Sip & Soap: a fun way to learn how to make your own soap

Janice A reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"A most enjoyable and relaxing experience. Our tutor, Jenny, made us feel right at home (and that's where we were! Thank you Lyn). A great mixture of giving information, demonstrating, and practical experience of making soap. Everyone in the group was so friendly, and I felt as if I had known them much longer than a few hours. It was very pleasing to be able to take away the soap we had created - a real sense of achievement. Looking forward to making more at home. Many many thanks to Jenny, Lyn and the team for a memorable day: I loved it."

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hi Janice. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this wonderful review. I'm glad you enjoyed your workshop and now feel ready to make your own soap at home. I'll be emailing you Jenny's notes soon, so keep an eye on your inbox! I'm sorry to miss seeing you, but it sounds like you quickly made friends with the others in the class. We love it when that happens :-) With best wishes, Lynn and Jenny "

Cheryl reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"What a great day. The venue was lovely, the lunch was delicious and Jenny’s skilled guidance was excellent. ?"

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hi Cheryl. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave us a review. We're so glad that you enjoyed the space, lunch and your soap-making workshop with Jenny from The Scottish Soapworks! We hope to welcome you back to The Arienas Collective soon. With best wishes Lynn :-)"

Fiona Palmar reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"Inspiring surroundings (thanks for opening your home), people and detailed step by step guide for making both cold process and melt and pour soaps.. The soaps I made on Saturday, I had intended to give away, but they are all mine! I will just have to make everyone soaps for Christmas next year! I do intend to come back again soon, and I am thinking about at least 1 voucher for gifting. Many thanks for all the inspiration Lynn and Jenny."

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Thanks for this lovely review Fiona. And we're happy that those lovely soaps you made are making their way into your personal soap stash! We're glad you found the guides helpful, and hope it will inspire you to give soap-making a go at home...or of course to come back here to make more :-) We look forward to welcoming you back soon, and thanks for supporting local artists and makers. With best wishes Lynn :-) PS If you are thinking of buying (or asking for) a gift voucher for Christmas, we've a special offer on at this Saturday's Open Day where you get a free gift box with every voucher worth £45 or more. Just saying ;-)"

Annette Thompson reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"Thanks to Jenny and Lynn for a fantastic day learning all about how to make wonderful soaps using the cold method and the melt and pour. The event was hosted in Lynn’s studio in her lovely home where a yummy lunch was also provided. I’m now totally inspired and have made soap using paprika, coffee ground from my morning coffee and even parsley! I’d highly recommend this course, as well as making beautiful organic products for yourself it’s also makes a great gift for family and friends"

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Thanks for your lovely review Annette, and it's wonderful to hear that you've carried on making soap at home. We feel we've done well if we've inspired, and enabled, people to continue being creative. We love the sound of your recipes - and great that you've found a good use for your recycled coffee grounds! Do share photos of your soaps with us if you get the chance, and keep us in touch with your amazing soap-making endeavours. We hope to welcome you back to The Arienas Collective soon. With best wishes, Lynn :-)"

Lorraine Baillie reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"I highly recommend this course. A wonderful, informative day in a beautiful location. I thoroughly enjoyed learning two processes for making soap, both Jenny and Lynn were very helpful. We all went home with some lovely soap, decorated and packaged by ourselves and also received all the information required to continue at home. I will also add that lunch was delicious and as I require gluten free, that's not something I can say very often."

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hello Lorraine. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review and for the lovely, detailed feedback. I'm so glad that you enjoyed your soap-making workshop, and the lunch! We try to cater for all dietary needs. We hope to welcome you back to The Arienas Collective one day. With best wishes, Lynn :-)"

Jane Gibson reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"A very well prepared course in lovely surroundings. We were very well looked after and had a chance to try out two soap-making techniques - including the complicated one! After Jenny's excellent tuition I now feel confident to have a go myself at both processes. Oh, and we went home with a selection of lovely soaps which I am now sharing with my friends!"

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hello Jane. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your lovely review. The traditional, cold process method is a little more complicated isn't it! But it's lovely that you get to go on to make the simpler 'melt and pour' glycerine soap in the afternoon, which you get take home with you on the day. I hope you - and your friends - are enjoying their lovely soaps. And I hope you will enjoy your cold process soap as much when it arrives with you from Jenny. We look forward to welcoming you back to The Arienas Collective sometime soon. With best wishes, Lynn."

David Campbell reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"A relaxing learning environment helped by the friendly and welcoming approach from both Lynn and Jenny. Lovely surroundings and a real sense of team effort from start to finish learning both processes. I've already passed out samples to friends and family and have started to purchase the products to continue to learn this fascinating process. I have the bug and will be back for other courses and may even look to the two day business course with Jenny I enjoyed it so much. A fabulous day and I'd highly recommend it to anyone curious about the soap making processes."

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hi David. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review. We're delighted to hear that you've continued making soap at home, and it sounds like you've really caught the soap making bug! Hope to welcome you back again soon. With best wishes, Lynn"

Kirsty Sneddon reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"A fantastic day in beautiful surroundings, and the warmest welcome from both Lynn and Jenny. I loved the relaxed atmosphere and everyone was very friendly and we all worked well together. Refreshments throughout the day and a wonderful lunch. So glad I booked my place and highly recommend to anyone looking to start making homemade soap. I'm not the most creative, but the craft table had so much choice, I loved the packaging I made for my soap Thanks again ladies for a wonderful day. Kirsty"

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hello Kirsty. Thank you so much for your lovely review, and glad to hear you enjoyed your day with us so much. We believe there's a creative inside everyone just waiting to get out - so it's great to know that you surprised yourself with your gift wrapping skills! We thought you did amazingly well. Hope to welcome you back another time. Lynn :-)"

Emma reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"Such a lovely way to spend a day. I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make soap and creating my own packaging for it too. Jenny and Lynn were so welcoming and made everyone feel at ease. A total bonus, lunch was absolutely delicious and a lovely surprise birthday cake was a super treat, thank you ladies. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in making soap, or anyone who just fancies trying something new in a calm and relaxing environment."

Libby Bauchope reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"An absolutely wonderful course in soap making in very relaxed and beautiful surroundings. The warmest of welcomes from Lynn and Jenny, made it a really special day. The soap making was very well explained, and to see the finished soaps gives a real sense of accomplishment, I now can't wait to make my own. We shared some absolutely gorgeous food, and its a great chance to have a chat and socialise. An amazing day. Xx"

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hi Libby. Thanks so much for your really lovely review. We're so glad you enjoyed your day with us so much. We hope you will continue making your own soap at home, and look forward to seeing photos! Hope to welcome you back to The Arienas Collective one day. Best wishes, Lynn x"

Sarah reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"Everyone was immediately put at ease by Lynn’s warm welcome in such beautiful surroundings. The day starts with a cup of tea/ infused water and a brief chat about the day. The tutor is Jenny, who has years of experience in the soap industry. The attention to detail is wonderful for everything about the day. We were learning a new skill with detailed instructions, friendly chat, generous offers to share further knowledge and a lovely environment to learn in. As if learning how to make soap wasn’t enough fun we were then given the option to create wrappings for our soaps. The table was a crafters dream - laden with tissue paper, wrapping paper, coloured twine, stamps, pens, scissors, gift bags…. This section of the day could have been a workshop on it’s own. I felt entirely looked after, deliciously fed and came away with 8 glycerine soaps (with more to come when the cold pressed one’s have cured). This is a wonderful way to get away from everything as I honestly had no other thoughts in my head during the day. It would also make a great party for a group of friends or even a very relaxing way to do some gift shopping."

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Thanks for your lovely feedback Sarah. I'm so glad you enjoyed your day, and that the craft table was such a hit. We love seeing people getting creative wrapping up their soap, and you certainly gave us some excellent ideas! Hope you're enjoying the cold process and organic glycerine soaps you made. Best wishes, Lynn :-)"

Anne A reviewed: Festive soap and cream making with The Scottish Soapworks

"This workshop is great fun and seemed remarkably easy (but don't tell everyone as I have been impressing friends with presents of my hand-made soap ever since!). This was partly due to the relaxed atmosphere and everyone was really friendly - we chatted over coffee and shared ideas so I never felt I was working on my own. It would also be great to do with a bunch of friends or for a special occasion. As well as fun on the day, it was lovely to have something to take home and use - hand made, designed and packaged by ME! I highly recommend you give it a go."

The Arienas Collective responded:

" Hello Anne. We're so glad you enjoyed your glycerine soap-making workshop. It is an easy process to learn, but of course it's all down to you to which shapes you make, and how you choose to gift wrap the soap - and that's what makes it unique! So be proud of your truly hand made soap! Glad your friends are getting to enjoy your lovely soap too, but hope you kept some for yourself :-) Hope to see you back again soon, Best wishes, Lynn"