Famous Positano Beach

Positano, IT .. a place I had always dreamed of going.  Seeing it's picturesque villa covered hills on 100's of travel magazines all of my life.  I had wanted to go there since I was 12 yrs. old.  I finally made it!!  Positano was better than any dream I could have had.  It exceeded my expectations in so many ways, but the people were what truly made the experience so wonderful.

I worked in the travel industry for years and although I loved it I always felt something was missing in my life.  I had creative energy stirring within me that needed to be developed in to something.  In 1996 I accidently found my calling when stumbling upon a candle and soap making kit in a new age shop in Seattle, WA while looking for Christmas gifts for my family.  Well needless to say they were the very first recipients of my handmade candles and soap that year.

It was strange how as time went on I was able to combine all the things I love in to a career, it was some sort of natural progression by following my heart.  I couldn't quite give up travel so I found a way to make it part of all I do.  Every year now I take a trip to collect ingredients for all of my handmade bath and body goodies.  My trip to Positano in 2005 was one of those trips.  I found a wonderful place for lemon oil in which I still purchase from today.  Not sure where I am going to go this year, that is still in the works.

You can always find my handmade creations at

My Website:  http://www.deshawnmarie.com

My Etsy Shop:  http://deshawnmarie.etsy.com

Hotel soap, guest soap, handmade soap and more!

Soap I got when staying at a hotel in Napoli (Naples, IT)

I've always loved those cute little soaps you get when you stay in a hotel or a bed and breakfast.  I even collect them as my souvenir when I travel.  I've been making my own handmade soap for 12 years now, but still love all other soaps and toiletries.  I have several other blogs featuring my soap and other peoples soap, for instance I have a Handmade Lavender Soap blog that shows off handmade lavender soap from all around the world.  I also have 2 similar ones dedicated to Coconut Milk Soap and Handmade Rose Soap.  If you stop by those blogs you will see some of the soaps I love.  Today I wanted to show you a little of my travel soap collection.

Here are some of the soaps I've collected over the years.

Soap from Hotel Alba in Firenze (Florence,IT)


One from Hotel Saint-Honore in Paris


This one is from Agli Artista Hotel in Venezia (Venice, IT)


and one of my favorite experiences the night train from Venezia (Venice, IT) to Amsterdam.  I love this little logo they have on the soap.

I have a whole collection from many different places throughout the USA, Europe and the Caribbean.  I hope to make it to Asia this year to start a collection from there.  I've always just thought they were so adorable and such a great souvenir since most of them have the Hotel address and phone number on them some where.  It's also a great thing to bring home to kids as the soaps seem so exotic when they are from a foreign land.  I love to use them to show kids about other languages and cultures.  Since they are small, they are an easy thing to bring back and they look like little chocolates to kids which intrigues them.  Just make sure that they aren't so young that they try to eat them ;-) 

I'm curious what things my readers collect when traveling?  Would love to hear some of your stories.

If you are reading this in a reader or on facebook you can see the original blog post at Handcrafted Soap Blog

Technorati Tags: travel, guest, soap, handmade, handcrafted, italy, florence, paris, milan, naples, rose, lavender, coconut milk, deshawn marie, souvenir, soaps, hotel

DeShawnMarie.com

Amo Italia! (translation “I love Italy”)

For some reason ever since I was a little girl I have been in love with Italy.  I had always wanted to go even though I don’t have a drop of Italian blood in me.  I use to plan imaginary trips and dream of going there some day.  Well eventually I grew up and turned those dreams into reality. 

A lot of my soaps are inspired by Italian food, landscapes and even architecture.  For instance take a look at my Cedarwood Lavender Handmade Soap pictured below.

and now take a look at this photo I took in Venice, IT

When I took that photo in Venice I never thought it would inspire a soap, but when I arrived home and looked through my photos this photo grabbed me every time and became one of my favorites.  Over time I wanted a soap that had the same complexity as this picture with the aged walls and the natural texture that jumps out at you.  I wanted the soap to have the warmth of the soft natural light in this photo and voila!  That is when I made my Cedarwood Lavender Soap.

Another one of my Italian inspired soaps is the Limoncello Soap which is created after the famous Italian liqueur Limoncello.  I had never heard of  it until one day I was sitting in a beautiful cafe in Positano, IT and they served me a complimentary Limoncello as an after dinner drink.  At first it was kind of tart, but then it grew on me and I fell in love with it.

Here is a photo of my Limoncello Soap

and here is a photo of the famous Limoncello Liqueur

I love all things Italian and I’m sure you’ll see more of my Italian inspired soaps and themes in the future, but thought I would take the time today to show you a few of my favorite Italian inspired soaps I make.

Ci vediamo presto!! (see you soon)

In a Dreamy State of Mind.

Today I can't seem to keep my mind here in the apartment. Maybe it's the cold weather that is making me dream of far away places. Every time I start to cut soap, package it, etc. I find myself drifting to memories of a trip I took a little over a year ago. Alot of the herbs, flowers, etc. that I stand here making soaps with today were gathered from that trip. So I thought I would share a few photos and memories from that trip. Next time you have one of my soaps in your hands you can think ahhh I have lemons from Italy in here or Lavender from France in here. I spent 4 months gathering inspiration and ingredients in France, Switzerland and Italy to create my new soaps that I recently designed.

Sometimes it is just something simple that inspires me. Like this picture I took of a dandelion in a park outside of Paris.



Even my breakfast can inspire me to think of something new. Like this plate of pastries and croissants in Paris.



Hiking in the Italian and Swiss Alps was an unbelievable experience and I found much inspiration there. Here is a photo in which I am standing in Switzerland looking into Italy.


Although this flower is not a rose or a lilac it is what inspired me to make my Lilac Rose soap.

If you look at the Lilac Rose soap which is pictured below I'm sure you can see how that flower inspired me to create it.



These delicate little purple flowers inspired me to create my Lavender Rosemary soap which has delicate purple flowers on it.



Here is a photo of my Lavender Rosemary soap so you can see how those little flowers gave me the visual of this soap.



I thought I'd share this little photo journal of how I come up with ideas, inspiration and the moments it happens. Next entry I'll explain how I think of the ingredients to get the look in the soap I want to create. Well back to soap making...hopefully I can get my mind to stay here now :)