Conference Speakers

Key Note Speaker

As a young child, Sandy Maine became fascinated with soapmaking while watching her grandmother make utilitarian soap at her home in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. But Sandy longed for somethng more than simple, utilitarian soaps. So in the late 1970's she combined her love for herbs, botanicals, essential oils and other products of the Earth so that her soaps would be beautiful, fragrant and healthy to use. Today, Sandy and her staff of 20 at SunFeather Natural Soap Company produce 4,000 pounds of handmade all-natural soap each week in the largest handcrafted savonnerier in the United States, located in the northern Adirondack Mountain region of New York State.

SunFeather Natural Soap Company is known worldwide for its dedication to quality, handcrafted soaps and for Sandy's commitment to social responsibility. Through the sale of SunFeather soaps and related gifts, Sandy tithes to more than a dozen humanitarian and environmental causes around the globe. Sandy is involved in efforts that support rural economic development and sustainable resource use.

At the same time, Sandy is recognized for her leadership in advancing this growing cottage industry at-large. Throughout her career, she has helped others explore soapmaking as both hobby and business. SunFeather is a major supplier of soapmaking equipment, materials and supplies for amateur and professional soap makers. In addition, Sandy has written several award-winning books on the fundamentals of soapmaking, containing herbal recipes and other secrets of success extending to natural health and beauty care. Her latest, Clean Naturally, published by Interweave Press, includes expanded soap and herbal homekeeping recipes. 

Sandy’s Books

• The Soap Book: Simple Herbal Recipes
• Creating an Herbal Bodycare Business (Making a Living Naturally Series)
• Clean, Naturally: Recipes for Body, Home, and Spirit
• Soothing Soaps: For Healthy Skin
• Herbal Homekeeping

Jeanne Rose is the founder of New Age Creations, the first body-care company in the United States to use aromatherapy (since 1967).  She is the Director of the Institute of Aromatic Studies, principal tutor of both the Herbal Studies Course and the Aromatherapy Studies Course - Practitioner by home-study. She brings 40 years of experience and personal research in her practice of Aromatherapy.
                                       

Jeanne Rose is also the Executive Director of The Aromatic Plant Project (APP), past president of the American Herbalist Association; and President Emeritus of NAHA.  She is active on the Education Committee of several aromatherapy organizations to select national guidelines for Aromatherapy education. 

Jeanne Rose, Founder & Executive Director of the Aromatic Plant Project, is an international authority on the therapeutic uses of herbs.

Ms. Rose is personally available for Herb, Aromatherapy and Distillation Consultations on many subjects for both individuals and business.  This includes the growing, distillation and use of true essential oil plants and the production of hydrosols and essential oils as well as information on distillation equipment, distillers, and plant education.  Personal blends can be designed for home or business.

 Help choosing the correct plants for growing sites, proper chemotypes, research on distillation needs and aromatherapy for health and personal needs are also available.

Jeanne is the author of 22 books on herbs and aromatherapy. Most recently, she authored "375 Essential Oils & Hydrosols" which is a complete reference book of 375 aromatic plant extracts and hydrosols with phytochemical, clinical and botanical indices. She has released several booklets since 2006.

Jeanne Rose travels throughout the United States and Canada during the fall and spring of each year to teach Aromatherapy and Herb Classes on various aspects of aromatherapy as well as Aromatherapy Certification Courses.  During the summer she travels throughout California distilling aromatic plants and giving distillation classes in the art of distillation.

http://www.jeannerose.net/
http://www.copperstills.com/

25 Essential Oils - Aromatherapy Course, Home & Family by Jeanne Rose
50 Ways To Ue Essential Oils© for a cleaner, sweet-smelling life
 

Big Batch Soapmaking

Kelly J. Bloom is the owner of BloomWorks® Soap Co, LC established 1997 and formerly known as Natural Botanika. Kelly opened Southern Soapers® Fragrances, the supply division of BloomWorks in Fall of 2006 and in Spring, 2008 finalized two new product brandings of BloomWorks: Bodacious® Body and Facetious® Faces. She is the owner of the 3000+ member Southern Soapers Yahoo! Group, a forum that welcomes soap makers, chandlers and industry suppliers from around the globe.

Kelly has over 20 years of soap making experience and is the author of several copyrighted soap making articles, including Low Temperature Soap Making and Large Batch Soap Making. Frustrated by the increasing demands of her busy eBay, wholesale and online retail soap businesses, she spent six years developing and implementing efficient and reliable large batch soap making methods. Prior to opening Natural Botanika, Kelly served in the US Army as a Military Intelligence Specialist in Yonson, Korea, transitioning later into the civilian workforce as a middle grades science teacher, special education teacher, Title 1 Coordinator and Staff Developer. Kelly served as Publicity Officer for the Fort Bragg Officers’ Wives Club, as an elected representative of the Fort Bragg School Board and as a Cadette/Senior Girl Scout Leader. She obtained her BS in Middle Grade Education from the University of North Carolina college system, continuing with Graduate Studies at the School of Business & Economics MBA program. Kelly is the mother of four daughters ranging in age from 18 to 27 and a son, age seven. The repeated moves required in her role as wife of an active duty US Army soldier has enabled her to develop the ability to organize and adapt to new environments. This allows her to triage problems with a perspective that cuts directly to the core of the issue to adjust to rapid changes in her business with flexibility.

http://www.bloomworksoaps.com
http://www.southernsoapers.com