Yellow - the Color of Spring

Fresh Lemon 4.5 ounce bar

Garden fresh lemons; Sunny and bright with a note of earthy green, a perfect way to revive and refresh your senses. Pure essential oils provide fabulously fresh scent and a happy yellow color to the soap while olive oil infused with calendula calms and soothes your skin. Look for this soap to be listed on our website soon!

Soapiness :))

Playing A-round

Clockwise from top- Peppermint Pumice Buffing Round, Olive Oil and Goat's Milk Shaving Round, Clove Shaving Round, Warm Cedar Shaving Round

Four Rounds because I love how they look

A  pile of rounds

While trying to get photos of soap for my website I took a few minutes to play a-round. I love how all these colors look together -  how organic and real they are.  I love the light and shadows.  I love how rounds are so perfect. They make me happy! : ))

Orange Honey Drizzle with Oats - Breakfast for Your Skin

Orange Honey Drizzle with Oats 4.5 ounce bar

A generous drizzle of aromatic Citrus Honey and Sweet Orange essential oil mingle with hand ground colloidal oats; this wholesome soap is like breakfast for your skin.

A"house favorite" - this soap smells fabulous with notes of honey rising up to greet your senses and sweet orange rounding it out to form a beautifully harmonized mouthwatering aroma. This soap has a feel and conditioning second to none. Look for this soap to be listed soon on our website!

A Breath of "Fresh Air"

 Fresh Air- Packaging

Fresh Air 4.5 ounce bar

A breath of fresh, clean evergreen craftily mingles with a hint of peppermint giving this soap the refreshing, aromatic scent of coniferous forest carried on an early morning breeze. A subtle clean unisex scent. This soap, and more listed soon-on our website.

Hometown Flavor - Living in the Dust Bowl

"A dust storm rolls through Lubbock in 1938. Improved agriculture techniques revolutionized farming in the 1950s, which reduced the number of fierce dust storms in West Texas." source;Doug Hensley- Lubbock Centennial

My front porch today

* "People could see the menacing clouds methodically moving toward town. It wouldn’t be long before darkness settled in, and it was still the middle of the day.

  Tornado?

  Not this time. It was another weather phenomenon all too familiar to West Texans: the dust storm." 


My mother was born here in Lubbock, and grew up here as well. I can remember her telling me stories about the  rolling red clouds of dust visible from miles away. A flurry of activity would ensue as people scooped up children playing in yards and plucked laundry from the clothes line. I remember my mom telling me about a time she was caught walking home from school in her little dress -  her legs being sandblasted as she scurried for home. I also remember stories of how it was necessary to place a wet bandana over your nose and mouth so that you could breathe inside your own home and of neighbors cleaning up the aftermath with shovels; shoveling up drifts of sand from between the houses as if it were snow.


While it's true that agricultural improvements have made tremendous progress in the area of "sand fighting" we still get pummeled yearly with multiple dust storms and with Spring comes the onset of dust storm season. True to form, we are having dust today and though today's blowing dust left it's calling card on my front porch;today's storm isn't too bad( I promise to take a picture of the next really gnarly storm for you) those of us that live here know this is only the beginning of dust storm season - batton down the hatches West Texas-here comes the dust.


* Dough Hensley - The Lubbock Centennial

Wallflower

   Wallflower packaging
 

Wallflower 4.5 ounce bar

A sweetly demure lavender blend for those who prefer just a breath of lavender. All dressed up in pale pink swirls on a creamy background. This soap and more will be listed soon!

Fresh and Clean - Just in Time for Spring

 

Refresh Mint 4.5 ounce bar

Feel refreshed, with a perfect blend of cool clean Spearmint and Japanese Peppermint- this soap is brisk, fresh, and rejuvenating - a great choice for a morning wake up soap or as an end of the day pick me up. Unisex

This soap smells fabulously clean and fresh; with decadent, rich lather and skin nourishing qualities as well - an excellent choice for the Spring/Summer line up. Perfectly Minty! This soap and more will be listed soon!

A Peek at Packaging

Packaging for 4.5 ounce bars

Ahhh, packaging such a dilemma for a soapmaker. Soap has unique packaging requirements that make it a challenge to say the least.Soap needs to breathe, it comes in many shapes and sizes, it's best if you can see  the soap or at the very least smell it. Ultimately, I would rather not have to package soap - it's just so beautiful on it's own,but in terms of taking it to market (where it will be pawed by many) and with retail considerations - I think packaged soap is probably a good idea. Packaging protects and provides a branding opportunity.

When considering packaging, I did much research to consider what would work best for me. I knew I wanted to utilize recycled products that could then complete the circle of recycling once again. I also considered packaging cost and the image or feel I wanted for my product. I wanted a look that was not too fussy, unique, feasible( in terms of how much time each soap would take to wrap), cost effective, recycled and recyclable, easily sourced,packaging that would allow the soap to breathe(you can smell the soap /although obviously I had to sacrifice visibility) and for now this packaging meets all the aforementioned criteria. I am very happy with it, I have had to "practice" some-as it is not fully cooperative on occasion, but overall- I love it -it feels like me. The paper and labels are 100% recycled post consumer waste (a very important criteria for me) that is then able to be recycled yet again.Yay!

Packaging for rounds

Packaging for shaving rounds and pumice buffing rounds will consist of unbleached coffee filter packaging with the same 100% post consumer waste labels for a completely recyclable package we love!

The Tierra Verde Philosphy

Warm Cedarwood Shaving Round

At Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps our philosophy is about keeping it simple. You won't find superfluous ingredients or fancy packaging in an effort to make a product seem like something it is not. You will find wholesome high quality products created from simple pure ingredients that are familiar,skin nourishing and friendly to our earth.

What you will find in Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps:

• Handmade soap made with the Cold Process method of soap making 
• A rich creamy nutritive vegetable base
• Glycerin – an emollient product of the saponification process and the thing that makes your skin feel wonderful
• High quality essential oils
• High quality botanicals and wholesome additives
• Packaging utilizing 100% recycled paper product that is also recyclable
• Packaging that is re-usable
• A product that is bio-degradable
• Products that are tested on willing friends and family – never animals.

What you won’t find in Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps:

• Animal fats
• Dyes
• Synthetic Fragrance
• Preservatives
• Phosphates
• Sodium Lauryl / laureth sulfates – A detergent and surfactant found in many personal care products used primarily as a foaming agent.

Coming Soon! Warm Cedarwood Shave Round

Warm Cedarwood Shaving Round – A spicy blend of woodsy cedar; warmed with a hint of vanilla. This soap continues to smell amazing even after the shave. Olive oil nurtures his skin while castor forms a satisfying lather that is given a fine slip with the help of kaolin clay. 3.75 oz.

Hometown Flavor - Texas Tech Landmarks

Lubbock, Texas is my hometown, the place I was born, the place my roots are firmly established. While admittedly, I hanker for a new adventure in a land far away (at least 5 or so hours anyway) Lubbock is a town with a friendly and gracious community, expansive horizons, and a history of it's own. Come hang out with me as I take you on a tour to soak up just a bit of my hometown flavor.

 One of two bell towers of  the Texas Tech University Education/Administration Building

In 1936 victory bells were given to Texas Tech as a class gift. The bells rang for the first time at the 1936 class's graduation. It is said that after the win over TCU, the following year, the bells rang through out the night. The bells kept Lubbock residents up all night. Thereafter, the bell ringing was limited to 30 minutes. Saddle Tramps ring the bells after Texas Tech victories and during special occasions. The Victory Bells - one large and one small, which combine to weigh 1,200 pounds - hang in the east tower of the Administration Building. 

Source: Texas Tech Traditions from A to Z
 

Will Rogers and Soapsuds

One of the most well known landmarks on campus is the statue of Will Rogers and his horse Soapsuds. This memorial was dedicated on February 16, 1950 by longtime friend of Rogers, Amon G. Carter. Carter believed Texas Tech was the perfect setting for the statue and that it would fit into the traditions and scenery of West Texas.

The statue stands at 9'11" tall and weighs 3,200 pounds; its estimated cost was $25,000. On the base of the statue, the inscription reads "Lovable Old Will Rogers on his favorite horse, 'Soapsuds,' riding into the Western sunset."

Today Texas Tech tradition and legends surrounds the statue. According to one legend, the plan to face Will Rogers so that he could be riding off into the sunset did not work out as it would cause Soapsuds' rear to be facing downtown. To solve this problem, the horse and Will was turned 23 degrees to the east so the horse's posterior was facing in the direction of Texas A&M, one of the school's rivals.

Scource: Will and Soapsuds

Glenna Goodacre: b.1939
Park Place : 1997 : Bronze
Human Sciences

Source: Texas Tech University System Public Art Brochure

LARRY KIRKLAND : b. 1950
Headwaters : 2002 : Granite
English/Philosophy Education Complex

The central fountain features two monumental,classically inspired hands holding letters of the alphabet. The letters remain a fragment of a word, a symbol for a sound,but together they symbolize the potential for communication and the unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Water pouring over the surface of the fountain reminds the viewer of the variety of sounds that letters create.

Source: Texas Tech University System Public Art Brochure

Olive Oil and Goat's Milk soap among the relics 4.5 ounce bar

All photos courtesy of : Bill L.

A Taste of What's to Come

Clove Shave Round - A hint of clove; warm and spicy in a traditional shave round, perfect for your man. Olive oil nurtures his skin while castor oil creates a rich satisfying lather that is given a fine slip with the help of kaolin clay. The results are a clean, smooth traditional wet shave-any man would love.

Vanilla Patchouli - Release your inner hippie; experience a blend of dark, sultry Indonesian Patchouli warmed with a lashing of rich decadent vanilla creating a delectably earthy unisex scent

My new line of handmade artisan soaps will consist of clean simple lines and scents that possess nuances of tradition. Whether you prefer spicy,warm clove or the fresh clean scent of lemon or lavender,or perhaps you are the dark sultry Patchouli type - there is something for you. Each soap is unique and made with great care to nourish your skin and your soul with each use. These soaps, and more will be listed within the next few weeks as we are busily working to get our blog, and online shop up and running. See you soon!

Felted Pretties

Felted Soap - Mother Earth Series

As part of my new line, I will occasionally be offering felted soap. I love felted soap, the colors and textures just seem to draw me in.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

Tierra Verde Soaps will be up and running soon. As you can see there have been some big changes going on behind the scenes - we're working hard to bring it bigger and better to our website,online shop, blog and other venues. See you in the funny papers.