Last year I met Kenna of Amathia Soapworks who lives about 20 minutes from me, after she found me on Facebook via Celine of iamhandmade in Ireland. This is how the internet works for us!! We’ve been to lunch at Panera several times, talking soap for hours on end. Right around Christmas time Kenna suggested that we collaborate on a soap project after the holidays were behind us. Her suggestion was that each of us would come up with a fragrance blend for the other one to make into soap. We decided to make it happen yesterday at her place.

Here is the fun part: We knew going into this project that we are opposites when it comes to our soapmaking styles. I am a precision soapmaker, measuring temperatures and weighing everything. Kenna prefers a more laid back approach. Aside from her accurate oil, lye, and fragrance measurements, everything else is fair game for creative license.

We are also used to completely different work spaces. I work out of my kitchen, and she has a dedicated workspace in the basement (without a sink, gasp!).

So, I brought my pot of oils already melted, my mold lined and ready, my infrared thermometer, and of course my camera! The fragrance blend I came up with for Kenna was very well suited for salt soap, so I prepped her for that idea a few days earlier.

Kenna mixed up my fragrance blend right away – a yummy fruity-floral blend that is going to need a name!

Then we made our lye solutions, and our first discovery. Kenna adds the lye directly from the bottle into the water, then stirs it up. There were surprisingly very few fumes. I felt more comfortable measuring the lye separately and then adding it to the water. Without a vent like I’m used to at home, the dry lye was flying around the air and we had to grab the ventilator mask. It also seemed like my lye solution was creating more fumes than Kenna’s.

Then Kenna used a coffee grinder to prep her European spa salts for the soap.

She also pulled out some of the oils to mix with some green and blue micas which were carefully measured into the cups. Oh wait, I was the one who measured the micas. Never mind!

When she thought her oils and lye solution were ready, we checked the temps just for fun (something she normally doesn’t do). She was a bit surprised to find out that they were around 100 degrees – warmer than she thought. Her goal in making the salt soap was to create graduated layers from green to blue.

After mixing the green and blue soaps, Kenna poured a layer of green soap in the bottom of the mold. Then she added some of the blue soap to the green and poured again.

Kenna’s signature tops are covered with a dusting of more beautiful micas and glitter.

After her soap was finished, she put it in the oven on low heat and was able to cut it just four hours after it was made!

Isn’t it gorgeous?? She posted this photo on Facebook and had every bar spoken for shortly after. And for good reason – it’s a work of art!

I’m going to stop here and give you all a rest. Tomorrow you’ll get to see the soap I made.

Update: Here’s Part 2