Would you take on an apprentice / helper ????

[juniperchan]

Firstly, sorry if this is the wrong forum.....still very new to this...

Ive basically recently got into soap making, ideally i would love to be able to sell it on etsy at some point in the future but thats still a long way off. Ive got a few books and obviously the internet and ive make some simple soap already.

I love crafty stuff but I am more of a practical person and need a teacher....Im based in the south of UK and would really like some feedback about this from soap makers where ever you are from...

Would you take on an apprentice?
Would you see an apprentice as a thief taking your ideas, tips etc, or as your own student?
Would you invite a stranger into you place of soap making and show them how its done?
Would you see the apprentice as a helper for your own business? Possibly as another "branch" of your shop?
How did you get into soap making then onto selling soap?

Id love to be able to experiment, but i just dont have the time or the money to spend on loads of different ingredients.....

Any opinions and help/advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated...

 

[Tabitha]

Teaching soapmaking has value just like any other mastered skill. If someone wanted to learn to paint or play the piano they would purchase classes. Many advanced soapmakers offer classes for a fee, but just like learning to play the piano or how to paint; your 1st (50) batches will still be practice and should not be sold. If "Mary had a little lamb" was the 1st song you learned to play on the piano, you would not hold a concert & charge admission for people to hear you play it. You would continue to practice and continue to take classes until you excelled at your craft. That is where many people go wrong. They try & sell their 1st few batches.

Some people take on apprentices, sure, I have one. She assists me with labels and mixing, etc. She does not have access to my exact recipes, just as cocoa cola would not dole out their secret recipe to their employees. She is learning technique, but recipes she will have to formulate for herself.

Id love to be able to experiment, but i just dont have the time or the money to spend on loads of different ingredients.....

As for this comment... Successful soapmakers have spend loads fo time (years) and loads of money (thousands of dolars) to master their craft so while most are happy to assist you will have to do much of the work yourself.

You would not go over to a friends house who just graduated from art schol and say, I don't have the time or money to invest in going to art school, can you just tell me how to make a Mona Lisa?

I do not mean to aim all of this at you in particular, it is a very good point and it comes up often. Many new soapmakers are reading this thread and the info is as much for them as it is for you.

 

[agriffin]

Great response, Tabitha!

Juniperchan, take the time to learn the craft. Do it because you love doing it. So many people go into overdrive and get burnt out. It's an expensive hobby, but a very rewarding one.

I have taught a number of people how to make soap. I share basic recipes and teach them how to make that recipe their own...

Good luck! and welcome!

 

[donniej]

IMO, one of the biggest problems with the idea of having an apprentice is that people's attention spans are *so* short these days. No one can sit still nor take there time. If you want to learn a craft or trade it takes practice and infinite patience. If you can't devote AT LEAST a year part-time to it then I'd forget about the idea of selling. It's not rocket science and many recipes are very simple but there are so many fine details that it fills countless books.

Would I consider having an apprentice? Yes, but because of the fore-mentioned attention span issues, the applicant would have to have refferences from a source I trusted.

PS. I disagree that soapmaking is an expensive hobby. It can be, but all you really need is lye and a scale. Oils are cheap and fragrances don't need to be expensive. If you want to see an expensive hobby, you should see what motorcycle racing costs :shock:

 

[agriffin]

IMO, one of the biggest problems with the idea of having an apprentice is that people's attention spans are *so* short these days. No one can sit still nor take there time. If you want to learn a craft or trade it takes practice and infinite patience. If you can't devote AT LEAST a year part-time to it then I'd forget about the idea of selling. It's not rocket science and many recipes are very simple but there are so many fine details that it fills countless books.

Would I consider having an apprentice? Yes, but because of the fore-mentioned attention span issues, the applicant would have to have refferences from a source I trusted.

PS. I disagree that soapmaking is an expensive hobby. It can be, but all you really need is lye and a scale. Oils are cheap and fragrances don't need to be expensive. If you want to see an expensive hobby, you should see what motorcycle racing costs :shock:

LOL...it's expensive for me! I guess it depends on your definition of expensive...

 

[supersoaper3000]

If I may, I would like to offer a couple of quotes here that I hope can be helpful.
'Relax, you know more than you think you do.' ( Dr. Benjamin Spock)
'A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.' (Confucius)

The function of a forum like this is exactly the kind of support that you seem to be craving. I don't know that a formal apprenticeship would be necessary given the mass of individuals here that would be glad to share their experiences with you.

That said, as others have pointed out here not everyone will want to share every little thing that they have painstakingly found out over the course of many months/years and after many failures. It isn't an issue of 'theft' as you call it, but the reality of art (personal expression). Only you can make soap like you, and the only way you are going to find your style is by experimenting. You will make crappy batches of soap. You will make inspirational batches of soap.

I've been working with M&P for years and I am thiiiiiiiiiiiis close to finally making a living at it. But if I didn't have a sort of insane passion for it I never would have had the patience or perseverance to try.

Best of luck in your endeavors!

 

[juniperchan]

Firstly thank you for all of your messages, it has really, really helped me sort myself out alot.

Ive decided that I am going to enjoy just making soap and experimenting for at least 2 yrs before thinking of selling, i was quite naive about that aspect. I think that the stress from rushing it all and trying to sell my soap so early would just destroy any passion i have found for it. Even now, just looking back through my books without a selling outlook has already increased my enthusiasm for soap making which frankly was a happy boost just when i needed it

supersoaker3000 - thanks for those quotes, they made me take a step back and look properly I think your right in that this forum will be the support i need. I will be lurking around here for quite a while

agriffin - Thanks for the welcome I think i got caught up in the grey area of gaining money over enjoying something just for the sake of it. Definately not going to put money before this. I too thought it was expensive, but then again there seems to be loads of different ways of making soap so maybe melt and pour (only technique ive used) is a more expensive way.

donniej - I can soo understand what you say about people attention spans, thats why i am not going to even consider being someones apprentice until ive got a few months/a year of experience under my belt. Im now going to search the forums about Lye as all ive really done is melt and pour and see what this Lye is all about

Tabitha - Thanks for your message, it definately put it into perspective for me...im not gonna rush this at all. Do you (or anyone else reading this) think that there will still be a "market" for homemade soap in the next 3-5yrs or so?? I know we are going through a crafty boom, do you think it will last? I guess a part of me is thinking that it will take me at least 2 yrs to have anywhere near the kind of experience i need to sell soap, but will people even want homemade soap then?

 

[madpiano]

I am also in the UK. I have made cosmetics since I was about 13 or 14 years old and started soaping about 2 years ago. Yes, I sell, but I did a bit of a speed up learning process after I was made redundant and had a wad of money and lots of time on my hands. I made about 10 batches a week for a while, trying different things and recipes and supplying my whole neighbourhood with free soap (possibly killing off my customer base for at least a year). I am still learning, although I have got my base recipe where I want it.

Don't forget, before you sell soap in the UK you will have to get a cosmetic safety assessment (it will cost between 150 and 200 pound) and you need to register with BERR and Trading Standards.

Would I take on an apprentice ? Yes, that's my plan in the future. Actually several ones. I know I will outgrow my current set-up (my home kitchen) at some point. But renting a factory / workshop here is expensive. I want to expand by employing people who would like to work from home. So I will have to teach them how to make soap, get them safety assessed and registered. Once the time for that comes, I will look into if there is actually a proper apprenticeship for soap makers and see if I can offer one of those as well.

 

[juniperchan]

One of the main reasons why i have decided not to start sell was that i didnt realise that i had to get safety assessments etc... to be honest i was expecting the assessment to cost alot more than you have quoted so that has really eased my mind on that front

I think that your plan for apprentices working in their own home is a really good idea as it would benefit both you and them loads and would appeal to a larger range of apprentices i.e ppl at home with kids.

Does it cost to register and what did you need to do re: BERR and Trading Standards?....Where did you go to find all the info needed for a UK Seller, because all i seem to find is to do with US sellers.

 

[madpiano]

if you do a search for Cosmetic Safety assessment you should come across a couple of chemists who do those. Your Safety Assessor will tell you about the regulations and what you have to do to stay legal. It doesn't cost to register, it is really easy. The only thing you have to pay for is the assessment and the insurance (about £70/year)