Hana meets Odds & Suds!

Odds & Suds

If you’re interested in starting a soap making business, these two are your inspiration. I met with the brilliantly creative couple behind Odds & Suds, a natural handmade soap company.

Jenny has been making soap now for 15 years, a business which started in a cosy kitchen and flourished into the thriving success it is today. 

The story behind the suds 

Jenny originally learned to paint with Annie Sloan and began painting furniture as well as making a furniture polish from turpentine and beeswax. In 2014 she was asked to take part in BBC 2’s Great Interior Design Challenge in Brighton. For her project she decorated a kitchen, giving it a gorgeous rustic French theme. 

Jenny decided that interior design wasn’t her calling and began to make solid hand cream, which she sold for 3 years at Tavistock Pannier Market. Soaps were a natural progression in Jenny’s mind so armed with a soap recipe book, pans and whisks- she took a step into the world of soap making! Soon enough, Odds & Suds out grew the market stall, so Jenny opened her first shop in Tavistock and has never looked back.   

Odds & Suds in the spotlight

Following the success of the Tavistock shop, Jenny opened second shop in Ashburton. The shop and their beautiful house featured in Country Living as part of a 4 page spread.

In 2009, Jenny appeared on one of my favourite programmes, Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, on Channel 4. She taught Kirstie how to make soap in the Odds & Suds shop. Jenny told me as they settled down on the sofa to watch the show, the orders began pouring in and the website crashed!

{Jenny showing Kirstie the ropes!}

Jenny after her TV appearance: “I drove to the shop and noticed a queue of people outside. I thought that’s funny, they must be waiting for a bus or something. I then realised they weren’t waiting for a bus… they were waiting for me to open the shop. It was crazy, we literally ran out of soap.”

From there it was a change of direction for Odds & Suds. The couple worked hard to transform their horse stables into a work shop fit for producing their soap on a larger scale to enable them to sell to the wholesale market. 

After chatting with the couple about their exciting plans, I got the impression from Jenny that she missed the homely kitchen atmosphere that was once her work area. “I do miss working in the kitchen but we’ve now got the capacity to make 3000 bars a week, so it’s still artisan but just not as cosy! I think a lot of producers get to that point, you become very busy with what you’re doing and you make that leap to become a producer.”

She described any crafting business as making monsters that need constant feeding and I couldn’t agree more! 

The Odds & Suds family

Today, Jenny owns the shop in Tavistock, Kelly runs and owns the Odds & Suds shop in Ashburton, Rosy has her own Odds & Buds florist and Matthew owns a tanning shop in Tavistock called Odds & Sun and also works in theatre production. 

 

Jenny’s tip for crafters:

“Keep it simple! So many crafters fall into the trap of doing too much but actually less is more.” 

For those of you wanting to go into soap making to sell, you have to have your products tested to make sure they are safe to the general public.

Jenny and John will be at The County Living Christmas Fair (Islington's BDC from 11 – 15 November). Their shops are already stocked for Christmas and if you aren't able to swing by then check them out online at www.oddsandsudstavistock.com or telephone 01822 618111- I've already placed my order! 

Hana xxx 

Hana meets Zeena Shah! {blog hop}

I was asked by the team at Stitch Craft Create {http://ideas.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/how-to-print-fabric-blog-hop/} to take part in a 'blog hop' for Zeena Shah's brilliant new book- How To Print Fabrics. I've given her fallen leaf tea towel design a go and free styled a bit with some napkins! 

If you are into fabric printing, textiles or creating gorgeous home accessories Zeena really is your girl. Her book is so easy to follow and her projects are for all abilities. It's full of different mark making ideas, pillows, bags, screen printing and more, which are all right up my street. 

Funnily enough, I met Zeena at Kirstie Allsopp's Handmade Fair in September and took one of her workshops! She taught us how to make lino printed stationary, which was great fun and very effective. 

You'll need to grab a copy of the book {shameful plugging of me there} to know how to make these cheeky little numbers- I've already ordered mine! Just follow the link- http://www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/how-to-print-fabric#.VidFcsZVhHw

Love Hana xxx

Turn your jeans into a wheat bag!

It's that time of the year when everyone seems to be dropping like flies. Everywhere I go I'm followed by constant sneezes, bunged up noses and sniffles. When you're poorly you just want to get cosy on the sofa in your jim jams so I've made the ultimate lavender scented sickness buddy. 

Throughout my life I've always had a wheat bag, you know, one of those things you bung in the microwave and cuddle up with. They are also my first point of call when I have any aches or pains!  

These are super easy to make and a great way to recycle your old jeans or jumpers!

You will need:

• Cotton based jeans or a jumper sleeve
• For your filler you can use: Uncooked rice, wheat, oats, seed feed. {I used rice}
• Sewing machine or hand sew with needle and thread
• Lavender {you can use other scents!}
• Lavender oil  
• Dress makers pins

How to make:

Cut one of the legs or sleeves of your jeans or jumper to a legnth you would like your bag to be. Give yourself an extra inch for when you sew.

Turn the material inside out and fold over each end and pin down. 

I still don't own a sewing machine {it's on the wish list!} Sew above the pins, making sure your stitches are close together. 

Do the same for the other end but leave a gap of 2 inches. 

Turn your fabric back the right way by feeding it through the gap you've left. 

Then in a bowl mix your filling with picked lavender and 5 drops of oil. Use a funnel and pour the mix into the bag. 

Sew up the 2 inch gap and if you have a little label then you can stick that in there too! I've got little cute ones I ordered online which say 'handmade by Hana' on. 

And that's it! I wanted to keep mine simple but you can decorate these in any way you choose- just check the material is microwavable. 

Hana xxx

  

Pumpkin spiced cake with cinnamon frosting

Pumpkin is a magic ingredient in cakes, it gives a super moist texture and goes amazingly well with spices. 

Quite a few recipes will tell you to use canned or tinned pumpkin {I'm not even sure if we have that in the UK?} but I think it's much nicer to use a fresh pumpkin. If you want to make it extra special, pick your own!  

I've never used one of these tins before and wondered where they originated. Turns out bundt {the d is silent} tins originated in Germany, Austria and Hungary and were called bundkuchen. 

You will need:

• 290g Plain flour
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 2 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of ground cinnamon 
• 1 tsp of all spice
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 330g pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 230g unsalted butter 
• 130g granulated sugar
• 35g brown sugar
• 190ml buttermilk 
• 1 tsp vanilla

{For the frosting}

• 200g icing sugar
• 50g royal icing sugar 
• half a tub of cream cheese
• 50ml buttermilk

{Cinnamon dusting}

• 1 tbsp fine brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

How to make:

Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease your tin with butter.

Weigh out your pumpkin {cut into slices and remove skin} and steam until soft. Should take about 20 minutes. Leave aside to cool.

Whiz the pumpkin down with a blender or food processor and mix with the vanilla and buttermilk. Leave on the side. 

Cream the sugars with the butter until pale and fluffy. Add eggs in gradually. Mix in flour, raising agents and spices.

Combine both mixes together. Line a tin with foil, put the seeds in the tin and cover with brown sugar . 

Pour the mix into the bundt tin and pop in the oven for 40 minutes and the seeds for 15. 

Whilst the cake is in the oven mix together the icing ingredients, make sure it's not too runny- if it is then throw in some more icing sugar. 

Spoon on the icing and allow it to trickle down. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the icing then the seeds.

I enjoyed a cheeky little slice of this with my best friend and it was the first time she had pumpkin cake and she loved it! 

Have a good week! H xxx

Fabric notebook holder {the 'list maker's' best friend}

I am a serial list writer. On a scary level. My desk is littered with post it notes, scraps of paper with 'TO DO' scribbled across the top of a list that is physically impossible to achieve in a day. So I thought I would make myself a pouch to keep my notepad and pen together.

There was a little bit of making up the rules as I went along but I'm happy with how it turned out!

{I'm going to keep my shorthand notebook in mine!}

You will need:

• 2 A4 sheets of felt- 50p per sheet in Hobbycraft! 
• Fabric scissors or decent kitchen scissors
• A hairband
• embroidery/ thick thread
• Thick sewing needle 
• A button

How to make:

Fold one sheet of felt in half. With the other piece of felt choose the size you would like the pocket to be. Cut it out.

Work out where you would like your button to be and stitch it onto the front of your folded felt, I used with the thinner needle and thread. On the back line up a hairband and stitch in place. 

Cut a smaller pocket for your pen holder. I chose a heart. N'awww.

Make two slits for your pen to slide into.

Stitch the heart onto the pocket. Stitch the pocket into your folded felt {I used a thinner needle and thread because the holes were too small}. 

Decorate which ever way you choose and you're all set! Have a lovely weekend! I've got a new instagram account so feel free to follow: @hanamaymakes 

H xx 

Hana has Tea with Jud!

{Jud's handmade breakfast spread}

Many moons ago I embarked on a 6 month adventure and worked in Tignes in France on a ski season. It was there that I met the wonderful Jud Pollock. On a season you have very little time to just do nothing, but for the Skiworld seasonaires of 2011 the down time craze was knitting and the queen of knitting was Miss Pollock. Jud is the founder of Tea with Jud, an online shop for her fabulous pottery and knits.

{Tignes 2011- Me, Jud and the gang on Christmas day!}

Meet Jud!

Jud lives in Scotland on a fruit farm in Blairgowrie, Perthshire and attached to her house is her own pottery workshop, which she and her friends converted with their bare hands!  Jud makes and sells knits and pots through her online shop http://teawithjud.com but this Irish chick has her sights set on her very own coffee shop and hot drinks won’t be the only thing on the menu. 

Jud’s story

Jud was born in Belfast and grew up in Randalstown, Northern Ireland. She grew up in a creative family and was taught to knit at the age of four by her Mum (cute!)  I was very jealous to hear that Jud took needlework classes at school. She laughed and told me: “I just loved making things when I was little. As long as I was making things I was happy!” After leaving school she took an art course at college and then studied 3D design and business at Manchester Met. 

How did you learn to make pottery?

She learned how throw (pottery made on a wheel, not smashing up plates) at uni.  She saved up the money she made from selling her knitted hats to buy a second hand pottery wheel in 2013.  This wheel has made mugs, bowls, butter dishes, plates, teapots, jugs and cutlery dishes *BREATHE* which can all be found and bought on her website.

{Personalised mug for a customer's teacher}

From coffee shops in Belfast to chalets in the Alps

The idea of running her own coffee shop began when Jud worked as a supervisor in an independent coffee shop called Clements for 4 years.  To get more business and managerial experience, for 3 years every winter she would work in the Alps as a chalet host and manager.

{Jud on the far left and wearing one of her hats}

Jud’s Scottish travels

Jud hopped from the Alps in the winter to Scotland in the summer were she managed a youth hostel in Tongue, on the north coast of Scotland. It gave her a chance to explore the area and she fell in love. “There was no TV and I was in the middle of nowhere so it gave me a chance to do lots of knitting and exploring!” 

                        {Jud's youth hostel}

She was so inspired by Scotland that she decided to make a permanent move to set up her dream coffee shop, where of course she will be selling her knits and pots.  

{The fruit farm!}

{Hard at work creating her workshop}

Her words of wisdom for any crafters wanting to make a living from their crafts: “Just keep going. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, you’ll get there in the end.”

{Tea with Jud workshop on the fruit farm}

Take a peek at her website for her knits, pots and hilarious blog. 

H xx 

How to make a sugar rose

Woooohoooo my sugar florist paste arrived which means I can start to introduce you to the wonderful world of sugar craft and cake decorating! So I thought I would start where I began, with a rose. Roses look beautiful on cakes and for wedding cakes they are the most requested flower. These flowers will also last forever, so if you have some on your wedding or occasion cake it will be a keepsake for when the cake has been gobbled up!

I'm going to teach you how to make a simple rose. It looks fiddly, but trust me, once you've got the hang of it you will be making these with your eyes closed. 

You will need:

Sugar florist paste- I use Squires Kitchen's sugar florist paste. It's a little pricey, but it goes a long way!

Ball tool- You'll find these in craft stores with a baking section or online. I am using a plastic one but I would say ones with a metal ball are better. Top tip with a ball tool- keep it dry and clean!

Icing rolling pin- smooth plastic not wooden!

Polystyrine bud (1 per flower)

1 small and 1 medium petal cutters- Metal... always metal!

Icing sugar- I put mine in a shaker

5 petal cutter- best to get these online

Icing colouring- Sugarflair or AmeriColor are the best, they are £2-3 each but you use such a tiny amount they last forever. 

Tooth picks

Foam pad- You can't make roses or any kind of flower on a hard surface. These are cheap as chips!

Paint brush and water cup

How to make:

1) Play with the florist paste to warm it up- it should stretch and look a bit like chewing gum when it's ready. Depending on what colour rose you would like to make (you can just do white) put a tiny dot of colour (when I say tiny dot, I MEAN TINY DOT!) Work that into the icing and that way, if you start with a small amount you can build it up. When you aren't using your florist paste, wrap it tight in cling film- it dries out really quickly!

Little tip, the colours darken slightly once the sugar paste model has set, so bear that in mind when colouring. 

2) Dust your work station with icing to avoid sticking and roll out a ball the size of a £2 coin with a rolling pin. Sugar flowers should always be thin!  

3) Put a toothpick through the bottom of your bud, don't push it all the way through. 

4) Once you have rolled your icing, use the small cutter to cut one petal. Put the petal onto the foam pad and use the ball tool. With half the ball on the edge of your petal and the other half on the foam and press down as you run the ball around the petal. 

5) Dampen your paintbrush with water (not too much)and paint around the petal. Then, with the pointed part of the petal facing towards the tooth pick end, attach to your bud. Wrap the petal around the bud and tuck one edge under the other to form a funnel. 

The top of the funnel should have a hole the size of a apple pip. 

6) Roll out a blob of icing the size of a cherry (it seems I have a fruit theme on this post!)and use the small cutter you used on the first bud and cut three petals. To get a clean edge, push really hard and give them a wiggle on the counter or run your thumb along the bottom of the cutter to get rid of frayed edges. 

7) Then ball these petals on a foam pad as you did before for the first petal. Once they are pretty and frilly, flip the petals over and damp your brush with water. Run your brush along the left edge of the petal. Then attach the left edge of one of the petals to your bud. Leave the right side hanging. Then attach the other petals in the same way. They should be evenly spaced to make a propeller shape. 

8) Excuse the dye under my nails... I am just so glamorous these days I tell you. Then dab some water in the inside of the loose corner of each petal. Then fold the loose corner onto the bud. Don't press the petal flat to the bud!

Leave on one of these drying pads. You can get these super cheap online. They are great for setting all types and shapes of flowers!

9) So we've upgraded from a cherry to a small plum now! Roll out a plum sized ball of icing(on a surface dusted with icing sugar!) and cut with the plastic 5 petal cutter. Make sure to press down hard and give it a wiggle to ensure clean edges. Then pop your flower onto the foam pad and ball each petal. 

10) Then flip your flower and using a toothpick press down and roll and curl the edges. Don't make them too pointy!

11) Flip your flower again and damp the centre and left side of each petal. Slip your hand under and pierce the middle with your toothpick bud. 

12) Pick up your petal and attach to the bud. Do this the same way you attached the 'propeller' petals. Keep pinching and moving the petals into shape. Keep it loose and natural :) 

Make sure your petals are evenly spaced and if you need to move them about then do! Also avoid the middle of the rose being higher that the outer petals. 

Rest your rose onto the flat side until it's hardened. Using the medium sized cutter, cut 6 petals for your outer petals. 

13) Ball the petals, flip and curl the edges with a tooth pick. 

14) Then flip the petals again and dampen both edges to form a V. With your flower still facing down, attach your first petal, then follow with the rest. It is really important that the six petals are spread evenly. (I imagine it like looking at an orange from above- I'm obviously craving fruit!) Make sure they are the same height as the rest of the petal layers. 

You will need to keep tweaking it to get the shape you want but just avoid flat petals or over curled edges! Then pop on the side to set. You can make these in large batches and they look so beautiful and real. 

Love Hana xxx