Meet the Artist - What Lights You Up?

Hi, my name is Sharon, and I come from a background of exporting Cape Flora from Cape Town, South Africa, and sending it mostly to the Far East. Crunching numbers was a huge part of my day, and it was peppered with moments of beauty and creativity when I had the opportunity to inspect the flowers and/or photograph them and work on the website. I've carried a little bit of that with me as I still appreciate beautiful flowers, and have a special spot in my heart for Cape Flora in particular.

When the soaping bug first bit me a few years ago, I discovered that finding great suppliers for my raw materials (especially in South Africa where they weren't readily available or grouped together on soap making supplier websites) got my engines going. To me, it was like trying to find that 1 cent that your accounting books don't balance by. I love comparing prices to get the best possible price per kg, finding the best customer service, and also sourcing unusual products.

Soapmaking itself, however, speaks to my creative side. It's reminiscent of pouring art, water marbling (ebru and suminagashi) on paper, silk, nails, and carpet, pointillism, cake decorating, and with soap dough, the possibilities truly are endless. Beyond soap, I enjoy beautiful scents, both fragrance oils, essential oils, and even the beautiful natural scents of the butters and oils that I use. I enjoy the feel of the oils directly on my skin, and I love putting all of these elements together, measuring and weighing out all the ingredients, and watching them meld together into new creations.

When I'm not creating or taking in any soapy creations, then I only have eyes for my Liefie(*), Joshua. It's going on 10 years now that we know each other, and he still makes me weak at the knees. I simply can't picture a future without him in it. I waited a very long time to meet someone like him, and since we've finally found each other, ain't no way I'm going to be walking away.

Since we're a team, Joshua will also be answering the same questions, letting you see a little bit of the amazing man that I know who inspires me on a daily basis to be more creative.

(*) Liefie - Afrikaans word which is the same as saying "lovey"