Featured seller: Aporah

Shaye Yearsley, creator of the gorgeous skincare range Aporah, trained as a wholefoods nutritionist shortly before getting married six years ago. She says she has always been a little obsessed with making things herself “Whether it be butter, sourdough bread, washing powder, cider, cheese… basically I love learning how to do things from scratch. I have always been driven by scent and, after studying how much our bodies are affected by food, I got interested in aromatherapy and wanted to make real, pure skincare products that would feed the skin from the outside – as our skin just soaks up everything we put on it!”

The name “Aporah” was inspired by the combined names of her two daughters – Zipporah (four) and Arwyn (one and a half).

aporah balm

aporah

What do you make?
I make ‘food for your skin’. Most products are for everyday use and some are for a little indulgence. I make some face food products which start off with cleansing oils (a traditional and gentle way of cleansing), toner (a herbal infused vinegar based toner) and a face cream (which is the only ‘cream’ I make as it is time consuming and I really want to steer clear of using chemical preservatives). I whip the cream together rather than rely on processed plant emulsifiers and only use the gentlest preservatives (potassium sorbate, cinnamon, honey and citric acid) so this means it doesn’t have a very long shelf life. Even so, this is my best selling product!

I also make a range of lip balms and body balms which can be used therapeutically (for headaches, colds etc) or just for moisturising. In a lot of these products I use herbs infused in organic olive oil which harnesses the amazing qualities of the herbs to get all those benefits topically. Along with these I make a range of body butters which are made out of pure plant butters, e.g. shea and cacao. These are literally just whipped up by hand, so don’t need added emulsifiers or thickeners added. They are whipped decadence in a pot!

aporah 4

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Along with all these skin care products for adults I also make a range for babies (as that is where I started). This covers things that I have found useful in my few years of mothering. Baby balms, baby oils, teething pulse point, sleepy time oil blends and kiddie chest balm.

The last range I guess is the essential oil blends. These are blends specifically put together to use in the home or out and about for those who love using essential oils in everyday life… but without needing to buy all the single essential oils! The pulse point roll-ons are part of this range.

Everything I make is in small batches and is made by me… so this does mean it is time consuming, but also I have control over what happens with every batch.

I am also playing around with making totally natural solid perfumes, but these are still in the experimental phase. I am finding it hard to know when to stop!

How did you get into your craft?
I guess I ‘officially’ got into skincare about three years ago after the birth of my first daughter Zipporah. I wanted to know exactly what I was putting on my daughter and was sick of finding ‘natural’ skin care brands still full of chemical concoctions I couldn’t even pronounce. I decided to just make the nappy balms etc myself, out of ingredients which were totally natural and traditional (such as tallow and herbal infused oils). Then I realised how much I had been missing out on and it all just went from there!

It has a taken a good three years of experimenting (on my children and myself) to come up with the range I now have and lots of friends have been willing guinea pigs for me!

Do you have formal training or qualifications in your craft?
I trained as a wholefood nutritionist originally, so that gave me the background of knowing what is needed internally and externally for keeping our skin in balance. I was introduced to aromatherapy and making healing balms while still at college, but I don’t have any formal qualifications there. I have educated myself on aromatherapy since then. The product recipes have just come through trial and error, plus lots of experience in the kitchen!

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Your favourite materials, tools and processes?
I just LOVE essential oils. Every time I work with them I just get lost in a world of scent. (I think I am a very ‘scent’-driven person!) I have a collection of about 60-100 essential oils now and have such fun playing around with them, whilst still giving them the respect they deserve – they can be quite powerful and dangerous if not used properly. I also just love using products that are pretty untouched and are as close to how God made them as possible.

I use everything organic where possible to cut down exposure to environmental toxins and the oils and butters I use are almost always raw, cold-pressed and unfiltered as I believe (as with food) that less processing is better. This makes the oils and butters a pleasure to use as they really smell like the plant they come from – earthy and full of nutrients, rather than rancid and lacking in smell and colour.

What inspires you?
I am inspired by the beauty of nature and God’s creation first and foremost. The scents and sights from just walking around our herb garden or brushing past a rose bush are so precious. I love being able to educate my daughters on these things, and then be able to use those same herbs and aromas in my own products. I love being in touch with nature in this way and doing something which women have been doing for years and years for their own families, traditions that have been passed down from mother to daughter.

Is there a philosophy behind your work?
My philosophy is to create skincare that is simple and feeds your skin using totally natural products that have been around forever. When I say natural I mean it! No plant-based or artificial emulsifiers, preservatives, surfactants. Just real ingredients that are totally edible.

Describe your workspace:
Haha… my workspace kind of ends up being similar to my brain space… cluttered and busy! Once a week my kitchen gets transformed into my ‘Aporah’ space and I get a few precious hours to whizz up my creations. All my oils and skincare ingredients stay in a cute little cupboard that can be tidily shut up when not in use. I am a mother first of all so I only spend a few hours on this a week, while the girls have some Grandma time. But if I do anything outside of this time I try to make sure that it can be a learning opportunity for my girls. They love to ‘help me out’… or just sit there sniffing essential oils all morning!

aporah

Your favourite feedback from a customer:
“My skin is seriously addicted to your products, please never stop making them!”

What are you currently listening to?
Nursery rhymes… over and over again!

Your favourite childhood book?
The Little House on the Prairie series for sure. A simple lifestyle, which I’m sure was hard but also satisfying. No obsessing with material possessions and the next big piece of technology. Something I’m sure we could with a bit more of these days.

A favourite quote:
“This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Do you have any pets?
I don’t have any pets yet, but soon we hope to welcome some chickens into our backyard! Productive and cute, I am hoping!

What was the last handmade item you bought and what attracted you to it?
Some sweet cards from a friend of mine who designs and paints them (‘Thursday’s Child’). She also does amazing paper cuts, which are on my wish list but haven’t quite got one yet! The quirky, simple little scenes she designs are what attract me to her cards!

You can see more of Shaye’s luscious skincare products in her Felt shop here.

Shaye has very kindly offered a this treat of one Winter Indulgence set, a lovely collection of products chosen specifically for their skin nourishing and warming qualities over the cool and dry winter months, to one lucky Felt blog prizewinner. The Winter Indulgence set contains Sweet Sesame butter to keep your skin all buttered up (we are assured this butter smells seriously divine!), Winter Spice essential oil blend (a cosy and warming scent for your living space)​ and Cacao-Mint lip balm (protective, nourishing and delicious!).

If you’d like to be in the prize draw, just leave a comment below telling us what inspires you about Shaye’s story and her products. The draw will be made on Friday 15 August and is open to New Zealand residents only.

aporah winter indulgence

18 thoughts on “Featured seller: Aporah

  1. I love that Shaye’s products are all natural but what inspired me the most and funnily enough will make me go and purchase something from Shaye is the image of her whipping up these beautiful concoctions in her kitchen with sometimes her kids beside her. The products sound amazing but the fact that her values around parenting seem to align with mine makes me warm to her and her product even more.

  2. I just love all natural products and will use them wherever possible on myself.

    Being a new mum this is now especially important to me, ensuring my baby only has natural products that are good for her.

    I love how having the best for your little one was the inspiration for your business and I will try some of your amazing products in the future.

  3. I am inspired by Shaye’s passion and trust in her intuition. What can be more beautiful than making something from the heart, and others rejoicing in it. Well done clever lady xx

  4. I am inspired by Shaye’s dedication to natural products which are healthier for everyone using them, including her adorable babies. Big awwww from a mummy of 2 girls who, only minutes ago it seems, were wee girls like hers!

  5. I’m inspired by the fact that she didn’t have any formal qualifications in aromatherapy but has educated herself and built a beautiful business selling amazing natural aromatherapy products while being a mum at the same time.

  6. Shaye makes beautiful products that reflect her lifestyle…naturalness, willingly and lovingly shared. Thanks Shaye for sharing your wealth of knowledge and your crafted products.

  7. Love that you have the same philosophy about what to put on kids skin as I do. I started thinking about what i was putting on my kids skin, then my own then my animals skin. Love what you are doing

  8. I only like to use natural products on my dry skin and the ‘aporah’ sound just so good you could eat them. Would love to try as like the fact they are whipped by hand and virtually preservative free.

  9. I love that you have learned so much about how what goes in our bodies affects it and the same applies to what we put on our bodies too. Pure and natural products are wonderful to use and I look forward to trying your beautiful products. Thank you for sharing your story with us Shaye.

  10. Wow! Your creations sound SO tempting!!

    I love how inspired you are by simple things in nature- something that we all should appreciate a little bit more, I think!
    To me, the most inspiring thing about your story, Shaye, is the passion and drive you have for Aporah which is so apparent when reading this article.

    I plan to try out a few of your products in the near future!

  11. Shaye’s desire to create products as close to nature as possible is inspiring – I totally understand her desire to be able to pronounce all the ingredients in our beauty products. Thanks for highlighting this seller, I am looking forward to sampling her wares!

  12. I love that Shaye uses ingredients in their most natural form possible, as God made them, and none of the harsh chemicals that have been concocted by men.

  13. What I love about these products is that you know they are created from genuinely natural ingredients – they’re not pretending to be natural as so many items I pick up are.

  14. Shaye is inspiring in that she know what her first calling is for – her kids and will fit in something else that compliments that role – talented young lady 🙂

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