Interview with Patricia from Crowley Manor

I can't remember how I found Crowley Manor on Etsy, but I'm very glad I did. I purchased my first package of soaps from them back when I was an Etsy newbie. I fell in love with the photographs promoting the products, and once I received the soap, I fell in love with that, too. (I even keep it in a special spot so that way it can stay dry when not in use and last longer.) So I was very happy when Patricia from Crowley Manor agreed to do an interview for the blog. I can only hope my creative ventures will be as successful as hers someday!

Jen: How did you decide to begin making soaps? How was Crowley Manor formed?

Patricia: As long as I can remember, I have felt the need to create to be content, I draw, paint on silk, owned a stained glass design studio, designed unique one of a kind handbags (another shop on Etsy adesignerhandbag.etsy.com). It is what drives me and defines me. The longing to put out a great product, and most importantly to bring a smile to the receiver of the product, is the driving force.

One day I decided it would be fun to try soapmaking. Colorado is a very dry climate, and very unkind to my skin. I buried myself in books researching the soapmaking process, took classes with a certified soapmaker who specializes in certified organic products, began studying herbs and essential oils and their effect on the skin and how people respond to scents, and how it may set the mood for a moment or a day. Also, knowing that goat milk is a wonderful humectant and very close to the skin’s natural ph level , I choose to also offer goat milk soap. I am also aware though that some of us, wish for natural products which are vegan as well, and therefore, I aim to keep all of us happy!

Long story short, I didn’t wish for store bought goat milk and researched dairy goats, ones which had the highest butterfat content (for the creamiest soaps and if by chance I ever find the time, I will also make Chevre cheese) I searched for just the right goats for over a year, crossing Colorado from one end to the next, as I wished to see the stock first hand. I fell in love with the Nigerian dwarf breed, due to their demeanor, size and that almighty yummy milk! My husband is the Crowley part, of Irish decent, I could not use Crowley Castle as it still stands (one wall of it) in Cork County, Ireland dating back to the feudal era. So, the next best thing, we would be Crowley Manor. It’s all in fun and certainly better than “Goatzilla” as my dear husband would have had us call the herd.

Jen: What does your soap differ from others?

Patricia: My soaps differ in that they are made up of basic ingredients: Organic extra virgin olive oil, Rice bran oil, palm oil, coconut oil and sodium hydroxide (needed to saponify the base oils). It is the catalyst in soapmaking, the other goodies added in there, would then be the essential oils, sometimes botanicals, and in some instances due to some clients wishing for something which is not available in essentials oils, I will oblige and produce a soap made with safe fragrance oils (phlatate free), but of course my nose certainly prefers the essential oil blends. I have to laugh because sometimes I get calls or messages from friends and clients alike who tell me they don’t want to use up the soap but sit there and just smell it, whenever they feel the need. I chose those base oils as I feel that calibrated correctly in their percentage usage, they make the skin very happy and can be used by the pickiest skin and sometimes simpler is better.

Jen: Where do you get the ideas for your soap scents? Do you have a favorite?

Patricia: Ah… soap scents, my mind always wonders… happy, sad, energized, relaxed, depending on my mood, I begin playing with the essential oils, or driving in the mountains I want to relay a certain feeling. Imagine the warm sun on your skin…maybe transports you to the tropics. Close your eyes, can you smell the ocean, or the scent of sweet almonds and oranges. Perhaps it’s in the midst of winter and you can’t wait to get home and away from 6 feet of snow piling up outside, turn the key, open the door and a wonderful aroma of hot tea and cinnamon wafts through the room…that’s how the ideas pop into my head. My favorites in the winter Oatmeal Milk and Honey, it is a very comforting winter scent or the Fireside Orange Spice, Spring I enjoy the Into the woods unisex bar or Lavender and for those hot summer days the citrusy bars such as Lemongrass, or Royal Riverbend are my favorites.

Jen: Can you tell us more about your goats? They look adorable!

Patricia: We began with two goats, Crowley Manor Lilly Blue gave us two babies this past spring and I have retained both and will begin showing them next year. The boy “Tsunami Joe” who is also the namesake for some of the man soaps will be a herd sire, along with Velvet Acres Nitro (he is all black with a little white on the face and frosted ears) another little buckling. We also have Bedazzle who goes by Cookie and is very much an “in your face goat”, then there is Sundance known as Sunny who is my milker and is the most vocal one of the herd. Last and not least there is Cocoa Royalle who was also born to Lilly Blue, Cocoa is the wild one who believes that walls are made to be walked on, and springboarded off. She is like a Ninja. Her coat color is interesting. It is the color of Cocoa with a white outline of a cat on the side of her body.

Jen: How did you learn about Etsy? What is your favorite Etsy feature?

Patricia: I came across Etsy quite by chance a couple of years ago, I was googling something, found a shop of interest with a link to Etsy and the rest is history. There is not one particular feature that stands in mind at this time, as again that will depend whether I am chatting with other etsyans, or answering and reading through the forums, but I can say that Etsy is a very positive experience for me and that I am making friends worldwide who would never entered my realm had it not been for Etsy and I am very thankful for all whom I have met thus far.

Lastly, Thank you so much Jen for contacting me. You have no idea how honored I feel that you took the time to ask me to be a part of your blog. All the best to you and yours.

To see more Crowley Manor soaps, visit the store below:

Etsy Buy Handmade CrowleyManor

Fun with Photoshop

I used the watercolor feature in Photoshop to jazz up this photograph I took of a petunia back in April. In the past, I haven't altered photographs with Photoshop in this way. But now I'm finding an interest in it, especially when it gives a second chance to photographs. In this example, I feel the colors pop more thanks to the intensity of the shadows the watercolor feature offers. The original photo is below.
I think the watercolor version makes it far more dramatic. What do you think?

Crazy Cakes

Some highlights* from pastry school...

German chocolate cake with marzipan decorations (and a big fondant rabbit)

Our Christmas Log... in July (marzipan flag)

Swedish Princess Cake... with princess removed. Instead, I "glued" chocolate dipped pretzels along sides of this dome cake to fashion a nest.

*Thanks to Pia for the last two images.

Coming back from a loooong weekend...

One of the most difficult things for me is to readjust my thoughts for my 9-5 job after I've been spoiled with a long weekend. I guess what makes it hard to sit still at my desk is the freedom I had all weekend to flit about like a hummingbird from one project to the next.

How about I work on my crochet blanket?

How about I make that bracelet I've been thinking of?

Let's start this new crochet pattern! Field trip to the bead store!

I just really enjoy the freedom to do what I want.

See what team members are making!

Check out what members of the Connecticut Etsy Team are showcasing this weekend! I even wrote one of the shopping adventure posts.

Happy Fourth Everyone!

Interview with Laurie, at Isinglass Design

This week's interview features Laurie of Isinglass Design, based in Arkansas. This skilled artisan has been making glass beads for nine years. I was lucky to come across her gorgeous beads during Etsy's recent YART Sale (Yard Sale, but for Art). And my most recent treasury was highly influenced by the color of her fish lampwork bead (see the photo below!). It's easy to see why I'm so impressed!

Jen: How did you get started making lampwork beads?

Laurie: I began experimenting with hot glass with my daughter in 1999, so I’ve been making glass beads for about nine years, and jewelry for seven. I found out about the idea of making glass beads kind of by accident. I was working at a festival, and in the off season there was a lot of unclaimed mail around. I stumbled on a Lark Books catalog that had a glass beadmaking kit. It took me about two years to decide to give it a try. My daughter and I helped each other learn, one of us reading and correcting while the other one was at the torch. She's a fast learner, so I learned a lot from her!

Today, I continue to find glass, with its malleable colors and endless possibilities of form, to be a wonderful vehicle of creative expression. There isn't enough time in this life to learn everything there is to know about glass- I think that's what keeps us all hooked- there's always one more thing you want to try and figure out. And there is an element of surprise to almost everything. The colors react and reticulate with each other in unexpected ways, so there are often “happy accidents” when you open the kiln several hours later.

Jen: Can you tell us more about lampwork?

Laurie: Lampworking is the art of forming molten glass over an open flame. In the case of glass beads, colored rods of “soft” glass, most of it made in Italy, are torch-melted and applied around a steel rod or mandrel. Many different tools are used to shape the glass, from scissors and graphite paddles, to ice tongs and spoons. The beads are then slow cooled (preferably in a kiln) to ensure the stability of the glass.

Jen: Out of all the beads you create, which type is your favorite to make?

Laurie: I'd probably have to say fish beads, though on any given day there might be something else I just have to make.
Making the beads is my first love, but I have to do something with them, so I make finished jewelry pieces too. It can be fun making beads to use in a specific jewelry design. Often bead making and designing go hand in hand. I find that if I don’t have a picture in my head of what I’ll do with the beads, I come up with sets that don’t make sense. I do have some special designs that I use non-traditional sets for such as my mosaic necklaces and asymmetrical designs. But making one-off pieces like pendants, fish, butterflies, or cats is my favorite. They allow me the most artistic freedom.

Jen: Where do you find inspiration for the beads you create?

Laurie: There are so many influences and inspirations I could point to over the years, from my mother’s constant craft projects to my childhood in New Orleans, the work of other hot glass workers and onward. It seems like every time I leave the house there is something out there that gives me a new idea. Even TV shows can do it- color combinations, what people are wearing, etc. I have actually written a couple of pieces for my blog that show some of my inspirations, one of them carrying the reader through from the picture that inspired me to the finished product. Third try was the charm!

Glass has become sort of my obsession, so I’d love to visit one of the great glass centers such as Venice and the island of Murano. Of course, I’d settle for Seattle, city of my birth.

Jen: Is making glass beads your "day job," or something you do on the side? How long did it take to make your dream a reality?

Laurie: Making and selling glass beads is now my only job- not to say that I shouldn't be looking for something part-time for the slow months. I made beads for about two years before I ever sold one. After that, I just kept practicing for another year or two, until I visited a farmer's market in another city, and then discovered my local one. I was pretty much hooked after the first day when I realized that there was really a market for what I did. It took me another year or so to make this my primary job and then, when both of my part-time jobs disappeared at once, I was kind of stuck. In a good way!!!

One of my secret goals in selling is to keep things affordable so that everybody feels like they can have artisan-made glass jewelry. I love to see pieces go away. And the farther they travel the better. Since I sell locally, I sometimes see someone wearing one of my older pieces. That’s always a thrill.

Jen: What is your favorite Etsy feature?

Laurie: My favorite thing about Etsy is the sense of community. This is my first real foray into the Internet world, and it's been a nice experience. I joined my local street team- AREtsy for people in Arkansas, and they are amazingly supportive. I'm also a member of two glass street teams- the Creative Glass Guild on Etsy (CGGE) and LEST for lampworkers.

I love having such control over my shop. I'm always messing with things there and tweaking. It lets me personalize the shop so it really feels like my place.

Jen: What do you feel are the advantages to artisan-made glass and jewelry?

Laurie: Because it’s one-of-a-kind, artisan jewelry is made with a lot of thought, talent and even love, and that makes it so much more special than production stuff. When you wear it, you feel a special connection to the one who made it. When you meet or talk to the artisan, you may get an interesting story that you will think of every time you wear the piece. Nobody else will have (or have seen) anything quite like it. And, it supports artists, who usually need the help.

To see more of Laurie's work, visit her Etsy shop:

Etsy Buy Handmade glassbead

Sourdough Success!

After six long weeks, I was able to finally bake off a successful sourdough tonight!

Back in school, when we covered breads, we ran out of time and didn't have a chance to do a sourdough starter. Six weeks ago I asked my chef if I could start one in class and take care of it at home. So I've been feeding it for six weeks now. A week ago I tried to bake one off and didn't have any luck. Turns out I had let the dough rise where there was a draft-- hence, an ugly, dense loaf. This time I set the dough up on top of my fridge so it could catch the steady heat of the appliance. And it worked! It's still too hot to cut, and not as high as I had hoped, but it is definitely an improvement! And oh! The taste! I had a nibble of the piece that broke off when I tried to dislodge it from the hot stone. It has that sweet, sour taste I love. I plan on keeping this starter going-- hopefully it will last until I get a bake shop someday!

I'm so excited. :)