Hello there!

In case we haven’t met, I’m Heidi Risse, the owner, maker of all things, wearer of all hats at Soapworks Studio. This little business is now 25 years old!! I started in my basement at my tiny Seattle house on a shoe string. As the years passed and I grew my cottage soap factory, you could find me at street fairs, festivals, art shows and craft boutiques, as well as a few wonderful shops in the area.

I relocated to Sacramento 5 years ago, to play in the sun and have a little pool time while continuing to make my product line which I am now selling online exclusively. If you’re interested in the full scoop, there is more about how and why I got started, my process, my ingredients, and much more under my “About” tab - starting with Our Story.

My passion is creating new scents and products which celebrate the changing seasons.

In addition to my regular menu, I have a list of rotating seasonal soap scents. Like the specials on a restaurant menu, they take advantage of what’s fresh and highlight the best of the season. The most popular ones usually come around again, but there’s always something new. They are made in limited quantity and available for just a few short months.

When winter finally starts to melt, we are aching for signs of spring. Starting the day with a shower full of lilac blossoms or sweet pea petals can make all the difference. A few moments of warm, flowery anticipation of what's to come gives us that extra boost of hope, igniting happy memories and sparking imaginations. And as temperatures start to heat up, there is nothing better to cool the summer sizzle than a fresh, tingly bar of soap packed with icy mint, calming cucumber, creamy yogurt, maybe a squeeze of lemon. As the seasons slowly turn, pumpkins, cranberries, tart apples, and warm cinnamon spices add coziness and cheer to a drizzly autumn. Winter holiday season may be the most fun of them all, with a sleigh full of playful scents and flavors, plus gift ideas galore.

I’m always interested in your ideas too! Let me know if there’s a scent you’d like me to make, or just generally any feedback about a new or existing product. Send me a short note any time - or here’s an easy button to reach me.

Look for me in your email inbox the first day of each month.

My seasonal newsletter arrives on the first day of Feb (spring), May (summer), September (fall) and November (winter holiday). On all the months in between, I send along a Fresh Sheet of what’s on the menu right now, the latest news about products, promotions, and sales offers.

Let’s get to know each other better.

Handmade soap is a little different than your usual drug store style soap. It’s made fresh, by hand, and has a shorter shelf life. I recommend holding onto them no longer than 6 months for maximum scent and freshness. If you’d like a few more tips about how to store them and keep them at their freshest, I’ve written an article with all the details.

You might think these are “fancy” soaps (and they are!) but they are also just really practical and lovely every day in your shower or at your sink. If you’ve got questions, like “why is handmade soap better?” - then I’ve got all the answers in my FAQ.

And they make truly wonderful gifts for just about everybody. Have you heard that old line - “if I give them soap, will they think I’m trying to tell them something?” Yes! They will think that your care about them, that you know they like the finer things in life, and that little daily luxuries are what we all could use more of, right? I explain it all here.

In the meantime, if you want to connect in other ways or learn more, here are a few other places we’re hanging out:

Follw us on Instagram to see more behind the scenes, ideas and inspiration.

Join our Facebook page, like us or favorite us to get the very latest news.

Explore the blog for archived seasonal newsletters and more in depth articles about my process, the ingredients I use, and what inspires me.