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Small Business Partnerships

I always had a vision of small business community and supporting other artisans when I started this venture. Not having the same experience of in person markets over the last year and a half, I have really missed working alongside other makers. Whether or not I have a retail location, I decided that carrying other local, handmade items and using your support of my own products to fund other makers in the shop was important to me. That having beautiful, sustainable, and low waste packaging or gift wrapping was important to me. I chose to surround myself and this company with items that compliment my own products and that I feel share similar values or esthetics, and I wanted to share those with you below in case you haven’t seen them yet!

I handcraft all my products, but did you know we also carry more than a half dozen other Manitoba makers in the online store?

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Subscription listings have launched!

Local & Emission free delivery included for Winnipeg!

Save time and money on products for the whole family and have it delivered to your door with our subscription program.

All natural, versatile, low-waste skincare for the whole family that is customizable, convenient, and consistent.

HOW TO ORDER

  1. Select a Subscription Category
  2. Choose your product package
  3. Select the delivery and payment interval that works for you
  4. Choose any add-ons for your package
  5. Input your payment and delivery details
  6. Submit order for recurring term chosen
  7. Open confirmation email and review order before your next delivery to add-on or change subscription.

Customize your skincare

Find the package that works best for you!

Choose individual or family size options, with scent theme options or unscented for sensitivities and all ages.

Love Your Skin Naturally

Keep a routine that goes beyond managing skin issues and gives you a natural way to really care for and nourish your skin that is local and low waste.

Unscented option for both cleaning and skincare subscriptions for all ages and sensitivities.

Get it delivered to your door

Where you need it, when you need it.

Winnipeg wide delivery is included for all subscriptions

and is emission free with local electric vehicle courier.

Our regular shop listings and orders on demand will remain the same as always!

-Rebecca

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Why Bar Soap?

Natural bar soap is making a comeback and I couldn’t be happier about this trend. Yes, because I make soap, but also because I know how great it is for your skin when made with the purpose of not only cleansing but nourishing your skin. I started making soap in 2013 and fell down a deep rabbit hole of experimentation, reading, youtube videos, trial and error, the endless possibilities of pigment and oil combinations and reactions of ingredients to each other in the process. I really wanted to know how good soap could be and all it could be effectively used for, so I rolled my sleeves up (okay they stayed down and I had really big gloves on because lye water is crazy hot).

I didn’t start with organic oils, just what we normally bought on a grocery run. I honestly didn’t think it mattered. After running out of the cheaper stuff and having that itch to make a batch of soap, I tried some high oleic fancy pants olive oil we bought from a local shop in my soap just to see if there was a difference and I was actually very surprised by how different the bar felt and how much nicer it hardened. It smelt nicer, it looked nicer, it just… felt nicer. Much like the raw oils themselves, think about what you would actually want to put on your skin – probably not olive pomace or canola oil, but extra virgin olive oil, shea butter or virgin coconut oil. What would you want to eat? I use food grade oils in all my skincare as I know what I put on my skin gets absorbed and why not use ingredients that have been harvested and processed in a way that they still retain natural vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, all the good stuff. When you make bar soap, you can choose a superfat (residual oil molecules that don’t bond with the lye to form salt crystals) that will ensure the good fats in the bar are still present to moisturize as it cleanses. And your skin knows the difference when you use a good bar of natural soap, they are not all created equal.

Natural bar soap retains glycerin. It is a humectant that attracts water molecules and retains them. It is such a valuable product, it is often removed from commercial bar soaps to make them harder and so they can add it to lotions and sell it as a standalone product. When you use bar soap that has the glycerin removed, it dries out your skin and then you need to buy the lotion to moisturize it. I am not going to say I never have to use cream, but generally just on my face, hands and feet which get more wear and tear and exposure to the elements. I have been using my bar soap for 7 years for face, body, and shampoo and very rarely do I feel dry enough to require a full body lotion rub, which used to be a large part of my after shower routine and I would constantly be changing the type of lotion I would buy. When I do moisturize these days, I use products without added water (which requires added preservatives) but choose a facial oil or a body butter with just the skin nourishing oils that won’t just evaporate.

Bar soap does not require preservatives either. It has a long shelf life (years!) and remains effective and even gets better the longer it cures. You can use a wood soap dish or a soap saver bag to ensure you get the longest life out of your bars. The soap saver bag is especially nice for when you get down to the last little bits of the bar and you can add them to the bag and use every last bit of it effectively.

For all these reasons and more, I choose natural bar soap for face, hair and body and I haven’t had to purchase any bottled skin cleansers for a long time, which reduces my plastic consumption & waste by quite a bit over the years. Thanks for following my journey as a maker and I hope to help you embrace a more thoughtful, and community based approach to skincare and connect you with artfully crafted products for your homes. Take care out there and I hope 2021 has better things in store for all of us!

Rebecca

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*New* Wool Wash Bars

New to our shop are these wool wash bars. Made with saponified organic oils of coconut, olive, and sunflower, water and pure lanolin. It is designed to care for all your woolen goods – to wash yarn, favourite sweaters or woolen knits that need a gentler touch and something to keep them soft. The concentrated lanolin in these bars ensures the wool doesn’t get dry and scratchy. Perfect for knitters, yarn dyers or just to care for those special wool items at home!

To see the full listing, click here!

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Love Your Skin Naturally

As the air continues to get colder and our furnace kicks in more often, I have already noticed my skin feeling more dry. It has been years since I bought a water based lotion, and for this newsletter I wanted to share with you why: balms and butters. No filler water content that just evaporates anyway, no need for harsh preservatives as they are oil, butter and beeswax based. No artificial fragrances, only essential oils which smell amazing and help nourish skin.

The bare face and body butter is a heavy hitter with a light touch. Unscented, for all ages, this butter is my go to for my daughter after winter baths since she was born, I slather it on before bed for my own dry patches, and as an extra layer of facial moisturizer a couple times a week before bed after the daily use of my facial oil.

Our versatile and all natural balms are the bomb. They come in four scents and each has a unique botanical infusion to soften and soothe skin naturally. All of them can be used for lips, hands, and body. Anywhere you would normally use a lotion, you can use the balm! You just don’t need as much because these are pure organic and local oil based with Manitoba beeswax to keep it firm until it melts on your skin and add an extra layer of protection and moisturizing goodness. These balms make great cuticle cream, balm for dry or cracked hands and heels, intensive moisture for lips, chapped noses, I even rub some on Clio’s cheeks before going outside in the winter to protect from wind burn and the elements and sometimes a little on my cheeks too too to give a healthy sheen. It is so good! Did I mention there are two sizes of balms available in eco friendly laser cut birch boxes made here in Winnipeg? I order them from a local small business and then I assemble each one and pour the balms I make into them. And the artwork on top? That is also mine, based on a drawing of a microcellular root cross cut. These boxes are a pure labour of love from design, to the finished product. I hope you love them as much as I do!

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It’s time to rethink cleaning

Every time I give my two year old a bath, I clean the tub first. No matter what, there seems to always be a ring and with two dogs whose muddy paws also get rinsed in said tub, it just needs to be done each time. I had recently made some liquid dish soap paste that I was going to dilute for my dishes sitting on my counter and didn’t feel like going to the closet to get whatever natural all purpose cleaner I was trying this time. I took a brush and just swiped some paste on it, quickly wet it, and let me tell you – it was the easiest, most straightforward tub cleaning I have ever had. Using minimal water, it stayed on the brush and had an extended lather as I did the whole tub and it rinsed away easily. Even my husband was excited about it when he tried it. “We need to make a an infomercial like that slap chop guy!” There are no weird smells or worries about little ones being around it. This stuff is gold. I use it for my counters, my sinks, my tub and shower, and my floors (it works for removing crayon too, don’t ask me how I know that). You use less water, there is less waste as it sticks to the cloth or brush so less gets washed down the drain. It is gentle on skin and unscented, it has a very short ingredient list and breaks down grease and dirt fast. Our concentrated cleaning gel was born. You can feel good about where this product is made – right here by my two hands in Manitoba. I source ingredients from Canadian companies. You don’t need to worry about what you are washing down the drain – because it’s concentrated soap! No detergents, surfactants, phtalates, sulfates, any of that. Just saponified organic oils.

I would love to help you rethink cleaning and embrace natural products, made locally, that work.

Rebecca

Visit our online shop to see our concentrated cleaning gel

www.artsoaplife.com

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Liquid Soap Bastille Paste

Psst. We have one of two new exciting soap pastes to share with you. They both officially launch next Monday, September 14th with a 25% off sale all week til Friday, so mark your calendars! Here is a sneak peek at the hand and body paste made with organic and local oils that has just been added to the shop:

This jar of all natural, versatile, and concentrated Bastille soap paste is unscented, great for sensitive skin and for all ages! Made from mainly organic olive oil to keep your skin soft, it also has organic coconut oil, organic sunflower oil, Manitoba hempseed oil, and organic castor oil to give it a nice balance of lathering, cleansing and moisturizing properties. Available in 4oz or 8oz jar, which diluted will give you roughly 1/2L or 1L of liquid soap, or more if you are using with a foaming pump and using a thinner dilution. You will get at a couple fills of a standard soap pump with the 4 oz and about four refills with the 8 oz. You can also use this soap in its concentrated paste form for the more dirty jobs like gardening, painting, or any greasy jobs that require a stronger clean!

You can use this paste in a couple ways:

For daily use: Dilute 1:4 with water (or 1:6-1:8 if using a foaming pump). Use boiling water for quick dissolution or let sit overnight if using cold or room temperature water. Fill a soap pump bottle to use for hand soap and for face and body wash in the shower too! Use distilled water for best results and longest shelf life!

For a deeper cleaning of grease, dirt: For the gardeners, mechanics, painters and makers out there who need a more concentrated cleaner – just swipe some of the paste directly onto a nailbrush or washcloth to lather and use for hands and body.

Love your skin naturally with our soap & skin care and embrace living creatively with our original artwork!

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Peppermint Pumice Soap

Are your feet sandal ready? We can help with that. This refreshing, natural bar soap has ground pumice for exfoliating feet, hands and anywhere you need a good scrub to help take off dead skin and keep skin feeling smooth. This makes a great buffer before shaving or sugaring legs, a nice alternative to a pumice stone or scraper which can trigger you skin to just regrow calluses in well worn areas if you are too rough.

For more info including full ingredients and pricing visit the listing in our online shop!