Favourite Etsy Shop Friday!!!!

Favourite Etsy Shop Feature

Heathen's Hearth
www.HeathensHearth.etsy.com

1. Tell us a bit about yourself?
Heathen's Hearth is actually owned and run by two heathens….myself (Misty) and Amy. I (Misty) am a full-time HR Manager, mother of one and Amy is a SAHM mom to one who spends half of her time in Virginia and half of her time in Missouri.

2. What made you decide to open your shop and why Etsy?
We started out in the summer of 2007 making melt and pour soap just as a hobby. After a few months, and many, MANY pounds of soap began overtaking our house, we decided we needed to not only get rid of some of it, but find a way to make money to support our soaping habit. We heard about Etsy from a friend and thought we’d try our luck there…almost 1 year later, it’s the best decision we could have made!

3. How did you choose your shop name?
Honestly…it’s kind of a hodgepodge of ideas/beliefs/nicknames, lol. When we began throwing around the idea of a business, we originally planned on making primarily pagan products and Heathen came up. Of course, almost all of what we make is done in our kitchen, which is my favorite place to be…the Hearth. Throw in the fact that I call my 6 year old son a little heathen, then, well…you got our name…Heathen’s Hearth!

4. How long have you been creating/crafting?
Crafting/creating bath and body? A little over 2 years. Crafting in general? Almost my entire life…Amy as well. I think we both found our calling with soaping. It’s something that we are not only good at, but enjoy. We enjoy pushing ourselves, coming up with newer and newer things. We have gone from just making melt and pour, to sugar scrubs, scrub cubes, salt scrubs, whipped body frostings, lip balms, salves and balms, and now are starting to make cold and hot process soaps. I absolutely love the creating part of the business…coming up with new designs, new soaps, new fragrance combinations.

5. What are your other favourite things to do?
You mean there are other things to do aside from creating smell goods and running Heathen’s Hearth?!



6. What inspires you?
Misty: Everything. The possibilities with soaping are endless. I even find myself inspired in the produce section of the supermarket, looking at a coconut and thinking to myself, “Hmmmm…coconut….I bet some of that coconut fragrance and chocolate fragrance I have at home would go so well together!”

Amy: Misty does actually. My creativity has always sort of ebbed and flowed, hers just runs continuously. I go back and forth with my creative talents – when I need a break from creating new scents or new products because I’m in a creative ebb, I play in spreadsheets and do accounting – creative math and the hands on aspect of science has always been a fun thing for me, so while its not the “interesting” part of what we do, playing and creating new recipes in a spreadsheet before actually turning them into real products, is part of what keeps me motivated and inspired to get back in the kitchen.

7. Of all the items you make for your shop, what do you enjoy making the most?
Misty: I am in love with Cold Process soap making. I just love it. There is nothing like taking raw, natural ingredients, combining just the right amount, in just the right way and then….voila! You have made beautiful soap…from scratch. To me, it’s like baking bread…I get such a feeling of accomplishment from it, and people love it!

Amy: I think some of my favorite things to create and make are still the glycerin soaps. I have a short attention span, and they meet my creative need for instant gratification. I’m slowly but surely becoming addicted to HP soap making for the same reason – I can make a batch of soap and its ready to go into my shower that same day. They don’t have the artistic license that CP soaps have, because of the short set up time, so things like swirling and designs are harder to incorporate, but I’m determined that one day I’ll make bars as beautiful as they are good for your skin.

8. What is your favourite scent?
This is easy (and probably well known to quite a few Etsians, lol)
Misty’s favorite scent is Pink Sugar. Amy’s favorite scent is Sandalwood.

9. What are your most popular items?
Well…we sell more soap than any other item. But when it comes to scents, some of our top sellers are Sandalwood, Pink Sugar, Café Mocha, Lemon Cream, Oatmeal Milk & Honey. We came up with the idea of our Etsy Inspiration soaps and those have been big sellers …and popular with other shops who have started Etsy Inspired lines in their products, also!

10. Name 3 Etsy shops you love to visit.
http://doubledippedsweets.etsy.com
http://Jupita.etsy.com
http://Deconstructress.etsy.com



I would love to thank Misty and Amy for taking part in my first Favourite Etsy Shop Friday. It was so great to learn about your shop and the wonderful people behind it. I love all your products. My daughters and I drool over them all the time. I have been dying to purchase something for a long time and havent had the chance yet. Perhaps Im afraid that once I start I wont be able to stop hehe.

I hope you have enjoyed this interview and will keep coming back to see what other shops are featured. You just never know what wonderful Etsy shop you'll see next.