SWI Recap Day 2 – MP, Lotions, Scrubs and Cupcakes

June 19, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Day 2 of SWI brought all of our wonderful guest instructors together! We invited Debbie Chialtas of Soapylove to teach us some fun melt and pour projects, Erin Pikor of Naiad Soap Arts taught her awesome array of scrubs, and Jill Heuser gave us the low-down on lotions. Get ready for lots of photos! First, we started of with a little bit of this guy.

SO in love.

A perfect pick-me-up first thing in the morning, Debbie’s projects incorporated Bramble Berry’s neon pigments for a super cool, 1980’s vibe. She used the SoapyLove Checkered Heart Mold with two variations, a psychedelic splatter soap and a neon checkered soap! Then, the SoapyLove I Heart Soap Mold done in super bright neons put a fun twist on a classic sentiment.

Radical!

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SWI Recap: Day 1 CP-Stravaganza!

June 18, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Another year of Soap Weekend Intensive is in the books. The super fun, crazy, intense, and soapy extravaganza started off on Friday with Cold Process and Melt and Pour 101 at Otion, and the house was packed with eager students from all over the world ready to kick off the weekend!

Saturday started off with a visit from a very special guest – my little man, Jamisen!

After that ray of sunshine, we dove right into our first round of Cold Process demos: three different milk soaps! I taught two techniques with Goat Milk and one technique with Rice Milk, straight from my new book, Making Milk Soap from Scratch.

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SWI has Started

June 15, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Wowzers! After over a year of planning, insane prep this last week and afternoon jitters, Soap Weekend Intensive has started. I kicked it all off with Soapmaking 101 at Otion tonight:

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We Have a Question For You

June 13, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

What Classes Would Interest You?

As we are gearing up for our annual Soap Weekend Intensive (a weekend filled with soap and toiletry making classes in Bellingham, Washington – and we just had a cancellation so last I heard, we had one last opening), we are thinking about what we want to teach next year. This year, we are teaching CP soap with milk, emulsified scrubs, 80’s inspired melt & pour soap, swirling cold process soap, and lotionmaking. Above are some examples of the CP soap the soapy team will be teaching in classes.

We would love to hear from you about techniques and products you’ve always wanted to try or a technique that you know and love. We are looking for a brainstorm of ideas for SWI 2013 and would love to have you be a part of the conversation! Just leave us a comment below on what you’d like to see us teach and what you’re interested in. No idea is too zany or basic. We want to design the best SWI 2013 we can. Talk to us! We’re listening.

SWI 2012 Prep Time

June 5, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Eeek! Soap Weekend Intensive is 2 weeks away (no, that is not the sound of my hyperventilating that you hear. Cool as a cucumber. Cool as a cucumber.) We’ve been running around like busy little bees pulling products and prepping for the jam packed weekend of soapmaking. It’s really hard to believe that after a year of planning (really, we signed these teachers up last June), it’s here. Breaking News! There was a cancellation this morning meaning we have one spot left! If you’re interested, hurry over to the Bramble Berry website to sign up. Do you need proof that it’s going to be the best weekend ever? See SWI blog posts from the past: SWI 2008, SWI 2009, SWI 2010 and SWI 2011.

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SWI is Full and Jamisen is Mobile

May 28, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

We made the most of our Memorial Day. While hiking to Clayton Beach, Chris and I told Jamisen all about Memorial Day (and if the link I gave you yesterday didn’t have you tearing up enough, this is an even better narrative about the emotional costs of war). Jamisen listened quietly and seemed to appreciate the gravity of the message. After all the talking, he was delighted to be let down to crawl around the beach. It was his first experience wit the sand and he went for it – crawling all over and generally showing a fiercely independent streak.

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SWI Early Birds – Save $50!

February 28, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for Soap Weekend Intensive to get the early bird special. After tomorrow, the price will go up $50 so save some money and sign up today! Hint: We usually sell out so get your tickets while there are still spots available (ahem…we are almost fully booked already). Sign up HERE!

Remember the wildly popular sugar cube recipe? It was created by Erin Pikor, one of your Soap Weekend Intensive teachers! You’ll get to meet her in person and learn how to make different variations of her recipe. SWI is such a great opportunity to get hands on training with the best soapers and teachers in the industry like Debbie Chialtas of Soapylove, Erin Pikor of Naid Soap Arts, Kat Hackney of Otion and of course (throat clearing, eyes downcast modestly), I’ll be there too!

Purchase your ticket here while spots are still available.

Do you want to see the fun you would be missing out on? See SWI blog posts from the past SWI 2008, SWI 2009, SWI 2010 and SWI 2011

Official Press Release for SWI 2012

February 8, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Soap Weekend Intensive 2012: Who will be there?

This is the fabulous Kat from Otion teaching her famous swirling class.

Wednesday January 8th, 2012

Local soap supply company will be hosting their 4th annual weekend of soapmaking lead by Anne-Marie Faiola, CEO of Bramble Berry Soapmaking Supplies. The exclusive class hosts aspiring soapmakers from all over the world, teaching students everything soapmaking from the basics to advanced techniques.

Successful artists and leaders in the soapmaking industry are also flown in to make special guest appearances. This year’s “soap’lebrities” include Debby Chialtas of Soapylove, Erin Pikor of Naiad Soap Arts along with local soapmaking artisans Anne-Marie Faiola and Kat Hackney, manager of Otion the Soap Bar in downtown Bellingham.

Faiola explains the event in a giddy manner. “It’s going to be a beautiful and jam-packed weekend full of soapmaking, creativity, laughs and cupcakes. We always end the busy weekend with a cupcake social. I think everyone always has a great time, including the Bramble Berry staff.”

This year’s projects will include: advanced melt & pour with Debbie Chialtas including cupcake soap and splattered paint soap. Four different scrubs with Erin Pikor. Learn 2 swirl techniques in cold process soap with Kat. Make lotion with Jill Heuser from Northwest Scents. And learn to infuse herbs and spices in cold process soap with Anne-Marie.

“I’m so excited about the teachers flying up this year. Our students are getting this unique opportunity to learn from the best in the industry. And I’m always thrilled to teach a class full of interested and dedicated students.” says Faiola.

The weekend of intense soapmaking is June 15^th-17^th, 2012 in Bellingham, WA. Learn more about Soap Weekend Intensive 2012 at www.brambleberry.com and read some fun blog posts of SWI past at www.soapqueen.com. See SWI blog posts from the past SWI 2008, SWI 2009, SWI 2010 and SWI 2011)

Purchase your ticket here while spots are still available.

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Kristy teaching her class last year on neon cold process goat milk soap.

Soap Weekend Intensive 2012. Be There.

November 29, 2011 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

SWI 2012: June 15th -17th,

Sign Up HERE!

Bramble Berry’s annual Soap Weekend Intensive is an incredible opportunity to learn innovative techniques from some of the best instructors in the country. These classes are HANDS ON and you’ll leave with soap, supplies and the confidence to make projects on your own.

This year, we are proud to welcome back Debbie Chialtas of Soapylove, Erin Pikor of Naid Soap Arts, Kat Hackney of Otion, Jill Heuser of Northwest Scents, and of course, moi, Anne-Marie Faiola of Bramble Berry. Also, the very vain part of me would like to point out that in the photo below, I look a little doughier in the face than usual because I had just had a baby. Eh hem, back to the topic at hand…

Anne-Marie cutting the CP soap project- SWI 2011 [Read more…]

Super Sunday Soaping

June 13, 2011 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Sunday was a completely hands on exercise in controlled chaos at Soap Weekend Intensive. While Saturday was all demonstration and lots of information flow (see blog post HERE), yesterday was all about the soap art and the playing!

We kicked off the day by cutting 2 of the Cold Process soap batches from yesterday. While we were scared to cut soap that was less than 1 day old, we only got a little bit of breakage and drag tearing. The soaps both turned out extraordinarily beautiful.

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Stupendous Session of Soaping

June 11, 2011 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

The first official day of Soap Weekend Intensive was today and it did not disappoint. Dare I say that it was the best SWI yet?! (See SWI blog posts from the past…SWI 2008, SWI 2009and SWI 2010.)We had a record 21 students this year and rented a building within walking distance to Otion. We had extra assistants on hands because we wanted to make sure that each and every student had lots of opportunities to learn and ask questions from our fully-trained soapmaking ninjas.

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Soap Weekend Intensive Prep with Kristy

June 9, 2011 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Today marks the 2 day countdown to Soap Weekend Intensive 2011. Eek! We’re running around the warehouse working on the finishing touches to make this a soaping weekend to remember. And I’m picking the cutest outfits for Jamisen to wear when he makes his guest appearances.

Kristy, from Kristy’s Lovely Lathers, and her husband Bruce flew into Seattle last night. After many emails and phone calls over the last few months, it’s so nice to finally meet them!

Amber was Kristy’s soaping assistant today.

We all had takeout last night from the best local Italian cafe, Mambo Italiano and got caught up on their life in Ohio. They’re both really into Harley Davidson and luckily we have a Harley Davidson store here, in downtown Bellingham. Guess where Bruce was first thing this morning? You guessed it! Bruce is such a perfect match with Kristy. You can tell he’s Kristy’s number one fan. And, he’s super generous with his time too. He even offered to mow our lawn (and now, my husband is his biggest fan!). I was tempted but politely turned him down. I wouldn’t dream of putting him to work on his vacation.

Playing with the BB Neon Colorants…so bright!

Today, Kristy’s here in the BB Soap Lab prepping for her Saturday class. She is such a talented artist, er, soaper. It’s hard to distinguish where the soap science ends and the art begins. Her soaps are so stunning I’d like to just keep one in my bathroom as art to impress guests. It’s such a treat to watch her in her element and create these insane masterpieces which we call soap. And did I mention she came to the warehouse bearing gifts? Too many gifts and for my entire marketing team included! She even brought gifts for little Jamisen. It was an eventful morning full of squeals, oohs, ahhs and a ton of laughing. If this morning was any indication, I have a feeling this is going to be the best SWI event to date!

Kristy’s jaw-dropping soap.

Read Kristy’s full bio HERE and see SWI blog posts from the past…SWI 2008, SWI 2009 and SWI 2010.

2 Spots Left for SWI

June 3, 2011 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We had 2 cancellations for Soap Weekend Intensive 2011. That means YOU can still sign up for the 4th annual soaping extravaganza! This year is going to be bigger and better than ever (and not just because our little Bramble Baby will be making frequent guest appearances). We have a new location that can fit 19 students and more projects.

Meet all of the SWI teachers HERE: Kristy Schemrich from Kristy’s Lovely Lathers, Paula Kates from PJ Soaps, Jill Heuser from Northwest Scents and myself, of course!

See blog posts from SWI 2008, SWI 2009 and SWI 2010 and sign up today while spots are still available!

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

Only 8 Spots Left! HURRY!

February 2, 2011 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

You’re invited to the 4th annual Soap Weekend Intensive. This year is going to be bigger and better than ever (and not just because our little Bramble Baby will be making frequent guest appearances). We have a new location that can fit 19 students and more projects. We’ve also confirmed the last guest teaching spot: SWI veteran Paula Kates from PJ Soaps! Learn more and sign up HERE and meet all of your teachers HERE.

Beautiful soaps of PJ Soaps

Paula Kates is owner, artist and CEO of PJ Soaps. With an extensive background in Linguistic Philosophy, Paula left behind 11 years in the administrative world of the performing arts, first at Milwaukee’s Florentiine Opera, then with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and eventually cutting out on her own and turning her love of art towards soap making.

Paula has been making Melt and Pour soap since 2003 most recently winning “Best Soap” at the 2007 ISOCAN soapmaker’s convention in the Chicago area and “Best Soap” at the 2008 First Annual Georgia Spring Fling Soapmaker’s Convention in Conyers GA (outside of Atlanta) and has been aiming for mastery of the art form ever since. Paula is teaching two technique classes at Otion SWI: one on soap painting (really, you can paint just like her!) and utilizing the Melt and Pour Tool Kit to make incredible soaps (it’s easier than you think!)

SWI students hard at work

This year, Paula will be teaching her famous soap painting technique. She’ll also share her tricks on using the injection tool for the finest deatils! Check out the fun we had the last three years:

(SWI 2008, SWI 2009 and SWI 2010) and sign up today while spots are still available!