Looking back, I can scarcely believe that six months have passed since I posted in English. Although my editorial politics is not to publish more than one article per week, it still did come as a surprise. Due to my editorial vision, I have chosen to post mostly in my native language as there are not many blogs with similar thematic. Adding to this, there is also a tiny-winey emotional reason. Since I am living almost 5 yeas outside of Serbia, I do sometimes miss Serbian. Occasionally, there are months in a row I don't even have the chance to speak it with anyone. For all my wonderful soapy readers around the globe, I have installed a translator button on the right margin, so that they can follow my latest outings in the soap wonderland.
More than 5 years ago when I first start soaping, the worldwide online soapmaking community was quite strong and diverse. I know that the times are changing and people are venturing into new personal & professional traits, but lately I cannot help but feel saddened by the overall demise of many blogs devoted to soapcrafting. I loved reading personal adventures, anecdotes and experiments of fellow artisans. I felt so positively inspired by all the passion and commitment they seemed to invest into this craft. Almost all of my favorite blogs are now defunct or 'on a temporary leave'. It makes me feel rather old. Am I living in a bygone era? Am I becoming a traditionalist?
I miss those days when I would sit on a Sunday morning eager to read newest posts form my favorite bloggers, discovering new talents and connecting with other soapmakers. Although my focus has always been directed more to recruiting new handmade soap lovers from the general public, I have been rethinking about the roots of my own soapmaking passion. Prompted by a several magazine features I was blessed with in the past few months, I decided to go back to the soapy beginnings and recreate my first soap.
One of the veteran soapmakers once wrote that once you have made your first bath, you are hooked for life. This logic has definitely proven to be truth in my case. After almost a year of researching for recipes and materials, I had finally managed to get my hands on some of the basic supplies. The rest is history. Due to the unfortunate computer crash, I am missing all my notes, recipes and photos from those first few moths. Actually, I am missing all digital data from my life before I moved to the Netherlands in August 2010.
I do however remember, and I always will, that first soaping session. The excitement, the preparations, anxiety & anticipation will always stay with me. Luckily, I do have a live witness who can testify to all that. My friend Milica whose first name inspired the blog acronym, was there to support, help & encourage me. The very first batch we ever concocted was a luxurious shea butter soap scented with almond fragrance. It was like magic. Those 24 hours we had to wait before unmolding, were so excruciatingly long, that I haven't felt that kind of anxiety ever since. I was most definitely hooked. So much so, the soap bug doesn't seem will be letting me go any time soon.
The soap I am presenting you today is an homage to those humble beginnings; to friendship, passion, faith, artistry and craftsmanship. I have used one of my much-loved recipes with olive oil as a base with additions of scrumptious shea butter, sweet almond and avocado oils.The fragrance is based on crunchy almond biscotti cookies, or in original Italian - cantuccini.
The mellow flavor of Californian almonds here is mixed with crispy baked crust with buttery undertones. I've added some fine-milled powder of apricot shells for mild exfoliation and specks of colloidal oatmeal, one of my favorite additives ever. I just adore the calming and nutritive benefits of oatmeal.
This soap differs immensely form that first batch, but passion remains the same. Long time ago, I have deliberately chosen not to let soap rule my life, and by not burning the entire wood supply, I can keep the fire live for many years to come. So yes, there will be more soaps and posts on SenMi in the future, as I seem to to live still enchanted by the soap magic.
More than 5 years ago when I first start soaping, the worldwide online soapmaking community was quite strong and diverse. I know that the times are changing and people are venturing into new personal & professional traits, but lately I cannot help but feel saddened by the overall demise of many blogs devoted to soapcrafting. I loved reading personal adventures, anecdotes and experiments of fellow artisans. I felt so positively inspired by all the passion and commitment they seemed to invest into this craft. Almost all of my favorite blogs are now defunct or 'on a temporary leave'. It makes me feel rather old. Am I living in a bygone era? Am I becoming a traditionalist?
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| Biscuit In a Soap or Soap in a Biscuit? |
I miss those days when I would sit on a Sunday morning eager to read newest posts form my favorite bloggers, discovering new talents and connecting with other soapmakers. Although my focus has always been directed more to recruiting new handmade soap lovers from the general public, I have been rethinking about the roots of my own soapmaking passion. Prompted by a several magazine features I was blessed with in the past few months, I decided to go back to the soapy beginnings and recreate my first soap.
One of the veteran soapmakers once wrote that once you have made your first bath, you are hooked for life. This logic has definitely proven to be truth in my case. After almost a year of researching for recipes and materials, I had finally managed to get my hands on some of the basic supplies. The rest is history. Due to the unfortunate computer crash, I am missing all my notes, recipes and photos from those first few moths. Actually, I am missing all digital data from my life before I moved to the Netherlands in August 2010.
I do however remember, and I always will, that first soaping session. The excitement, the preparations, anxiety & anticipation will always stay with me. Luckily, I do have a live witness who can testify to all that. My friend Milica whose first name inspired the blog acronym, was there to support, help & encourage me. The very first batch we ever concocted was a luxurious shea butter soap scented with almond fragrance. It was like magic. Those 24 hours we had to wait before unmolding, were so excruciatingly long, that I haven't felt that kind of anxiety ever since. I was most definitely hooked. So much so, the soap bug doesn't seem will be letting me go any time soon.
The mellow flavor of Californian almonds here is mixed with crispy baked crust with buttery undertones. I've added some fine-milled powder of apricot shells for mild exfoliation and specks of colloidal oatmeal, one of my favorite additives ever. I just adore the calming and nutritive benefits of oatmeal.
This soap differs immensely form that first batch, but passion remains the same. Long time ago, I have deliberately chosen not to let soap rule my life, and by not burning the entire wood supply, I can keep the fire live for many years to come. So yes, there will be more soaps and posts on SenMi in the future, as I seem to to live still enchanted by the soap magic.
Uvek je interesantno kad se posle izvesnog vremena vratis na neku ideju iz proslosti pa je ponovo iskoristis za neku kreaciju. Sapun je ispao fenomenalno, dizajn u potpunosti odgovara izabranom mirisu. Vezano za vreme I mnoge soapere koji vise ne bloguju to je stvarno tacno. Bas je I meni krivo za one, za koje verujem da su doprineli izgradnji soaping community, da vise nisu aktivni. Ali to je zivot... Drago mi je da cemo jos dugo imati prilike da uzivamo u SenMi sapunima I ovom blogu.
ОдговориИзбришиDa, baš mi se dopada kako je ispao, a koristila sam i potpuno novo mirisno ulje, pa sam naravno, samo zamišljala šta sve može da se desi...
ИзбришиMeni je posebno žao kad vidim da ljudi odustaju, ostave blog da tavori ili ga skroz izbrišu bez ikakve najave ili objašnjenja. Nekako se baš rastužim... Izgleda kao da im nije stalo. :(
Ima neke nostalgije u ovom postu koja mi nikako ne ide uz ovako veličanstven sapun. Ili možda ipak ide :).
ОдговориИзбришиHahah hvala na komplimentu. Istina, ima nostalgije. Nešto sam u poslednje vreme sklona podsećanju i preispitivanju.
Избриши