- What is your name? Karina Gallo
What types of crafts do you make? Handmade soaps and lip balms using quality ingredients, only the best oils and color pigments I can find, and insane passion for what I do mixed into every bar.
- How did you come up with your shop name/tag line or any unique product names? I held a contest on the Etsy forums–and someone had suggested “my soap makes sense”…so I twisted it a bit and did a play on words, coming up with Soap That Makes Scents
- How did you get into making bath and body products? I first learned to make soap a few years ago when my husband was sent on a business trip to England. The corporation paid for the wives to go as well as a “show of support” and, well, there was not really a whole lot to do and I didn’t want to sit in a hotel room in between business dinners and social events. I discovered a place nearby that offered a professional one-day course in soap making and arranged to have a class there. Later on, I took several soap-making courses in Oregon, and continuously read books, learned new techniques, etc. I then joined the Handcrafted Soap Maker’s Guild in 2003 which is a great way to network and learn new skills. Lip balms just followed naturally (I started making them last year) as I wanted to offer variety in my store as well. It can be a lot of work, but it’s also quite therapeutic
- What is your favorite thing about soap making? I love working with new scents. As soon as I get in a shipment of
new fragrance oils I tear open the box and immediately open each one to get a full whiff of the essence of what I will be working with. And I write down what it reminds me of…how it makes me feel. It’s from there I can take the next step: using it properly to invoke those same feelings and memories in you. I want to capture a moment of life in every single bar.
- What is your least favorite thing about it? Probably waiting the 4-6 weeks curing time so the bars mellow properly…the longer they sit, the better they become–but it’s SOOO hard to smell all those luscious scents and see all those vibrant colors and not want to grab a bar and jump in the shower!
What makes your products special? None of my soaps contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) which is known to irritate the skin. The sodium lauryl sulfate found in commercial soaps and some other soaps on Etsy (it’s claimed as a lathering agent) is exactly the same as you would find in a car wash or even a garage, where it is used to degrease car engines. In the same way as it dissolves the grease on car engines, sodium lauryl sulfate also dissolves the oils on your skin, which can cause a drying effect. It is also well documented that it denatures skin proteins, which causes not only irritation, but also allows environmental contaminants easier access to the lower, sensitive layers of the skin. Hence, NONE of my soaps contain either SLS or SLES.
- Where do you create? In my mind, in my workshop, in my office…even in the bakery! Oh, I have a workshop where I steadfastly create my soap loafs, bathsalts and lipbalms, but I’ve been known to sit in a bakery drinking a cup of coffee and wonder how I can incorporate one of their best-selling desserts into my next best-selling soap or lipbalm.
- Walk us through your typical day. I’m usually up at 4:30am and working on handwriting invoices, stamping coupons, and writing thank you cards for my customers. Usually, I’ll use these wee hours of the morning to work on my promotional packages/samples that I send out to media contacts and other people. Once my daughter is up, after breakfast we head over to my workshop, which is actually in the basement kitchen/working area of a local church that I rent out. It’s just perfect with a kitchen, small office, storage area and ample work space. Plus, the kitchen area is commercially regulated and government inspected, ensuring a sanitary work area. Since my daughter is still young, most of her day is spent sleeping, so I had a bassinet set up in one corner of the office, and a penned-off play area for her in the work space. We usually don’t head back home until 4pm or so, and the go through the “normal chores” of cooking, laundry, etc. After the little one’s put to bed, I work well into the night finishing paperwork, working on more promos, working on the computer, etc. It’s a full day, every day.
- What advice would you give someone wanting to get into making soap?
Learn ALL you can about it. Soap making isn’t a business you can just start up one day and jump into. You have to be well-aware of the types of ingredients you will be working with, how to properly measure and handle lye and other fats, the laws regulating the labeling and selling of cosmetic items, the properties of essential oils and fragrance oils you will be working with, just to name a few. Take some classes, read up all you can on the saponification process (the chemical reaction that occurs when fats or oils come into contact with lye) and then read some more. Talk to people in the industry and join soap making forums
- What is your favorite Etsy shop? Oh wow…there’s SOOOO many out there that I frequent often…and admire greatly. Right now, one of my faves is schoollocker.etsy.com I have yet to purchase from her, but if I could, I’d buy out her entire store.
- Anything you’d like to share about your personal life? Sometimes…late at night…when no one’s looking…I’ve eaten an entire Sara Lee cake in one sitting.
- Would you rather be rich or famous? Why can’t I have both?
- What’s your Favorite….
- food? Anything seafood or Italian
- color? Red—the color of passion
- website? Mine–lol http://kreatedbykarina.etsy.com
- blog? And another winner…http://kbyk.blogspot.com
- scent? Oh wow, that’s hard. Really hard to answer. I love my Red Currant & Thyme Tea right now, but my favorite scents change depending upon my mood and craving.
- song? “Hurt” (cover by Johnny Cash)
- movie? TAPS…an oldie, but a goodie.
- book? Anything true-crime or autobiographical.
- ice cream flavor? Chocolate Mint Chip…yes, I’ll be doing a soap and lip balm in that one soon
- Starbucks drink? White Chocolate Mocha.
- restaurant? I love dining in restaurants…I don’t have any favorites, but I really want to try one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants in NYC..I know he has a few.
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on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 12:56 and is filed under Interview, Bath Products, Etsy, Handmade, Soap, Featured Shop.
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