Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
Sherrie Graham, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. I love deli sliced Swiss cheese, a relaxed, proper breakfast, using the word ‘wee’, and tulips. My nifty husband looks after the wee one while I make soap and he really makes it all possible. I have a BA, BEd, and MEd in the education of students who are blind or visually impaired. I can be cheeky.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Much of my time is spent as a full-time teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired. I teach Braille, cane travel, and adaptive technology. Thrift shops give me thrills, and there’s nothing better than being outside with our son, in our garden or at the beach.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I think of myself as more of a craftsperson than an artist, but I couldn’t really articulate the difference if I was asked. A friend taught me how to make soap several years ago, and I immediately loved how it connects the past and present. Part of it, for me, is bringing back a craft which was so common a few generations ago and has been taken over by big business. Also, the current availability of a wide variety of ingredients and inspiration gives soapmaking unlimited possibilities. There’s always something new to try.
I love things which are both beautiful and practical, and my soap meets those conditions for me. It also contributes to my personal commitment to use natural products on myself and my family, and being able to pass that along to others is really satisfying.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
True soap is a combination of oils and lye, and when the two are combined and saponify, the result is soap and glycerin. The glycerin is retained in handmade soap, which is what makes it so kind to the skin. Commercial soaps are most often a pressed detergent bar with glycerin removed and laden with mystery ingredients, so it’s not even in the same category as handmade soap. The oils and additives used in a particular soap give it specific properties, and I carefully choose proportions of oils with specific qualities to make a particular type of soap. This typically happens on evenings and weekends when I’m not at my ‘real’ job or caring for our son.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
At the moment, a gorgeous birch bark pattern ring which my husband bought on Etsy for my birthday, made by Elizabeth Scott.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Everything Soapmaking Book by Alicia Grosso
The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (it gets read more frequently than the others!)
Movies:
Amelie
Kill Bill 1 & 2
Moulin Rouge
I Heart Huckabees
Garden State
The Princess Bride
The Constant Gardener
No Country for Old Men… oh wait – that’s more than 5.
Music:
The Beatles (of course - they have an album for every mood)
Sam Roberts
The Arcade Fire
Once movie soundtrack
Kate Nash
Websites:
simplybreakfast
cosmeticsdatabase
nectarandlight
allrecipes
piajanebijkerk
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Make what you love and know is good, from quality materials. Have an idea of what you want your shop to feel like, and run with it. Take good pictures. Oh, and please, please, proofread your listings. (Now I’ve got to go and check mine again…)
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I love searching for items by colour – it’s so pretty. Being able to add links to my other websites would be handy.
How do you promote your work?
I have a soap blog, where I post pictures and other soapy news. Generally speaking, I let people know that I make soap and it pretty much sells itself. Which sounds kind of ridiculous, but it’s true. I always have cards with me, and I give lots of samples away. I’ve sold my soaps at one local craft fair, and I’m planning on more.
In ten years I'd like to be...
Making soap in a sunny white little outbuilding / studio in my backyard with overflowing window boxes full of cheery flowers. Inside it would have overstuffed white furniture and floral curtains (nice ones, not the ugly ones you may be picturing), with plenty of built in shelves filled with neatly organized jars containing beautiful spices and herbs, all to the tune of piles of kids running around outside.
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