Dusty Tree Soap
What got you interested in your art of choice?
I’m a ‘retired’ archaeologist who used to spend her days happily sitting in pits of dirt, squinting at tiny pieces of fragments in rather dirty hands all day. I used to get paid to play in the dirt – it was a dream job really, but if I think back it was also research. Research on how cleaning products would scrub away a days worth of digging while most also scrubbed away the natural oils in my skin. I used to have really sensitive hands, dry cracked knuckles and cuticles. Who knows what type of store bought products I was using and thought nothing of it. Fast forward years and I had kids, I knew right away I wanted to use pure natural soaps to cleanse their brand new skin. Nothing but the best for my babies. So I made my own soap, a rather utilitarian object, but I always experiment with different herbs & oils to create winning combinations.
Do you have a favorite item or colorway?
I have two – my Pumpkin Charcoal Soap that I use daily as a facial soap. It contains bamboo activated charcoal, tea tree essential oil and pumpkin puree. My other favorite is Shea + Clay. Which contains raw unrefined organic shea butter, Moroccan red clay and lavender essential oil – a winner for my dry skin.
What is something you strive to offer the fiber arts community?
I strive to provide them with a better way to cleanse their skin. Dusty Tree Soap is vegan handcrafted soap made using edible vegetable oils, pure essential oils and nothing synthetic. I leave out palm and soy oils too. I made a pledge to myself that I would never put anything into my soaps that I didn’t feel good about.
What is your fiber arts superpower?
I don’t think I really have a superpower any different than most knitters other than after working in a yarn shop for a bit I have an unusually keen knack for fixing mistakes.
