Maker of the Month: Bathroom Cult
The founder of Bathroom Cult turned a difficult time in their life into a new way to express themselves; soap craft. After a couple of years of honing their craft, they started selling their products online and locally. Find out more about this witchy maker below!
How long have you been making bath and body products, and
how did you get started? How long have you been selling your
products?
2017 really put me through the wringer.
I’ve always had anxiety but I fell into a deep depression and everything
fell apart. As I tried to put myself back together I reacquainted myself with
witchcraft - focusing on the magic of nature and herbs - and I thought soap would be
a great medium for that. I initially started with melt and pour (I was a little
scared of working with lye haha), but I quickly realized the limitations with
customization and being able to add in certain ingredients. The Soap Queen blog was
my Holy Grail as I was researching and experimenting, along with YouTube
videos.
I’ve been selling since 2019 when I opened my Etsy
shop and also started doing markets around the
city.
What do you love
most about making bath and body products?
Although I
would say I really love the design process - brainstorming a name and combinations
of fragrance and color I think will encompass my idea - over the last year or so
I’ve really fallen in love with the photography part of the process.
I’ve spent a lot of time studying product photography and working to
improve so I can best capture the spirit of my products in a
photo.
What inspires you to
create?
I’ve already mentioned witchcraft
which is a big part of my brand, but I’m also of course inspired by
ancient religion and mythology - Greco-Roman in particular, as well as all things
horror. I’m not constantly thinking about what horror movie icons smell
like, but sometimes I’ll have a concept in mind - a particular scene or
tale and then spend a lot of time researching to try to embody that in scent. I come
from an art background in both traditional and digital media so I’m always
trying to translate the wild ideas I have to soap - a different art medium for
me.
What advice would you
give to someone who wanted to get started?
You
don’t have to do everything and you don’t have to do what
everyone else is doing. I say this in particular about products, but it also applies
for business model, pricing, and whatever else. I only follow a few other makers
because I am easily swayed and starting out, when I saw what others were doing,
especially launching a new line or product, I often wondered if I should be doing
that too. Bath bombs, whipped soap, room spray, shampoo bars, sugar scrubs, etc.
You’ll stretch yourself thin mentally and financially if you try to do
whatever is currently trending. I still wonder if I can “make
it” selling only soaps and candles but it’s important to find
one thing you like making and master that. Every new product you make is another
thing you’ll have to try to market. It becomes a lot to remember at
events!
Who’s
another maker you admire? What do you love about their work?
Ella from Selkie Secrets Co. (@selkiesecretsco) !
We met at a market we were both vending at pre-pandemic. In addition to soap and
skin care she also does jewelry making and traditional art. Her work is rooted in
her Latina heritage as well as witchcraft and her love of mermaids, which I
especially love. I think her brand and vision are strong, and she’s even
put together her own local market for makers recently, Moonlight Market, which I
think is awesome and something I could only dream of doing.
Have you experienced
a failure? How did you work through it, and what did you learn?
Yes, of course, it’d be weird if anyone said they never failed.
I’ve definitely made a batch where I forgot to add in the fragrance oil, I
marketed it as unscented soap! It’s important to pivot, but there are also
times when you just have to take the loss. I once made a batch with a recipe
I’d used before and this time with a new fragrance oil that I thought
behaved fine, but I ended up with lye pockets in the soap. It was the first time I
experienced that and was devastated when I learned what it was after asking online
and that the soap wasn’t safe. It hurt to do - it’s hard to let
go of something you worked hard on - but ultimately I threw it out.
What plans do
you have for your business moving forward?
The
pandemic really affected my life personally - I’ve lost family members -
so I’ve been taking everything one step at a time. Time is an illusion
anyway. But I do want to work on locking down the “business”
side of business and eventually take a course from Modern Soapmaking. I’d
also love to get into wholesaling.
What are your 4 must-have Bramble Berry products? Why are
they your favorite?
Oooh 2 of my favorites you
don’t sell anymore - I really loved Raspberry Ale from the Pacific
Northwest collection.
The sheep silicone mold is absolutely adorable and essential to my Black Philip soaps I make in the winter.
Pomegranate Flowers - I don’t think I’ve seen these anywhere else and they really helped add that final magical touch to my Hades bath potion!
4 inch Silicone Loaf Mold - I have several of these; they’re perfect for making a small batch to test out new fragrances or techniques. I think it’s great for a beginner or experienced soap maker.
Dried Lavender - I would make lavender everything if I could and adding some lavender buds to the top of soaps or in bath salts are a great finish to anything lavender scented! It can be hard to find dried herbs that maintain their vibrancy but Brambleberry's has a uniform and beautiful color.
Orange 10X Essential Oil - I love citrus almost as much as I love lavender and I’ve used this essential oil in blends for soaps and candles.
What’s your favorite Bramble Berry
project/What’s the first project you tried?
Beet Soap Project - This was my
jumping off point with what I initially wanted to do with cold process: a soap made
and colored with natural botanicals. It was like a sign when I found this tutorial,
these were exactly the ingredients I wanted because beet and rose hips’
magical property corresponds with love - something I needed at the time. Now I make
a version of this as my Love Spell soap.
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