A woman who has turned her hobby into a business is gearing up to showcase her handmade soaps at Swindon’s Designer Outlet.

Camille Clarke was inspired to set up Camille’s Soap Emporium while on holiday and since then she has created sustainable, eczema-friendly, vegan products.

As a Swindon-based business, Camile sells her popular soaps in Blunsdon Community Shop and market events, but just a year after founding her business, she will be trading from her own stall at the Designer Outlet in front of Next.

Camille said: “November 15th marked exactly one year of trading. Before that, I was making soap as a hobby for roughly two years.

“Being at the outlet is pretty special for me because I used to work at Tinc the children's stationery shop in the middle of the outlet out of a pink VW camper van about 20 meters from where I will be with my stall. Never did I imagine that six years later I would be there, but selling stuff from my own business.

(Image: Camille Clarke) “I suppose my journey started back in 2019 when I was on holiday in Croatia. I went hiking with my partner and found a beautiful cove. As I got closer, I realised it was covered in plastic and other sorts of rubbish.

“When I got back from that holiday I started to think a lot about plastic waste and how a lot of the bottles I saw on that beach are from products you use in the bathroom. I then set myself a challenge to make my bathroom products as plastic-free as possible.

 “I swapped shampoo, conditioner and shower gel for solid bars and from there I fell in love with the traditional solid soap bar. As an eczema sufferer, I started to question the ingredients I was putting on my skin.

“I did a lot of research on the harmful chemicals that can be found in some supermarket beauty products, and I thought that the best way to make sure I wasn't putting harmful chemicals on my skin was to make the product myself.”

“I also wanted my bars to be fun and naturally vibrant and help challenge the idea that soap bars are outdated and boring”, Camille added. “My branding is inspired by Old English advertising, to bring back a bit of magic from days gone by.”

Camille’s Soap Emporium will be at the Designer Outlet on Saturday, November 16 (9am-9pm) and Sunday, November 24 (10am-6pm).

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