White Pine Soapworks -
a left-handed artisan
It's now past the Summer solstice in 2014! I'll be taking off a week in early August for soapmaking for the 2014 Feast of the Hunter's Moon in West Lafayette, IN on October 3, 4 & 5, 2014. We'll be stepping back to the late 1700's - about 1795 or so. We have a great time and I view it as my 'vacation' every year. And I only have to drive 15 miles one way! What a bargain. (http://www.tcha.mus.in.us/feast.htm) I'll be making 30 or so batches of soap (each batch makes 27 bars on a good day of cutting).
Last years Feast saw a bit of rain on Saturday and Sunday (as usual) but it wasn't a washout the way it has been a few of the years.
It's after July 4 now and warm and stormy. The goats have a nice draft-free quonsets (huge plastic septic tanks with a door cut in the side, the pigs are in their muddy homes, the horses are slick and shiny and the chickens are almost ready to start laying. Around 13 new hens!
No soap recently, but soon..
Feast of the Hunter's Moon 2009 - IT WAS COLD!!! |
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All's quiet and cold on the first 'bend' of the creek.
SOAP MAKING:
I've been making and selling soap since 1978 - 36 years! As a general rule, my soaps are primarily lard-based with olive oil and whole, free-range eggs (for lather and richness) and of course whole, fresh goats milk! Other oils are added to enhance the soap's properties - such as shea butter, apricot kernel oil and cocoa butter just to name a few. Other soaps I make are: vegetarian (with homemade soymilk!), beer, pumpkin, pine tar, petroleum jelly, Hostess (a smaller soap for wedding favors and other events). And just about anything else that can be soaped!...
Hostess soaps are custom made! These are usually 3/4" wide by 1 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" tall (or custom-sized-it's up to you!) bars. Please allow 4 weeks for making and curing. These bars can be made in a variety of scents - please ask!
I've been making and selling soap since 1978 - 36 years! As a general rule, my soaps are primarily lard-based with olive oil and whole, free-range eggs (for lather and richness) and of course whole, fresh goats milk! Other oils are added to enhance the soap's properties - such as shea butter, apricot kernel oil and cocoa butter just to name a few. Other soaps I make are: vegetarian (with homemade soymilk!), beer, pumpkin, pine tar, petroleum jelly, Hostess (a smaller soap for wedding favors and other events). And just about anything else that can be soaped!...
Hostess soaps are custom made! These are usually 3/4" wide by 1 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" tall (or custom-sized-it's up to you!) bars. Please allow 4 weeks for making and curing. These bars can be made in a variety of scents - please ask!
I live on and work from 25 wooded acres in North Central Indiana
My Oberhasli goats and I live on about 5-10 acres of my property. I leave the rest wild for deer, owls, tiny nocturnal flying squirrels, wild turkeys, Red-Tail hawks, crows, skunks (my favorite!!), coyotes, fox, and other Indiana wildlife. |
 My acreage sits on part of a Native American reservation (one of several of the Burnett's Reserves). I've lived in this area for many years and enjoy the peace and quiet of the property.
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