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by Kitty Cochrane The soap production moved from their spare bedroom to a spare shed that Kelly's father had found, that he insulated and Kelly wired. Kelly's dad also installed a metal sink his neighbours were going to throw away, and then spent three weeks custom designing cupboards for drying up to 6,600 bars at a time. The Soap Shed was born. So were two children. With two young children breastfeeding, it works out best for Cathy-Ann to focus on the children, while Kelly orders supplies, tracks materials, collects and make payments. Kelly also measures, heats and stirs the soap ingredients. Pouring the soap liquid into molds is done quickly by both of them before the liquid hardens. Their routine is down to a science, each day of the week slotted for a different soap procedure. With two children who sleep early and long, and a baby monitor rigged up in the soap shed, Cathy-Ann can often join Kelly for a trimming, wrapping and packing frenzy. They have a fine balance in what they bring to the business. Cathy-Ann's artistic expertise is an asset with labels, displays, colours and scents. Her fine fingers pleat the hemp label paper over the bars. Kelly's experience with machines is an advantage as he wires plastic barrels for making 1,100 bars of soap at a time. Kelly and his father have also invented two other machines: a soap shaver made with springs, lathed wood and an old paper cutter blade; and a soap trimmer made from a ping pong paddle, a piece of vacuum cleaner, a photocopier engine and skateboard wheels, complete with a switch triggered to stop and start when a handle is raised and lowered. | |
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