Nicolle is a full time mother of her lovely daughter Keirstan (3 1/2 years old). That's were she came up with the name for her business, "Keirstan's Bubbles." Nicolle is also a student, hobbyist and part-time member of  Maine's Promise AmeriCorps. Her station is in Portland High School -- the second oldest high school in the country! 

Nicolle lives in the biggest city in Maine and she does love the city, but says she can't wait until she's out of college so she can move to a less populated area. One of her favorite places to go is the resort village of  Bar Harbor, Maine; she said it's beautiful there.  

When she's not soaping Nicolle likes to: knit, cook, and make things. It sounds like she has her own little jungle in the city, with over 50 house plants -- no wonder she doesn't mind the city! She is also a computer nut, and it has helped her to meet friends all over the US and other countries too, Now where  
would we all be right now without these computers? 

How did you get involved with soaping? 

"Last summer I was looking for a new hobby.  I had two things in mind 1. Making soap 2. Bonsai trees. I started researching Bonsai trees first... once I read that it would take around 20 years to have a true Bonsai I started researching soap.  The reason I started making soap was because my boyfriend loves natural (and almost natural) soaps..." 

How did you find the Soapnuts? 

"Last summer I started researching the basics of soap. My boyfriend told me that his mom used to be on e-mail lists.  I did not even know what a listserv was, so I started searching for newsgroups.... The only soap news groups that I found were soap operas.  Then I started looking at web sites about making soap.  Next I found the Toiletries list.  Wow... I was way out 
of my league on that list... I posted a few times, but it was not what I was looking for.  In a desperate attempt, I posted to the toiletries list and I asked if there was a list for beginners ... and that is how I found the Soapnuts list." 

What type of bath products do you make? Is this mostly a hobby or more of a business? 

"Soaping was first a hobby and my boyfriend, friends and family started urging me to sell. So I have slowly started a small, and I mean small, business. My largest order has been 80 bars and I am currently selling on-line and in two different stores. My web address is http://www.keirstans.com. Oh, and I just sell soap, but I would like to get into lip balms..." 

What was your best soap? Your worst?  

My best soap is one called calendula sunrise... it's a mixture of some really nice oils, calendula petals, orange, grapefruit, and ylang ylang eo's... it's beautiful. There is a picture in the shared files. My worst soap would be my 2nd attempt at making castille soap... I tried to heat it back up on the stove because it 
separated and it was going great until I peeked in the mold after pouring... it was gooshing from the top... and it was really, really hot...  When I unmolded it, it looked so bad... AHH... It was so disappointing... 

How did your recent big order go? How did it happen?  

This was my first big order...  I have had a few small orders here and there, but nothing more then 20 bars...  I got the account by asking. I went out an approached 3 stores.  I walked into the store and asked to talk to the person in charge of buying or the manager. The first store the person that I needed to talk to was not there. The second store was the one that made the large order. They are a new store and they wanted to get stock in for a local festival... I walked in and talked to the owners... I showed them my stuff and they liked it.  I left them with a sample and a catalog. A few days later I got a call... wow... 80 bars... I could not believe it. The third store wanted me to create the loofa soap... now they will give me a call when they need more stock..." 

What is your favorite bath product? Is there a favorite recipe that you would like to share or just tease us with?  

"My favorite bath product... hmm... I love soap that is scented with a blend of lavender and Bergamot EO. I also really like using a bath salt with the same EO blend or sweet orange 
EO.  My second favorite product would be my cantaloupe and orange shampoo bars..." Here is my recipe the soap that contains Lavender and Bergamot EO's: 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? -- what about 10 years? 

"In five years I will be finished with college. I will have my BSW.  I hope to use my creative talents in whatever line of social work I go into. I am really interested in working with women and children. I hope to have a house... maybe I'll even get married.  In 10 years I will have my soaps in every store in the US... (okay... so not every store!)  I will be employing disadvantaged workers and set an example for the rest of the business world. I also hope to have a house... and at least one more child" 

Is there anything else you would like to add? 

Special thanks: I would like to say thanks to Becky for running a wonderful list, and for all the time that she gives to us all sharing her wealth of knowledge.  I would also like to thank Lori and Holli too for all the help they offered me when I was first starting out... Becky, Lori, Holli, and many more walked me through my first few soap attempts. 

Don't forget to visit Nicolle's online soap store! 
Keirstan's Bubbles.