Teach Soap

Hi!

I live in Central PA, and I've been searching high and low for anyone in the area with whom I could get together for some soapmaking. I'm pretty new to the whole world of cp soaping, and I am absolutely not qualified to teach, so when I talk about this with friends and they say "put a group on meetup-dot-com" or something like that, I figure if anyone replies, it will probably be other newbs who want to learn. That's great, but again, I'm not qualified to teach so how do you find soapmaking buddies who already know something and are willing to share?

I've contacted locals who make their own soap to sell, promised that I'm not trying to horn in on their business but just looking to learn for my own interest, but I never get a reply. I've put suggestions in with the local community-ed organizers -- there are pottery classes and painting classes and flower arranging classes, why not soapmaking classes? Again, nothing ever comes of it.

So I'm just wondering about the best way to reach out without making it seem like I'm offering a class or something (did I mention I'm not qualified?).

Great question, Mingo. I'd also be interested to hear how others met friends locally who sell soap. It would be helpful to run ideas by someone else who is selling so they can tell me if I'm crazy or not.

I tried looking for soap-related social groups on Meetup.com here in Seattle but there weren't any. You might want to see if there are any Meetup.com groups in central PA for you.

Zenith Supplies on Roosevelt sells soapmaking supplies. I have not been there in years, but they might have a community board where you could post an announcement for a meet up. People shopping for soap making supplies might see it and be interested. Any natural food co-ops might be another place to try - there you might catch the eye of a person buying natural soaps and wants to learn how to make them.

ETA: this is to Mingofan....who lives in Seattle!

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http://blissfulsoaps.wordpress.com/

Whoops! I'm MingoFan from Central Pennsylvania (where there are no soap groups at all).

But one of the other people in this thread -- robertw98144 -- said he's in the Seattle area.

I teach soap making but were too far away Have you tried a facebook group? Or skyping with your friends on here?

I found some of the soap makers at the Farmers Market are very guarded and don't like newbies. Or even some more seasoned soapmakers.

With so much info on the internet and easy to follow videos from Soap Queen you can do it on your own if you have too.

You aren't too far from me, maybe a couple of hours! I'm in south NJ.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I found out somebody I've met before has made soap in the past. He and his son put together my bun warmer shelf (okay, so I'm using it for soap curing). I gave him some soaps in return. He thought my soaps were really pretty! That's very encouraging to me since I have another 2000 or so bars to make (for the festival I'm vending in) . . . by April Fool's Day (no joke).

I would look up craft clubs and see if they "craft soap". Check at Michaels or other craft stores. Also, check with your county extension office -- maybe they know of a group or check out your local college for classes!

Good luck!

Thanks again!

Jilly, I've tried all those avenues -- there's just nothing soapy going on here in continuing ed, at Michael's, the OLLI folks, county extension, or anywhere else I can find.

It's not that I can't learn off the Internet because that's how I've learned what I have so far. It's that I am all alone in this town, have trouble meeting friends, and the advice I keep getting is "join groups that do what you enjoy so you'll meet people you have something in common with".... So that's what I'm trying to do. It's very difficult being newly divorced and knowing no one. I just thought soapmaking would provide a good foundation for getting to know some new local friends. There are other types of craft groups around, but I'm not at all into scrapbooking (as an example).

So I was just looking for ideas, and thanks to all who have replied!

Is Craigslist very popular in your area? If so, have you thought of putting some type of soap related ad there?

Another option (forgive me, I just love to solve these types of problems) would be to try and hook up with people involved in activities that overlap with soap making: beekeepers (products used in soap) gardeners and herbalists (interests in essential oils) and see if you can help each other out.

If your area is somewhat rural - goat farmers (goats milk soap)? Bulletin board at the farm store?

Barring all else - maybe you are the trailblazer in your area - and you simply have to own that and start teaching others? Did you read Ann-Marie's post where she describes how she got into soapmaking: there was not the depth of information available there is today, so she simply got together with like-minded people and they all figured it out - and it appears they all lived to tell the tale! These days, with the information available - less trial and error and more just doing it.

Good luck! I have never gone through a divorce but I do know what its like to try and make friends in a new area. The sad fact is it just gets harder to meet people once you get older. Feel free to PM me and keep me posted.