Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Stewart.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have been an artist my entire life. I love creating, whether it’s drawing, oil painting, gardening or my newest passion of soap making, I truly enjoy the challenges.
I received my first oil painting set when I was thirteen years old and was immediately hooked. I painted just for the joy of it. At the age of twenty, I was married and spent the next thirty-five years raising a family. I painted intermittently over those years while also learning other arts and crafts – macramé, floorcloth design, dollhouse and miniature building and jewelry making. In 2010 my husband and I moved to Austin, Texas and I resumed my love of painting full time. I enrolled in The Laguna Gloria School of Art, taking classes in Drawing and Oil Painting. After two years of learning, I had my first group show at a local salon and my first two-person show at a local bookstore. It was such a great experience sharing my art with others. Two of my paintings were purchased by Dell Technologies in Round Rock, Texas where they are on display today. You can see all my work at Wolf Dancer Studios online.
I became fascinated with handmade soaps about five years ago. While shopping at a local farmers market in Houston I engaged in a great conversation with an 80-year-old woman who was still making soaps and doing markets! I bought several of her soaps and they were amazing. After that, I was determined to learn everything about the soap making process. I spent two years reading books, watching videos and experimenting with various soap recipes. I fell in love with the process of soap making! When I made more than I could use personally, I started giving soap away to family and friends. Shortly after, I established Tiny Bird Soap in December of 2019 and have been selling soap in person and online since then. Locally you can find an assortment of my soaps at The Dunk Ranch in Manvel, Texas ( You can even take a sip and paint class there with me too! )
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The soap making process has been a smooth ride. The business side is much more challenging. As a small business owner, I am responsible for every aspect of the business from label making, shipping, website management, to show set up and everything in between. The struggle for me is that the soap making process is only about 20% of my time, the other 80% is spent doing the backstage stuff
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I consider myself a boutique soap maker. My handmade soaps are made personally by me, in small batches of 9 – 18 bars. I think this is what keeps my products unique. Once they are gone I move onto a new design. I select responsibly sourced ingredients and even grow some of my own for use in my soaps. I grow loofahs ( Loofah Scrub Bars) turmeric, calendula and lilac, all for use in my soaps. My line of soaps range from simple, organic bars with no fragrance, to elaborately artistic designs with wonderfully smelling fragrances such as lavender, patchouli, sage, and eucalyptus. I think I am most known for my unique Succulent and Rose garden soaps. These are made in a two-step process. First making the soap bar and allow it to cure overnight. Second, the time consuming part, hand piping ( the same tools used in cake decorating) individual succulent and rose designs on top. I am most proud of the artistry that goes into my designs and believe that is what sets me apart from others.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think the biggest risk of making soap is putting your product out there and hoping for public acceptance. To me, making soap is no different than painting a painting and letting others view it, or writing a book and letting someone read it. There is always that risk that some or all of your work will be rejected by someone. I enjoy the process so much and have the confidence in my product that I am willing to take that risk for the opportunity to share it with everyone.
Contact Info:
- Email: tinybirdsoap@yahoo.com
- Website: www.tinybirdsoap.com
- Instagram: @tinybirdsoap
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinybirdsoap
- Twitter: @tinybirdsoap
