TAS Touch gets noticed
This is an article written by Julie Dean of New Mexico for “Su Casa” Magazine. Several soap makers are featured, including TAS Touch soaps.
Julie writes:
These soaps do more than just clean; they have a presence all their own. TAS Touch soaps look like they were mined from a precious stone quarry—polished on all sides but one, which bears the company name in metallic writing. The presentation—that of a small treasure—accurately implies what’s inside.
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Ann-Marie Faiola, aka The Soap Queen, called me up last month and we did a phone interview. Kelly Bloom, of Bloomworks Soap had sent Anne-Marie one of my soap bars (that’s just how nice these soap makers are). Next thing I knew I had been blogged!
Ann-Marie writes:
I recently received some TAS soaps in the mail. They were so gorgeously wrapped that I hated to unwrap them to photograph them. On the inside of each handmade paper wrapping, there was an extra special touch of wax paper to protect the soap from any scent loss or color bleed due to the fragile nature of the handmade paper. Teresa, the owner of TAS, has a very artistic approach to soapmaking. She was a textile artist in her “previous life” and focused on museum-quality tapestries. Her attention to detail with her packaging shows her love for art and beautiful things.
Teresa has been soaping since 2001 but has a much longer history with soap. Her Mother actually made soap in a big black kettle with tallow that she rendered herself. Teresa says, “It’s in my DNA.” When she started soaping, her philosphy was to “spare no expense.” She thought to herself, “How much can I pack into this bar of soap so that it has the optiumum quality, luxury, look and feel?” With ingredients like yogurt, coconut cream, rhassoul clay, beeswax, aloe vera and even champagne, Teresa has set about to make each soap a unique and nourishing art form. It took her many years of “pushing the envelope” to figure out ideal recipes that incorporated all of her exotic ingredients and wonderful essential oil blends.
TAS square-ish shape was originally inspired by a square shaped cookie cutter that Teresa found. She refined the shape, little by little, from there, eventually coming up with two sizes of bars (4 and 6 ounce) that retail from $7 to $9 from the TAS site here. Some of the stores that sell TAS soap sell it for as much as $12 per bar. With the beautiful handmade paper and exquisite designs in each bar of soap, her soaps sell very well in upscale boutiques. Teresa is actually looking for a few more boutiques to sell her product so if you have a store that is interested, you can contact her here.
Teresa hand wraps and hand stamps her soap bars and calls it a “labor of love.” Her philosophy on running her own business is that “Ya’ gotta have fun, ya’ gotta have balance and ya’ gotta have it within the paramters of your health and well being.”
TAS has a soap of the month club as well. Click here to check that out. It’s a great gift for anyone that will be sure to delight and impress, all year round.
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One of the dearest people on the planet is Laurie Teason, owner of Sweet Cheeks Soap Company, located in Lakewood, Colorado. Laurie is a master soap maker and a gifted teacher who has taught many the complex art of soap making as well as the delicate blending of bath and body products. Laurie is also a computer whiz and has created web sites for many others. It is because of Laurie that I have a blog, as she spent many patient phone calls helping me out. If you’re lucky enough to know Laurie go to her blog and give her a shout out! Laurie recently blogged about my photography here.
