One of the most interesting and useful bits of information in her presentation was the whole notion of "scaling" up your soap recipes. Not only does it make your soapmaking more efficient in terms of time costs, but it reduces the effects that measurement errors have on your batches. And it's useful whether you are making 10 lb. batches or 100 lb. batches. It's all about thinking through your process clearly - and using your time and ingredients as efficiently as possible.
More information about Kelly Bloom:
Kelly J. Bloom is the owner of BloomWorks® Soap Co, LC established 1997 and formerly known as Natural Botanika. Kelly opened Southern Soapers® Fragrances, the supply division of BloomWorks in Fall of 2006 and in Spring, 2008 finalized two new product brandings of BloomWorks: Bodacious® Body and Facetious® Faces. She is the owner of the 3000+ member Southern Soapers Yahoo! Group, a forum that welcomes soap makers, chandlers and industry suppliers from around the globe.
Kelly has over 20 years of soap making experience and is the author of several copyrighted soap making articles, including Low Temperature Soap Making and Large Batch Soap Making. Frustrated by the increasing demands of her busy eBay, wholesale and online retail soap businesses, she spent six years developing and implementing efficient and reliable large batch soap making methods. Prior to opening Natural Botanika, Kelly served in the US Army as a Military Intelligence Specialist in Yonson, Korea, transitioning later into the civilian workforce as a middle grades science teacher, special education teacher, Title 1 Coordinator and Staff Developer. Kelly served as Publicity Officer for the Fort Bragg Officers’ Wives Club, as an elected representative of the Fort Bragg School Board and as a Cadette/Senior Girl Scout Leader. She obtained her BS in Middle Grade Education from the University of North Carolina college system, continuing with Graduate Studies at the School of Business & Economics MBA program. Kelly is the mother of four daughters ranging in age from 18 to 27 and a son, age seven.