In the Spotlight - Alchemist's Grove
Monday, July 08, 2013
Today I would like to introduce you to Kerrie from Alchemists's Grove who will be at Piccadilly Market on 4 August.
Tell us a little
about yourself? I'm married with two primary school aged kids. I love long walks
on the beach and spending time with friends and family.
How did you come up
with your business name? Alchemist's Grove. From a joke a girlfriend made that I was
going over to the dark side (cosmetics). This was after having worked in the
hard sciences for years as an analytical chemist.
Alchemy is aimed at magically
transforming a substance of little value into one of great value. Alchemist's
traditionally sought ways of turning base metals into gold and searched for the
universal solvent and elixir of youth. The Grove side came from Ocean Grove
where I live.
Tell us how your
product/range/business came about? I was looking for something that fit in with my professional
skills and with my family life.
With fussy skin I appreciated great
handmade soap. We have such beautiful oils available locally to make soap with,
I wanted to use them to make a great product. After spending some time working
out a few great base recipes. I got to the fun part which I absolutely love,
the creative aspect of playing with colours and fragrance. I know I have way
too many soaps in my line up but having the freedom to play around with special
editions is half the fun of having my own business. I love working with natural
colours and the freshness and complexity of essential oils. They have something
that is missing from many fragrance oils.
How long have you
been in business for? It will be 3 years in October.
What inspires you? A whole range of things; sometimes it's a colour I spot and I
want a scent to match, sometimes I have an idea in mind of a particular blend
of scents I want to try. Sometimes it is an event like the winter solstice soap
I made last year.
Have you always
been ‘creative’ or has it bloomed later in life? I always loved art and creating
things at school although I went on to have a more practical career.
When you are not
busy creating what do you love doing? Walking on the beach,
gardening, playing with the kids and helping out at the Ocean Grove Surf
Lifesaving club.
What is something
cool that most people wouldn’t know about you? I'm a 6th generation
Geelong kid and I spent 6 years working with natural poisons at CSIRO.
If money was no
object what would be your dream destination? I'd love to spend a year travelling around the world me too!!!
What are you
reading right now? The Big Year by Mark Obmascik, It's about 3 crazy American
birdwatchers and the insane lengths they went to one year to spot the most
North American birds in that calendar year.
What is your
favorite website(s) ? My favourite soaping forum.
Kerrie is kindly donating 3 soaps to the giveaway hamper on 4 August
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