Neon Orange, Neon Pink 

(note to self: double check which salt you pull off the shelf... Dead Sea Salt results in a gloopy mess and a need to start over...)"

* 

RACHAEL BROWER, Montana, USA

"The smell brings you in, coffee, mocha, espresso, the grit, the bluster of the wind, the wake me up caffeine of it all in one bar, a coffee flavored world. Here is my soap Cafe Mocha, made with cocoa, brewed coffee, and coffee grounds" 

*

Thanks, you three, for participating!  Because there is a lack of entries for the last couple of Soap Challenges, there is really no way I can continue doing them right now, while I am so busy at Mad Oils. So....I would love some participation regarding photo tutorials made for this blog or a blog post on ingredients or processes....etc. Hit me up jo@madoils(dot)com.

peace

Local Ingredients...

Years back, I was asked by the local glossy magazine, Palm Beach Illustrated (PBI), to create a soap that would represent this area (Palm Beach county). Their 60th anniversary issue was being put together and they wanted a local soap maker to design something just for them.

Hrrrm.  What would feel good to me if I visited a local beach area for the first time?  Because my county snuggles the ocean, I decided that I'd collect ocean water to make my lye mixture with.  I would go to the beach with my empty water gallon jug, fighting the waves (no sand) until I past the swirling water.  Collecting ocean water from the edge of the breaking waves proves to be a sandy water collection.  Ask me how I know. I would hold the empty jug under the surface in order for it to fill: glub, glub, glub, glub. An empty water jug is harder to hold down than one would think.  Then I'd return to the beach with my gallon of ocean and fully drenched from toe to chest.

PBI ended up loving the way it came out and featured it in their magazine.  It DID look tropical and the ingredients I used were luscious. It included coconut milk, ocean water, shea butter and sea salt and it looked like an abstract ocean beach scene. 

People love the idea of handcrafted items made with local ingredients.  And the more "LOCAL AND COMMON" the ingredient, the more interesting it is that the soap almost becomes a celebrity on its own!

Now, I have never heard of potato soap, but if I lived in Idaho, I would love to buy a local soap made from Fingerlings, or Russets.  Wisconsin....cheese (maybe goat??), Florida?  Palm sugar, perhaps??... and so on.  Some of us have spent many hours looking for common ingredients that can make our soap unique and compelling, and it doesn't always have to be food!

I have used actual sand on my soap.  I dipped my freshly cut soap into a pan of white sand and sold it like a pumice soap, but the sand gets washed away after the first few washes.  People loved it!  Especially Northerners who miss the beach sand when they are cold and slushing through snow, sleet and the bitter cold in the middle of winter.

My friend, Charlene Simon, of Bathhouse Soapery, gave a presentation at the 2013 (?) Soap Guild Conference regarding additives.  She brought 20-30 cut up soaps made with different ingredients she had tried, including volcanic rock, which of course, made me want to go roll in that rock just thinking about it!  She emphasized the importance of incorporating local/regional "ingredients" that can uplift your soap from plain ol' soap into a classic art form.  It adds depth to an otherwise basic item.  (I'm not calling soap basic, but when people stand in front of a soap made with ground oatmeal, they may want to see that it's made from the local OAT farm in Wasau County.) 

Perhaps finding a local farmer, local winery or other business owner may be good for business.  Perhaps include them in your plans to make a local soap, tourists.  And you and the biz owner could benefit from it.  Equally!and discuss a possibly partnership of sorts.  I know there are soap makers that use their local winery to make wine soaps and the winery sells the soap at the winery!  Or a microbrewery, a sugar farm, even a diamond jewelry maker could grind up unsavory diamonds and you could use the diamond dust in your soap....one never knows if there could be a common thread that can be an uplifting hit to the local area, to you and to your business choice.

So for this challenge, I want you to take some time to think about your area and what may bring tourists there or what might be a surprising tidbit about your area that interests you and work that into your soap plans.  Then perhaps after you make soap with that ingredient and share with our group, you may even be able to approach your local business with your soap in hand and talk it out.  Expound on the idea and make it exciting.

Post your photos here on Facebook.  Use hashtag #localyocal so I can quickly find it.  Challenge ends on October 20th.  Then we shall talk a bit about Halloween!  Bwahahaha!

xoxo Joanna

Soap Porn January 2014

I love handmade soap.  I make it myself, but I love to see and use soaps from around the world as well.  I have not been too good about posting Soap Porn on here for a while so here is a little eye candy I know I NEEDED.....maybe a little sexy.....  watch out.  ;)

Monica Vickers

Mianra Soaps

Gayle Butler

Gordana Micic

Amouri Amof

Stefanie Alsup

That's it for today.....

Get dirty..... Get clean.  Be good.

xo Jo

Naked Tops

I created a challenge on Soaper's Retreat to photograph their soaps in natural light (as I always do).  But this time the soaps needed to be naked: no sprinkles, glitter, seeds, nothing on top!  Colors were acceptable, but plain Jane - NO toppings. 

They were all stunning, and I just love all of the creativity these people have brewing inside of them.  It consistently amazes me.  Every. SINGLE. Time.

There were many more I wanted to include, but there were issues.  Some needed more light.  Some were not using natural light.  Focus is a big issue in a lot of entries.  Imagine as you are shooting your photo..... that there is nothing else that exists in the world than the screen that you see out of.  Move your position until what you see through the screen MEANS something, tells something, or makes you feel something.  Can a piece of soap make you feel something?  Absolutely.  A sense of peace, or solace....perhaps remind you of a moment in time.  A quiet second that once was.  It is possible to move people with your photos.

So I urge you to take these photo challenges more seriously, because your photos are going to make people want your soap, or at least treasure the look of them.  They become precious commodities, not just a surplus.  Even a chunk of very rustic looking soap can look gorgeous and precious.

Perhaps I will share some of my own series of soaps as an example of different ways to get across different emotions with a hunk of soap someday.  With different lighting, different backgrounds, etc....


Here was a photo I took years ago of a chocolate soap:

Here are some of my favorites from the challenge......

Michael Kitney

Jeannine Jonas

Lina Vilniskyte



Jennifer Jansen

Emma Frost

Kerry Sylvester

Kendra Cote

 

Petrified Wood Soap Challenge

On Soaper's Retreat last week, I asked the group to take a look at a picture of petrified wood from the Petrified Forest National Park, in Arizona.  Something I had never seen before. 

 photo credit: http://www.theactivetimes.com/colorful-natural-wonders

I asked the group to create a soap INSPIRED by this photo. There were very few entries for this challenge as I had suspected there would be.  Everyone is very busy preparing for the upcoming holiday season, so we will stop having soaping challenges until after the first of the year.

Here were some of the soap inspirations created by some in the group.....

Louise Vargas

 

 

 

 

Aissa Ong Babinski

 

 

 

 

Jane Leebeck

 

 

 

 

Janet Schreiner

 

 

 

 

Paige Bowser

 

 

 

 

Robin Duncan Hasty

 

 

Linda Wisniewski Morris

 

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who participated and gave this a "go".  You all have inspired me as well as others who look at this blog.  Enjoy your colorful soap!!!

 

xoxo JO

 

The Crab Challenge - Soap Inspiration

What a crazy month it has been!  I recently moved my home (just a few miles away) and had a Crohn's flare-up....both no fun at all.  I was MIA for quite a bit dealing with it all, but I am feeling fantastic now and slowly getting back into a routine.

Before I went missing, though, we had a soaping challenge on the Facebook Soaper's Retreat group.  I shared a photo from Bing of a gorgeous crab and asked everyone to capture the beauty in a batch of their own soaps. 

Here is Crabby, Mr. Inspiration:

We had some amazing results and I am so proud of everyone who attempted this challenge. Here are some of my favorites...




Charlene Simon of Bathhouse Soaps



 

Sarah Withnell



 

Amy Warden of Great Cakes



 

Tanya Rasley of Baby Duck Soaps




 

Michelle Rhoades of Mossy Creek







 

Mary Ann Forehand






 

Shelly Cleveland Morris





 

Tanya Chappell

New challenge coming soon!  So get over to the retreat and think outside the box!  ;)

xoxoxJOJO

Morning Cuppa + Our Soaps

We had a challenge over at Soaper's Retreat Facebook group:  Photograph your favorite morning drink and pair it with a soap. 

We had some nice entries so I'll share a few.

Chris Erskine of Wax and Soapy Water

Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soapworks

Randi Hymers

Robin Duncan Hasty of Bird Bath Essentials

Morning drink, crack tea and going home salt bar:  made by Crystal Decker of Dirty Water Soapworks

Dr K's Irish breakfast:  by Dr. K

Vickie Robinson of Udder Indulgence

Clara Lindberg

Oh!  And mine:

Joanna Schmidt of Absolute Soap

Thank you everyone for keeping the challenges interesting.  You are all so talented and I am honored to be a part of this group.

Beautiful soap porn!

xo jo

Favorite Soap Top Photo Challenge on Facebook

One of the reasons I set up these photo challenges, is because I think we can all work on our photography skills.  Even ugly soap can be made beautiful with the right angle, light and focus.  I encourage all of you to step outside your comfort zone and really play, flounder, hone in and improve your own setting-the-stage for your soaps. 

There were some amazing soaps submitted this week.  I am truly floored by some of the talent out there and are inspired by the images... the soap itself.  Again, this wasn't about the most beautiful tops (which there were dozens of amazing ones!), this was about photographing your favorite tops. 

Many of you have created a mood so deep, that it has successfully taken me to another place outside of my room.  As if I experience a few seconds on another plane, in a different time and space and if I were connected to a breathing machine or heart rate monitor, I'm guessing the images actually had a physical impact as well.  Not just creative thought.

Imagine for a moment: an image that you've seen that transformed your mood or gave you relief even for a moment.  Then get behind your camera and move around your subject until you FEEL something and click.  Then stay behind the lens and do it again.  And again.  I took a photography class in college and I was taught to examine images that gave me an emotion or took me to the past or rekindled a memory I had forgotten.  That is special when you can examine, then reexamine why it moved you.  Was it the light, the blurred background, the colors, expressions on faces, the unknown....what wasn't said?  All this works to tell a story.

Soap may not tell a story to most, but to us it has a history within ourselves.  Our hard work, our love for science or art, our sweat and tears and sometimes our feelings of worth.  These are our creations and because they are special, we need to deliver all of that information, emotion and love, outside of ourselves and into our image for others to view and experience.

These two are mine, though not thought provoking necessarily, but the first one has a sense of playfulness.

 Joanna Schmidt

SoapTops

Joanna Schmidt

Detox

So, without further ado, here are the photographs that moved me.  Not just beautiful soap, but a mood that captured my attention and took me from my own reality for a few seconds.

Clara Lindberg 

Creamy mohair and goat's milk soap with cinnamon & neroli.

 Kate Boisoneau

Poppet: smoky sweet caramelized sugar, roasted almond, rich cocoa, and airy, creamy marshmallow

 Hajni Kele

Witches Brew

Just because most of these are close-ups, doesn't mean those are the ones that are moving to me.  Lighting and focus have an impact as well.  The one interesting thing about macro shots:  it brings attention to details that are normally overlooked.  Many times it shows the care and beauty that isn't normally seen upfront.  It lures the viewer in and captivates them.

What are your thoughts?  Please share in the comments below...

xoxo Joanna