sunday brunch with Hiromi

most of us take baths, showers, or occasionally a sink/sponge wash-down. the fact that it is a mostly every day event we forget to take real pleasure in it. we rush through it, scrubbing, rinsing, scrubbing and sometimes brushing our teeth all at the same time, just to get it over, to move on to the grooming, combing, glitzing, and go. Hiromi, also known to us as Soap or better Bathing in Luxury has dedicated herself to provide us with high-quality, decadent, bathing goods and a reason to slow things down a notch. slow things down enough to inhale the aromatic steam, to note the silkiness of soft skin, and to remind us that bathing isn't to be rushed, it is a time where we can pamper our over-exposed skin and our over-stressed minds. 1. Tell us a little about yourself Hi, I'm Hiromi and live close to the Pacific Ocean. I'm one of those people you'd want around if there were an emergency, especially as I can chat about almost anything to distract you from any real problems. My formal education is long and complicated and isn't directly related to crafting or art. 2. What is your craft? My passions are making high-quality bath and body products from scratch and painting in acrylics. Between the two, I manage to surround myself on a daily basis with pretty smells and colors. Sometimes, that makes all the difference. I suffer a bit from "crafting ADD" so I usually have a google of projects going simultaneously (some for years, LOL) in addition to making bath and body goodies and painting. 3. What inspires you? My brain. What ever grabs my fancy, seriously. It can be anything, a glimpse of something, a phrase (NPR provides a lot of creative fodder), a person, a place, a moment or feeling. I have an open file in my brain tagged "remember this (sometimes) useless piece of info" in which I file little blips from my life and THAT fuels my creativity. 4. Do you have any advice to give to other indie designers? Pursue your own artistic vision, but if your goal is to create a sustainable business, also try to be objectively realistic. Never take comments personally but at the same time don't take abuse from others. Realize building a clientèle base is a slow process that requires a lot of work. Be nice to everyone (there isn't a reason not to), try to be prompt in handling anything to do with sales or promotions (appropriate communication is key) and keep in mind, a person who is happy with you and your creations often refer you to their friends and family. On a more specific level, I'd say sit down and think about the image you are trying to project, come up with some sort of semi-focussed branding plan, and invest in some well-designed professional-looking business cards to hand out with your items or to other people who might be interested in your items. Try to absorb the world around you - every time you see something that appeals to you, indie designer or not, ask yourself what it is that made you notice and if you can apply a similar strategy to your own business. But never copy people. That is bad - respect other people's property and ideas. 5. What is your favorite thing that you have created recently? My Dandelion's Dinner soap. With Spring here, I've been experimenting more with green, lighter scents. I wanted a soap salad with notes of watercress, cucumber and carrots atop fresh leafy greens and a consistent visual presentation. Dandelion is a character from Watership Down, a book I loved as a kid. The name is inspired by the snarks about salads being bunny food. That's OK, the people who used to say that to me probably have cardiac issues or constipation. 6. What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? I think I crocheted a scarf with my aunt's help when I was 5 or 6. I'm sure I made other things before then but that's when my crafting took hold because I remember thinking I could actually design and plan projects. My creative mind went wild from there. 7. Where do you sell and when did you decide to start selling you work? I started selling my creations online to pay for supplies when I was traveling a lot and splitting time between two countries (long story) a few years ago. It worked out perfectly - I could create to my heart's content, share with people and not accumulate "stuff" which is my tendency. Around the time I was debating whether to re-enter the "real employment" world, I realized I might be able to make a full-time living doing this and here I am now. I am selling my ever-expanding line of bath & body products at http://www.bathinginluxury.com which currently points to my etsy store (my id there is "soap"). My creations can be found in boutiques, specialty shops and at least one spa. I plan on expanding my wholesale accounts in b&m stores, especially locally where there is popular support for indie creations. 8. Apart from creating things, what else do you enjoy? I love being outdoors and doing outdoorsy things. I like plants and flowers, even though I am allergic to a lot. I'm an info-junkie and also volunteer occasionally with NPOs and local groups. 9. What three words would describe you the best? Funny. Self-entertaining. Chatty/Solitary. I oscillate between the 2. 10. What/Who is your latest indie crush/designer? I am on a perpetual search for the PERFECT BAG. I've been eying the custom messenger bags from r.e.load baggage inc (http://reloadbags.com/bags/ops.php) and have been kicking myself for not buying the squid messenger bag from this local designer and he's not taking new orders right now - http://zugsterbags.com. I hope to be checking out this local jewelry designer http://www.kmaleydesign.com/ some time soon. I also am perpetually crushed on the local artists and try to check them out at open studios which will be this week. 11. Anything else you would like to say? Thanks for letting me blab =) I love your site. Peace. **thank you so much for taking time to have brunch with us!!!