Last Day

Today I hand of the reins of Elysium Bath and Balm to Sonja Torpey from Gladstone in Queensland. Feeling a little sad, but the birth of my third child has tipped the balance and it is time to pass the business onto someone else who will cherish, nuture and build it further.

Sonja is an experienced hobby soapmaker, with the knowledge, creativity and business skills needed for the business. I will be providing mentoring advice if she needs it, but I doubt she'll need much. All the best Sonja

New Soap Photos

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

The Rocks Market

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

... 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heritage Rose Cupcake Soap

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

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.