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A(nother) Big Announcement!

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We’ve been full of big news lately, from finding out that we’re having a baby girl (eek!) to launching this year’s Bramble Berry Athletic Club, there’s been a lot of happy hustle and bustle and I couldn’t be more excited. But before you go thinking that’s all I’ve been busy with, there’s another big announcement…a secret I’ve been keeping for almost a year now:

I’m writing a book!!(!!!!!!!!!)

Soap Crafting Cover

I’ve been working with the fabulous team at Storey Publishing on my new print book, Soap Crafting. It has been an amazing, mind-blowing, grueling, exciting experience so far (really, a little bit of everything). The book contains 31 Soap Queen designed and tested Cold Process soap recipes that I hope will knock your socks off. The book shows how to infuse natural colorants, how to dilute and work with LabColors, incorporate fun additives and even includes a glossary of soapmaking terms. Plus, for beginners, there is a ton of introductory information about making Cold Process soap, a basic beginner recipe AND a breakdown of common soap making oils. Whew!

The book is due to come out in August (three months after Bramble Girl is due to arrive if you’re keeping track!), which feels like such. a. long. time. But as the book comes together, I’ll be giving regular updates on its progress.

Image by Lara Ferrroni

Image by Lara Ferroni for Storey Publishing

For now, here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes of the book’s photo shoot back in October. We worked with the amazingly talented Oregon-based photographer Lara Ferroni. L’s specialty is food photography and photographing recipes-in-progress, which made for a natural transition to soap making photography. Plus, she’s written some great books herself and at the time of the photo shoot was in the process of finishing up yet another, so chatting with her about the book writing process (and all of the deadlines!) while she was taking photos made the experience especially relaxing. Lara’s eye was keen; a slight turn of a bottle or the tiniest nudge of a spoon made all the difference in the shots. She was kind enough to allow us to share some of her photos from the shoot, and our behind-the-scenes shots pale in comparison!

LaraPhoto

 The shoot itself was a marathon. Five days straight of soaping anywhere from 5-7 complex recipes per day was definitely fun but also required a TON of organization. Prep for the photo shoot started a few weeks in advance, with multiple people helping. All of the oils were pre-measured and portioned, colorants were dispersed, and everything was organized by recipe and recipes were scheduled by hour to make the most efficient use of molds. So when it came time to shoot, there was a (mostly) seamless transition between recipes and I was able to re-use most every mold from what we had in the soap lab.

Lye hurts real bad - credit Lara Ferroni

Image by Lara Ferroni for Storey Publishing

Lye waiting for it’s beauty shot – with proper safety note of course!

Toppings for a special soap

Toppings for a Cold Process meets Melt and Pour recipe

Backup Stick Blender Shafts

Lots of back-up tools

Pouring soap into mold - credit Lara Ferroni

Image by Lara Ferroni for Storey Publishing

12 color swirl (yes, you read that right!)

Pumpkin soap going in - credit Lara Ferroni

Image by Lara Ferroni for Storey Publishing

In-the-pot swirl soap going into the mold

Blowing on the Mica - credit Lara Ferroni

Image by Lara Ferroni for Storey Publishing

Blowing on mica to set it in the soap

Topping off the soap - credit Lara Ferroni

Image by Lara Ferroni for Storey Publishing

Just adding the last little bit

The Aftermath

Empty, colorful soap containers; a beautiful thing

And now, here’s a sneak peak at some of the finished soaps from the book! We did the photography here so you’ll have to imagine it 190 trillion times better than what you see below for the actual book. If I haven’t mentioned it already, the book’s photographer, Lara, was ah-maz-ing. Like breathtakingly awesome. =) I can’t tell you how excited I am to show you even this little bit. I hope you’re as excited as I am about this bit of news, and be sure to check back often to see the books progress between now and August!

Soap Crafting Soaps!

Soap Crafting Sneak Peak!

Soap Crafting Sneak Peak!

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64 Comments

  1. ohoney, you are sailing away into ‘got it for keeps’ territory, now !!! I love the internet, especially with you on it…but the lovliness of a book with such beautiful photography and your voice shining thru makes for a great coffee table book…and I can make soap in the kitchen without running back and forth to the computer screen all the time !!!
    your life is one big amazing, INSPIRING, DO-ABLE adventure and keeps me encouraged and sane !
    Thanks for living your life AnneMarie !
    laurie in st. louis

  7. How exciting!! I am looking forward to buying your book!!! The pictures are beautiful. Congrats!!!! =)

  8. Im so happy for you Anne Marie!

    A bundle of joy and a new book at the same time…
    you are truly blessed!

    I will be wating impatiently for your book to come out believe me.

    P.S. Brambleberry customer service is awesome!

    KeMira H.

  9. So happy you will be putting into print your soap making knowledge and expertise! wow, 31 recipes included, this is gonna be a really fun book. Looking forward to pre-ordering it. Congratulations, Anna

  12. So cool! Will you be coming out with a Ebook version as well? I know this book is gonna be so great!

  14. How were you able to keep this a secret for so long?!!! WOW! I couldn’t do that….I’d blurt it out after a while lol 😉
    So you’re due in May…..will you be going to the Soap Guild Conference? Or will you be sending some BB staff in your place? Hoping to go & hoping to meet you 🙂

    ~Nickie~

    • Hi Nickie!

      Unfortunately, A-M will not be attending this years conference because of the new little Bramble Girl, but Team Bramble Berry will be represented at the conference. 🙂

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

  16. Yay! I’m very excited by this news. I’m still doing M&P at this point, but was hoping to transition sometime this summer into CP soap. The timing is perfect!
    Thanks for all your help, you’ve truly made me a soap queen fan and soaping fan for life.

  18. OH YIPPEEEE!! I can’t wait to get my hands on this! Our industry has needed this type of advanced soapmaking book…focusing on design and color! Can’t wait! Congrats on such an accomplishment…it looks like you put in a ton of work!

  19. A great addition to the library! I wish I would have had something like this when I was starting out-how much easier things would have been. 😉

  22. Yes, I will also want a copy. You will offer them forsale at BB, right? And I would love to have a signed copy…. makes it just that much more special to me. I am suprised you were able to keep that a secret for soooo long!

    • Hi Susie!

      We will be offering them for sale at Bramble Berry, and as soon as the pre-order link is live, we will let you know. =)

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

      P.S. I’ll ask about seeing if we can get any signed copies out the door.

  24. Oh how exciting for you and all of us. When can I put an order in? Are you doing a signing? All the best Anne-Marie and congratulations. You most certainly have been a bee zy girl… so many things unfolding.

  25. Felicidades Anne Marie!! Yo solo trabajo M&P .. pero de seguro tu libro de CP sera todo un exito!! FELICIDADES Y MUCHOS EXITOS MAS PARA EL EQUIPO DE BRAMBLE BERRY!! 🙂

  27. Congratulations, Anne-Marie! My, you certainly have been busy lately. Lara’s photos look fantastic and I am intrigued by the projects. I’m looking forward to reading your book!

  28. Is there a waiting list for the book ? I want to make sure I get one , let me know if there is a waiting lis ok? Thanks, and Congratulations !!!
    Way to go !

  29. OMG! How exciting! Just in time for my birthday (the 21st!)! Thank you! It will be my best present! I’m sure it will be so AWESOME because everything you do is and your preview shows it too! Congratulations Anne-Marie…you are such an inspiration to all of us! : )

  39. Cha-Ching! Looks like a winner! When I read the e-mail title, “Another Big Announcement,” for a split second there, I thought, “Good Lord! She’s having TWINS!” 🙂 But then I remembered seeing the ultrasound.

    But here you are giving birth to a book! Hilarious that you’ve made this announcement NINE MONTHS in advance – hahahaha!

  41. I’ve been thinking that your days must be much longer than mine (mine have 18 hours for work and family and 6 for sleep).;-)!
    I salute your work and am really looking forward for this book.
    Unfortunately most of my clients don’t (like to) read in english…

  42. Yay!! It’s all happening for you at the moment 🙂
    I hope the book will be available in Australia, I can’t wait to get my hands on it 🙂

  43. How wonderful! Can’t wait for it to be released. I won’t be a beginner soap maker by the time the book comes out anymore. LOL!

  45. Me, jumping up & down with excitement! I can hardly wait for the book. Congratulations on ALL the good news.

  46. Wow! I’m super excited for you. And I can’t wait to get my hands on the new book! I find your knowledge on soap and all things bath and body worth their weight in gold. You are a true inspiration to me and so many others. Thank you for all you do.

  48. What a wonderful progression for you! You have been an inspiration for so very many soapmakers and now to have you in print! Fantastic!

    Looking forward to seeing the book and Bramble Girl too.

    Congrats…..

  49. Thanks for the sneak peeks! The wait is going to be soooooooooo long. I am definitely getting one of these as soon as they are released 🙂 The in the pot swirl going into the vertical mold looks like caramel. Yummy!

  50. Oh, how exciting! I’m having a baby in June, myself, so I don’t think I’ll be doing a whole heckuvalotta soapmaking in August, but the pictures are GORGEOUS!