Tyler Durden and Jos from Token Studio share a mutual love for crafting soap, but with one using ingredients a little less sinister! Once again, the EmptyChair team was taken through their shop – an art and craft nut’s dream – to the studio at the back; moulds covering the far wall, a concoction of scents, and a collection of flower petal garnishes for the soaps.
Jos explained that the process was very similar to his previous bath bomb making class in respect to choosing colours and scents, but the rest was quite different. Firstly, he provided two different soap bases: one composed of coconut oil and water, and the other, olive oil and water. These oils are mixed with the water and left to set over the course of six weeks, so luckily they came pre-prepared for our workshop! Point being, the coconut oil base would produce an opaque soap, whereas the olive oil would give a clear appearance to the soap.
Once our blocks of the soap bases were cut into small cubes, they were added to small heating saucepans, to reduce into a thick liquid soap. Then it was time to choose which flower/herb garnishes we wanted in our soaps; anything from mint, apple flower, forget-me-nots, chrysanthemum, to rose petals – each with their own special health benefits.
We chose dried mint and lavender, and then picked out some complementary scents! Once all of this was in order, per Jos’ instruction, we simply added them to our soap bases, along with our chosen colours. The results were spectacular; light blues, vibrant yellows, and some simple clear and white soaps too!
With our chosen moulds (a teddy bear and a paw print, along with some others) we began pouring the bases in! This was the tricky part, but Jos was on hand to clean up any spills, then it was time for a break as the moulds were left to set.
Sat around the studio table, Jos went into more detail about how his partner Jing brought in many of the herbs and flowers from China, explaining the the various dermatological properties of each of the garnishes. Who knew that lavender was a herbal anti-depressant!
When the soaps had set in the freezer, we had the delightful task of pushing them out of their moulds, which was supremely satisfying. Seeing your very own soapy blend come to life was excellent, especially our blue teddy!
If you want to try your hand at crafting your own soapy goodness, head to the EmptyChair app and see what other amazing workshops we’ve got for you! http://apple.co/2iujL5x
