Soapmaking: One Bar to Rule Them All! Clean Everything, Spend Less, Breathe Easy

Instructor: Colleen Trickett

Day & Date: Saturday, March 28, 2026

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Tuition: $45.00

Ages: 18 and Up

Stop paying for shelves of harsh chemical cleaners in plastic bottles that damage your health and your budget. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn to make old-fashioned lye soap: a simple, powerful cleaning base that replaces dozens of store-bought products while keeping your air, water, clothes, and home sparkling fresh and truly clean.

You’ll create a 2-pound batch, perfect for laundry soap, dish soap (great for camping), stain sticks, floor wash, tub and tile scrub, bathroom cleaner, and degreaser. It even rises heroically to lift poison ivy oils from clothing and gear — the cleaning hero of mountain living, tiny homes, well water, and septic systems. You’ll also mix a few ready-to-use cleaners from a pre-made batch, so you leave knowing exactly how to utilize your soap for all your cleaning tasks. Receive an epic digital download packed with useful recipes, practice batch, formulas, and natural cleaning inspiration. Cast your chemical cleaners back into the plastic bottles from whence they came. You shall not pass… on this workshop.

Experience needed: All levels are welcome. No experience required.

Students Please Bring:

• Apron 
• 2-quart Pitcher to mix your soap in. It can be sturdy plastic or Pyrex glass. 
• Optional: 1 quart mason jar if you want to get a soap kit to take home for later. 
• Chemical Googles 
• Gloves (must cover wrists)
• Mask or handkerchief  
• Tote bag to carry your soap home
• Upcycled 1-quart empty waxed cardboard container ex: creamer, almond milk, etc. or Pringles can. 
• Note taking materials.
• (Optional) A snack and/or water bottle. Filtered water is available in the classroom.

An additional fee for materials provided by your instructor for this workshop is estimated at $30.00. THIS FEE IS PAYABLE TO THE INSTRUCTOR at the time of the workshop. Material fees may change depending on the number of participants and price of materials at the workshop. *Payment by cash or check is required for materials fees.  

* We contract with local and regional instructors for short workshops that generally require a minimum of students to run. If you have any questions, you’re welcome to call Olive’s Porch for up-to-date enrollment information. To respect our instructor’s time and preparation for workshops, please contact us as soon as possible if you are unable to attend a workshop. Cancellations made more than 14 days prior to a workshop will be issued a full refund. Cancellations made 14 or less days prior to your workshop are not eligible for a refund. If Olive’s Porch needs to cancel a workshop for any reason, we will issue a full refund. See our General Information and Policies page on our website for more information.

About Instructor: Colleen Trickett is a Botanical Chemist, Herbal Alchemist, and Master Soap Maker with over 25 years of hands-on experience in natural formulation and sustainable product development. She began creating soap and herbal body care in 1999 as an act of activism, a direct response to the waste and misinformation in the commercial beauty industry. Her work focuses on creating effective, cruelty-free formulations that honor people, animals, and the planet.

Colleen’s career has spanned studios in Columbus, Asheville’s River Arts District, and Midtown Atlanta’s Goat Farm Arts Center, and a five-year retail storefront and teaching studio in Roswell, Georgia. Now based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia, she consults with beauty brands and independent makers on clean formulation, ingredient sourcing, product testing, and regulatory compliance. She also teaches advanced soapmaking and herbal body care through online courses and live workshops helping others create products that are both effective and ethical.