elysium-soaptalk

New Soap Photos

2011-07-18T10:33:00.003+10:00

This year I have been making my soaps bigger and more beautiful, here are some photos of the new look

The Rocks Market

2011-04-07T15:03:00.006+10:00

Great news! I have been accepted to The Rocks Market here in Sydney and start on April 16 and 17. I will still do Mosman Market and others, so may not be at the Rocks every Saturday and Sunday. I am a casual so will not be in the same spot each week. Check my website calender or Facebook page for market dates and stall location. Cheers

New Boxes for macaron soaps

2011-04-01T15:11:00.005+11:00

Last year I was using some "off the shelf" boxes for my macaron soaps, but they were a bit lacking in pizazz. I have had some custom made in a bright purple (brighter than the photoo shows) with a clear lid and they really make the soaps stand out. Have yet to design the labelling, it will have look very smart to compete with the box.

Macaron Soaps

2010-12-07T12:33:00.001+11:00

Have been wanting to make macaron soaps for ages and finally had a chance. I bought a few macarons and cast them in silicon, made lots of wax copies and then made trays of silicone moulds. Have been busy making them since then. From left to right: Chocolate, Pistachio, Mint, Blackberry, Raspberry, Mango and Passionfruit. More photos, including packaging later

Bonnie

2010-04-19T16:21:00.003+10:00

This is my friend Bonnie, she helps me a day or two a week. She is a great help, she cuts and wraps soaps and assists me making the cupcake soaps which are very labour intensive.

Bonnie is pretending to be shy and not looking at the camera.

GHA Gift Fair 2010

2010-03-11T14:30:00.006+11:00

Once again Elysium exhibited at the GHA Gift Fair at Homebush. Although it seemed quieter than last year, orders were good with many of last years clients reordering.

The mini cupcakes were a big hit, they look gorgeous in their box of six cakes with a pretty pink ribbon. As usual, the big cupcakes were very popular as were the bath products.

Clients were very impressed with our new range of luxury soaps. They are exquistely boxed in frosted polypropylene boxes and look very classy.

Frangipani Cupcake Soap

2010-03-04T13:35:00.004+11:00

My newest Cupcake soap is Frangipani, sunny and bright and smelling of summer.

2010-02-23T13:45:00.004+11:00

Meet Millie, my new shadow. She is a 4 month old standard schnauzer. We got her before Christmas as a present for the kids, but she seems to spend most of her time following me or sleeping. Millie comes to the factory with me and has her own play area and knows what areas are out of bounds. I enjoy her companionship and having something other than the wall to talk to when there is there is no one else here.

Website Now Shop Online

2009-11-26T14:47:00.005+11:00

The Elysium Bath and Balm website www.elysiumb.com.au was upgraded to a shop online site a few weeks ago and the orders are coming in steadily. Why didn't I do this before? Lisa, my web person, did a great job quickly and efficiently. The cart is easy to work with both at my end and for the buyers. Thanks Lisa

Summer Soaps

2009-11-02T16:58:00.006+11:00

I have had a great time putting together some new soaps for the Christmas/Summer. Bright colours and sunny/fresh scents to brighten your day, check out them out at my markets.
Left to Right: Summer Fun, Mango Tango, Rose Confetti, Lilac, Lemon Verbena, Frangipani

"Daisy Daisy...

2009-11-02T16:49:00.006+11:00

... give me your answer do"

A lovely new cupcake soap called Daisy Chain with a fresh spring scent that smells of flowers and new green growth. White base and flowers and a marbelled green top.

Getting to work

2009-08-06T10:50:00.003+10:00

One of the joys of living in Sydney is that sooner or later you are going to have to cross the Harbour. My new factory is only 3km from home as the crow flies, but I do have to cross the Harbour/Parramatta River. Lucky for me there is still a car ferry operating on the harbour from Putney to Mortlake. An unusual and very peaceful way of negotiating peak hour traffic.

New Factory

2009-08-03T12:50:00.005+10:00

In July I moved into my new factory space in Mortlake. What a difference having production, storage, soap drying and office space all under the one roof is making. I feel like a pig in mud LOL!

GHA Trade Fair

2009-02-26T11:04:00.010+11:00

I have just done my first trade fair, here in Sydney. The lead up to this four-day fair was exciting and somewhat daunting. The response to my products, especially the cup cake soaps, was very positive. I have met some wonderful people from all over Australia, even Japan. It is amazing the interesting business that people create and it was wonderful talking to the owners about their businesses. Look out for my products in gift and other stores as far away as WA and Tassie, over the next month or two. I have also received a number of enquiries from hotels, wedding bonbonierre and gift hamper businesses and look forward to working with them.

Bon Savon Soap

2009-01-26T13:22:00.004+11:00

Some friends of mine, Gina and her sister Mary, have just launched their new soap business called Bon Savon. They have gorgeous essential oil soaps topped with flowers, citrus and shells that smell as good as they look. Here's cheers, wishing them all the best.

Photographing soap

2009-01-19T09:18:00.003+11:00

After a very busy Christmas period, I have been re-photographing my soaps for the website, playing with light boxes and big sheets of white card to get great, shadow-free shots. This one has to be my favourite. It is of five floral soaps, from top to bottom: Gardenia, Orange Blossom, Lilac, Romantic Rose and Lavender Citrus.

Gorgeous Gift bags

2008-11-23T16:49:00.006+11:00

I found these divine box/bags that look like handbags and knew that they were perfect for my Gift Packs

Heritage Rose Cupcake Soap

2008-11-13T20:47:00.003+11:00

A client and I were discussing the possibility of making a Rose version of my soap, but I was unsure how to colour it without going overboard on pink. She had on her desk the most beautiful full blown roses - apricot with pink tips on the petals - I was inspired! The rose on my soap is also apricot with pink tips and the colours are followed through in the cake. With it's soft old fashioned look and scent, I have called it Heritage Rose.

Gardenia Soaps

2008-10-13T09:07:00.004+11:00

Yesterday, was a beautiful Spring day and I had a very sucessful market. The favourite soaps of buyers seemed to be the Gardenia soaps, both the cupcake and bar soap varieties.

The cupcake version looks sophisticated with a melt and pour flower soap on top and an all-cream colour theme. The bar soap version is a swirl of green and white. The Gardenia fragrance is quite a strong scent, just like the heady scent of real gardenias. My own gardenia plants are starting to bud and I can't wait until my garden is filled with the same divine smell.

Blogged by the Soap-Queen

2008-10-07T20:00:00.010+11:00

Wow, imagine my delight and surprise when I discovered that Anne-Marie of Brambleberry in the U.S. has posted about me and my cupcake soaps on her blog (see her Oct 5 post)

http://soap-queen.blogspot.com/2008/10/soaps-on-barbi.html

Brambleberry make the delicious smelling fragrances that I use for my cupcakes soap and Ann-Marie's blog is one of the soaping communities most popular. If you are into all things soap, you will love her blog.

Layered Soaps

2008-09-27T15:58:00.005+10:00

Making layers in soaps can be fun, even if a little tricky. The Rainbow soap is my first four layer soap in a while. I was testing some new colours and love how they turned out. Rainbow soap is scented with a fragrance called Happy which seemed very fitting.

Tipping the mould on an angle can be a great way to layer soaps in a more dramatic way. The soap on the left is Carrot and Buttermilk, scented with Orange and Cedarwood essential oils One side is made with carrot juice, the other side with buttermilk, a very thin layer of oxide seperates the halves to give visual lift. The other soap is Lilac, inspired by the different colours these sweet smelling flowers come in.

Love Spell

2008-09-22T15:43:00.002+10:00

This one is a bit over the top, LOL! A pink-red base , swirled with purpleand sprinkled with fairy dusted topped with a red heart dusted with red mica. Do you think it is too too much?

Passionfruit Cup Cake

2008-09-15T10:03:00.004+10:00

A younger, hipper friend of mine has been suggesting for some time that I start a Blog or a Facebook page to help promote my soap business and I have taken up her suggestion with this Blog. This same friend listened to me lament a failed attempt to reinvent my passionfruit cupcake and she suggested the following colour combination - I love her concept and hope you do too. Thanks "P" for some great ideas, maybe I should put you on commission LOL.

Coffee Cupcake Soap

2008-09-08T12:33:00.000+10:00

Here is Saturday's Coffee CupCake soap unmoulded. I found these coffee bean moulds on the web catalogue of my favourite silicone mould maker (in the US) and just had to get them. After they arrived I set about designing and making this gorgeous soap, scented Turkish Mocha - a spicy, complex coffee scent. I can see this appealing to quite a few caffeine addicts I know!

Cupcake soaps

2008-09-08T12:14:00.009+10:00

Sunday was Father's Day, so the kids and I let their Dad sleep in. This gave me the chance to photograph my new-style cup cake soaps.Here are a few shots, some are not as well-focused as I would like, but will give you an idea of how they are looking.
From the Top: Chocolate, Fairy Cake, Blackberry, Pina Colada and Raspberry Violet.

Observatory Hotel

2008-09-07T15:36:00.000+10:00

I was delighted to be asked by The Observatory Hotel, Sydney to supply single use versions of our Tub Treats, Bath Oil and new Bubbling Bath Milk for their Romantic Rendeavous package, all in our Romantic Nights scent. Sourcing special packaging was great fun, and I knew I had it right when I found the cutest frosted jars for the bath milk, they pulled the whole look together.

First Blog

2008-09-06T17:36:00.000+10:00

Hi soap friends, this is my first ever blog post.

Today my usual market was rained out, I will really miss seeing my regulars for another month. So I have been looking for things to do with my suddenly free day. My favourite thing to do with any spare time is making soap! Today I have made a Coffee Cupcake soap, I'll post a photo later, it will take a day or two for the coffee colour to come through properly.

Yesterday, I made everyone's favourite cupcake soap - Strawberry Shortcake. The little strawberries are made of M&P soap and the rest is CP soap of Olive, Palm, Coconut, Castor Oils and Cocoa Butter, scented with Brambleberry Strawberry FO. A few weeks ago, I worked out how to pipe the soap icing and have been busy perfecting my technique so that it looks just like whipped cream or butter icing, yum!