The Crafty Chook is a family owned soap making business located on New Zealands Wild West Coast. We are the home of the "Wild Child Scrub Bars" and the original "Gorse Scrubber" Soap Bar.

Our soap is originally designed, crafted and based around the naturally untamed, the unique and quirky, the diverse and resilient, the simple and raw, and the rustic rugged beauty of life on the Coast.

Our aim is to flaunt, boast and share with everyone how amazing the West Coast is...with an ounce of humour, a small pinch of political incorrectness and a great bar of soap.

I was introduced to Soap Making on a Summer School Holiday by my Grandma when I was around 11. Grandma was a woman who grew up on the land and created, fixed, collected, utilized and made do with anything and everything around her. The modern day labels used today like recycled, up cycled, re hashed, pre loved, homegrown, organic and local was something Grandma did everyday. How lucky was I to grow up in this world, where information was passed down, skills shared and people lived simply. As a result Soap Making was a regular event where we spent sunny days collecting herbs, flowers, preparing rendered down fat and grating down old soap bars. It was a fascinating process to use the "all day cooked glug" and spoon and press into old cans and tins, and watch the transformation into hard bars of wonderfully creamy soap.

I re discovered Soap Making in July 2016 after heading home and catching up once again with Grandma (who is now 97). Grandma at 97 still remembers the times we spent picking flowers and prattling away in the garden like a pair of Dickie Birds and my constant questions about everything. Reminiscing about the teenage years sent me through a tunnel of "good times" and a nagging thirst to again make soap. So I did!

I love to create and brainstorm the next project, at 2 am when you cant sleep that's when all my ideas flow. I'm cursed or some would say blessed to have an over active mind. I love simplicity in all things and believe its the key to our future sustainability.

Every aspect of the soap, from the making to the selling, labeling, packaging is completely made and carried out by myself.

I also make my own Greeting Cards from my own hand drawn pictures. Each card starts its life on an A4 sized piece of paper, this way I can punch in as much detail as possible. The images are than scanned and reduced to fit on an A5 Card which is folded in half...and presto, personally hand drawn Greeting Cards. I utilize a lot of ideas and images from around my own property and the local area. Nothing is copied, every picture is a brainstorm and interpretation of what I see, therefore making every card a unique one off. Each Card has its own special name and blank inside, and comes with a recycled craft envelope and packaged inside a clear plastic sleeve.

Jump on board and check us out on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thecraftychook/