Were we prone to punning, we might say that you can really clean up in the soap business if you work yourself into a lather, and Anne-Marie Faiola, owner of Otion — The Soap Bar in Bellingham, might even agree with us.
Faiola will be testing homemade soap at the American Dairy Goat Association conference later this week in Colorado, which isn’t as simple a task as you might think.
“I will be testing all 80-plus entries,” she said. “Hopefully, mostly by hand with just hand-washing, but I might have to jump in the shower and shower for a long time. Three minutes times 80 bars is 240 minutes worth of showering.”
Yikes. We like a long, hot shower as well as the next person, but a four-hour marathon? Let the pruning begin.
But for Faiola, who will also be lecturing at the convention (on cold process soap- and lotion-making), it’s all part of the soap-making game.
In late September, we took a mini road trip with our friend Pam Salisbury up Highway 9 to Bellingham to visit Otion — The Soap Bar, a bright and friendly shop that has been open since 2003, and offers visitors the chance to drop in and make melt-and-pour soap on the fly.
Otion staff includes Faiola; her brother, Erik Faiola (aka “ELF” — his initials), who recently returned to Washington from California to learn the soap business, and Sarah Powell, who helped show us around the shop during our visit.
The soap bar experience lasts about an hour, costs $7, and involves selecting your molds (about 200 to choose from), cutting up the soap base, melting it in a microwave oven, adding colors and scents, mixing and pouring into molds and letting it set. We put Pam to work this time around while we observed and took photos, and she had a great time.
While waiting for your soap to harden, you can check out other shops or eateries in the area, but we suggest you browse through Otion instead. The selection of scents, bases, molds, tools and coloring accessories will inspire soap makers of all ages and interests, and there are plenty of finished soaps, lotions, lip balms and gift ideas as well.
In addition to the soap bar and soap-making supplies, Otion offers classes, workshops and a setting for soap-making parties — something to think about if you’re looking for a fun and unusual outing.
Parties are held in a large upstairs room at Otion, and can be arranged for children and adults for birthdays, girls’ or guys’ nights out (bring the wine and cheese or brews and buffalo wings), baby and bridal showers, singles’ and seniors’ groups, outside office parties or just about any special event.
Soap classes offered at Otion are cold process (soap from scratch), melt-and-pour, hot process, goats’ milk, rebatching soap, discounted water soap and in-the-oven hot process, all at a variety of skill levels.
Other classes and workshops include lotions, lip balms, lipsticks, lava lip glosses and a wide selection of toiletries, such as bath fizzies, bath salts and bath bombs.
And of possible interest to teachers, librarians and senior center activities directors — especially during the holiday season — Faiola is open to giving presentations for classrooms, libraries and other groups in the Snohomish County area as her schedule permits. Contact her at the shop for more information.
Check out the Web site (see box) for Otion history, class schedules and registration, fees, products and to sign up for the Otion newsletter.
Watch for it…
We’ll be featuring a couple of soap projects — inspired by our Otion visit — in Craft Corner during the holiday season.
Look for some easy melt-and-pour soaps and, if we can get the process down and produce a decent sample, instructions for making felted soap.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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