Scotland is well known for many fine, quality food and drink products, but the last few years has seen increased national and international recognition for a wide range of artisan soaps and other skincare products.
Often made with locally-sourced ingredients, Scotland’s soap makers offer environmentally-conscious fragrances which can be appreciated around the world. “Scottish soaps are special as they reflect what Scotland is,” says Marie Albiach of Marie’s Artisan Soaps. “Beautiful, natural, wild and with much to offer.”
Marie’s first experience of soap making was a family affair. “My grandmother used to make laundry soap using ashes, animal fat and herbs like lavender, thyme and rosemary harvested in the countryside,” she explains. Following in her grandmother’s steps, Marie started making soaps for her own use, and as gifts for family and friends. Demand grew to the extent that she eventually set up her own business in Scotland in 2015.
Fine or artisan soap making isn’t just the preserve of individuals, however. The Caurnie Soaperie in Kirkintilloch first opened its door back in 1922; the Scottish Soapworks in Edinburgh has been running for more than 12 years, and has branched out into organising soap making courses and sessions. Orkney Soap and the Shetland Soap Company are two linked social enterprises which currently provide skill development placements and supported employment for 17 adults with learning disabilities.
Nevertheless, there remains a strong personal aspect to soap making in Scotland. Linda Sutherland believes that “exemplary” customer service is at the heart of her business, the Hebridean Soap Company. “This can only be maintained whilst the company stays small,” she says. “I made the decision that I didn’t want to grow the company, or extend at all, because if I do that, I lose control over it. I didn’t want that to happen.”
Marie’s Artisan Soaps
www.marieartisansoaps.co.uk
“I have always used a natural soap; I believe in natural products that can be made with what mother earth can provide,” says Marie Albiach. “These days people are more conscious about our planet and are looking for natural, sustainable products which do not contain chemicals and are vegan and cruelty free.
“For me it’s very important to know where ingredients are come from as these will be in my final product. Buying ingredients from local business providers helps in strengthening the economic base of the community.
“We offer the most natural and vegan soap with high quality ingredients made using a traditional hand stirred method—not machinery. Our soaps are made in small batches. Each bar is unique and delicate hand-cut to make each bar special.
“Our products are 100% natural, Vegan and contains no preservatives, SLS, Parabens or artificial fragrance or colours. Inspired by the Scottish landscape we create artisan bars of soap made from natural ingredients, to suit all skin types, that are safe, gentle and creamy with a luxurious lather.”
The Hebridean Soap Company
www.hebrideansoap-shop.co.uk
“After coming to the Isle of Lewis on holiday in 2000—a stressed and worn-out IBM computer system freelance programmer—and deciding I wanted to stay here, I was faced with how I would earn my living,” says Linda Sutherland. “I very much wanted to ‘make’ something, having only produced ‘virtual’ products before. There wasn’t a commercial soapmaker on the island, so I started in a very small way from my spare kitchen.”
“Using the traditional cold-process mix and pour method, and natural everyday ingredients, my soaps are mixed by hand, moulded in birchwood moulds and then allowed to ‘cure’ for four-to-six weeks. Each bar is finished and labelled by hand to create hand-crafted soap of all shapes and sizes.
“Even when I was producing soap in my spare kitchen, people came to my door wanting to know about it. So I decided that if a customer showed even the smallest grain of interest in what we were doing, we would take the time to show them around the processes.”
Orkney Soap/The Shetland Soap Company
www.cope.ltd.uk/enterprises/orkney-soap
www.shetlandsoap.co.uk
“It’s really important to us that we use natural ingredients within our soaps, and sourced from Scotland–even better!” says Rona Simpson, Project Manager at social Enterprise COPE Ltd. “We would love to use more Scottish botanicals in our soaps, which is something we will be investigating more when we are looking into product development. We recently received a large quantity of dried seaweed from our local marine college, which is currently carrying out a project funded by the EU to look into farming and harvesting seaweed. It is a fabulous natural product, and sourced just 10 miles from where we are. We use this dried seaweed in our ‘Seaweed’ Traditional Hard Bar Soap.
“We draw much of our creative energies from the spectacular natural environment that we live and work in. We design fragrances to reflect the sea, landscape, environment and weather than surrounds us. Shetlanders as a people are hardworking, resilient and problem solvers—we have to be given our remote location. Our determined outlook has helped us be where we are today.”
The Isle of Skye Soap Company
www.skye-soap.co.uk
“Skye Soaps is a small family-run business, based in Portree, which has been trading on the Isle of Skye since 2000,” explains founder Fiona Meiklejohn. “Its aim—to provide hand crafted aromatherapy soap, without colouring and using only the purest essential oils. All the natural pure distilled oils we use are plant based, as we believe this is better for your skin and our environment.”
Chief soap maker Fiona is a fully qualified aromatherapist, and lives with husband Dougie (who worked as a distiller in the most famous whisky distillery on Skye) and their two dogs Ruby and Noodles, who are frequent visitors to the company’s—definitely dog-friendly—premises just off Somerled Square, Portree. These double as both a shop and production area, the latter situated upstairs.
“We have soap for every skin type from our original Skye range, clear as the water that surrounds the beautiful Isle of Skye. We also hold an eclectic range of artisan goodies for the home—the ‘Shabby Chic’ range—carefully sourced from Scotland, England and Europe.”
First published in The Scots Magazine, #February 2017.
