JungHwa Kim of Studio Star loves to create her soaps and candles from 100 per cent natural ingredients and beautiful local products. Taking inspiration from her daily life, her work as a soap maker is motivated by a desire to live in a more sustainable way and the ability to bring joy to the everyday lives of her customers.
What do you make?
I create artisan-natural soaps in my home studio in North Canterbury using the cold process method. The cold process method is the traditional method of soap-making using raw ingredients from scratch.
My soap range uses beautiful local products such as organic wine from Black Estate, hand-crafted beer from Brew Moon, Manuka Honey from Latitude 42, sea salt from Marlborough and up-cycled coffee grounds from home. I also make ceramic soap dishes and cute beeswax candles.
How did you get into your craft?
My life changed from urban to rural when I moved to New Zealand in 2012. I moved from a large city with half million people to a small North Canterbury town with less than 2000 people. Living surrounded by nature inspired me to focus on an eco-friendly life. So in 2016, I started to make soap to reduce plastic use in my home. Since then, I’ve never stopped creating soap!
Do you have formal training or qualifications in your craft?
I am a self-taught soap maker through endless online researching, several books, and learning by practising and making lots of mistakes! I’ve always loved using my hands to create. I grew up and studied fashion design in South Korea (Department of Clothing & Textiles) and then went to Europe for further fashion study.
After graduating (ArtEZ University of the Arts, The Netherlands) I worked at a fair-trade kids clothing company in Amsterdam and then designed my own women’s collection. This training and experience gave me a great base for design and also craft skills.
Your favourite materials, tools and processes?
I LOVE the process of making soap. It makes me feel like a wizard. I can turn all these ingredients – oil, fat, caustic soda, water and additives – into beautiful soap. It can be very challenging making soap because it is the outcome of a very precise science but it can sometimes be very unpredictable.
Tell us about some of the techniques involved in producing one of your pieces
All of my soaps have slightly different ingredients and this is the reason each soap is produced differently.
My current favourite soap I make is Terrazzo soap because it reflects my life style. This is because I increased the amount of soap I was making which has resulted in more off-cuts. Even my family couldn’t keep up with using the off-cuts. I had to think seriously about what to do with all the remaining soap pieces, so that’s how Terrazzo was created.
First, I chop the off-cuts in different sizes. I used to do it all by hand which was very labour intensive. So recently, I purchased tools to chop the soap which saves so much time and energy. Next I blend oil and caustic soda-water mixture to make a kind of ‘soap dough’ and then add essential oil. When the soap dough turns the right thickness, I add the chopped soap and mix very well. Then, I pour the soap dough into the moulds and leave it for 24-48 hours in the moulds. Finally I cut the soaps and let them cure on the soap shelves for 4-6 weeks before packaging.
What inspires you?
Everything that surrounds me. My 130 year-old house with its historic character and details. Good habits and honesty from my husband. Curiosity and creativity from my kids and so many amazing creators that I see on social media and of course the beauty of mother nature.
Is there a philosophy behind your work?
As time goes by, I realise I get pleasure from thoughtfully hand-crafted products that are functional, sustainable, simple and beautiful. When everyday products meet these categories, they bring me joy every day. I would like my customers to feel that joy whenever they use my soap.
Describe your creative process:
When I find a good local ingredient I research what benefits it has for skin and how I can use it for making soap. I also research ingredients which can boost the benefits of this ingredient.
I then make a few samples in various scents or colours and try them myself, as well as friends and family, to get some feedback. If I’m happy with the results I add it to my soap range.
Describe your workspace:
My family always spend most of their time in the kitchen/living area in the back of house. So I use other living area in the front of house as my studio. It has a nice view of front yard with big trees and flowers. We recently renovated the space with new painted walls and I made a few big wooden storage boxes in which I can hide all the mess!
There are wooden soap shelves I collected from here and there. Two big pegboards hang on the wall to keep tools for making soap and ceramics. One big-old working table is in the middle of the studio as well as beautiful indoor plants.
It is my most beloved hiding spot from my chaotic family life. 🙂
Five words that describe your mind:
Straightforward, rustic, creative, generous, eager.
Your favourite feedback from a customer:
I’ve been to Encraftment Market as a stall holder for the last few years. A few customers told me they came to the market especially for buying my soap because they and their family loved their last purchase. It was so lovely to hear it!
What are you currently listening to?
Since my teenage kids correct my English (like I do with their Korean), I have started to listen to a few BBC podcasts to improve my English. I do sometimes listen to Korean pop songs, but mostly I prefer to be in silence when I’m alone because I’m usually surrounded noisy kids.
What’s your favourite childhood book and why?
I’ve been a big fan of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami since I was a teenager. His stories transcend between reality and the dreamworld. I feel really engaged with his stories which are beautiful and haunting!
What are you reading now?
I’m reading ‘The One Thing’ by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan. It’s about putting the one thing to work in every area of your life to deliver extraordinary results.
A favourite quote:
‘Now or Never’ – Chaudhary Rahmat Ali
‘Just Do It’ – NIKE
I’m heading to my 50s and I realise I’m adding more barriers to my life, so these two quotes make me really push forward and not stop.
What does it mean to you when someone buys your creations?
I feel very grateful and amazed when someone buys my soap out of the so many soap makers out there.
My products are result of my efforts of researching, practising, making mistakes and failing before creating a new product I’m proud of. So when someone buys my creations, I accept it as a big compliment and it motivates me to keep going.
What was the last handmade item you bought and what attracted you to it?
We had two big eucalyptus slabs for nearly two years. Finally, Christchurch-based woodcrafter Michael Gilling from XYLO transformed them into a beautiful low table and a bench for us.
We sit around them for meals, playing board games, or building Duplo, or reading books. We admire the natural look of the timber and the age of it. I can see this timeless furniture will be given from generation to generation.
What’s in store for the rest of 2022?
I’ll be attending two markets this summer: ‘Encraftment Market’ in Christchurch on the 19th and 20th of November and ‘The Stihl Shop Blenheim Garden Fete’ in Blenheim on the 6th of November.
And I also have a fun ‘soap-making & ceramic soap dish making’ workshop with Emma from Keep Ceramics at Clae in Christchurch on the 30th October and 27th November.
Special offer for Felt readers!
JungHwa has generously offered Felt readers 10% off any of the gorgeous handcrafted soaps and candles in her Felt shop, when you enter the voucher code meetmaker10 in the voucher code field at checkout. This offer is valid throughout the month of October 2022. Thank you so much JungHwa!
Also, check out JungHwa’s Instagram @studiostar.nz for an October prize opportunity!
Workshop photography by @nancyzhoh
